He was tonsured a reader on December 19, 1994 by Bishop Rostislav of Magadan and Chukotka, beginning a series of great changes. Rdr Daniel was married to Iulia Mikhailovna Brykina on January 22, 1995, by Fr [[Dionisy Pozdnyaev]]<ref>'''Pravmir'''. [http://www.pravmir.com/article_790.html]</ref>; in May 13, Bishop Evgenii [[Eugene (Reshetnikov) of Verey Vereya|Eugene of Vereya]] ordained him as deacon. Dcn Daniel graduated from Moscow Theological Seminary at the top of the class on June 14, 1995, with his first child (of three) being born later that year. He subsequently enrolled in the correspondence course of the Moscow Theological Academy, and was assigned to the Bulgarian [[metochion]] church of the Dormition of the All-Holy Mother of God in Gonchary, Moscow, where he taught the Law of God senior classes of the [[Yasenevo Orthodox Classical Gymnasium]] (high school), and was noted for his strictness in compliance with the [[Typikon]] and canons, which caused some conflict between himself and Archimandrite [[Boris (Dobrev) of Agatoniysky|Boris Dobrev]], rector of the metochion at the time.