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[[Image:DanilovMonGateTower.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Church of St. Simeon the Stylite and Bell Tower over the Gate, St. Daniel Monastery, Moscow]]'''St. Daniel Monastery''' (The , also '''Danilov Monastery)''' - Russian: Данилов монастырь, located in Moscow, Russia, is the residence of His Holiness Alexei II, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. The [[monastery]] was founded by the Grand Prince [[Daniel of Moscow|Daniel]] about the year 1282. The monastery was closed by the Soviet government in 1930. The cemeteries were destroyed and the buildings re-fitted for secular use. After being returned to the [[Church of Russia]] in 1983, the monastery has been rebuilt and has become the spiritual center for the Russian Orthodox Church and the official residence of the Patriarch of the [[Church of Russia]].
==History==
The monastery was founded by the Grand Prince Daniel at a site on the Moscow River about five miles from the Moscow Kremlin. This site, next to a wooden [[church]] of St. Daniel the Stylite, was the first monastery in Moscow. After his repose in March 1303, Prince Daniel, who had taken monastic vows late in his life, was buried in the monastery cemetery.
After the death of Prince Daniel, the monastery remained small for 250 years consisting only of a wooden church and a cemetery. Yet, the site of Prince Daniel’s grave became the scene of many miracles and cases of miraculous healings. This led to a revival of [[monasticism|monastic]] life at monastery in the sixteenth century. During the reign of Ivan IV (the Terrible), construction began of the first church in the monastery built of stone: the Church of the Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils.
In 1330, brethren from St. Daniel’s Monastery were moved to the new Monastery of the Saviour in the Kremlin. In 1490, the Saviour Monastery was moved again during the reign of Ivan IV to a site on Krutitsky Hill under the name of New Saviour Monastery. Thus, this major Moscow monastery traces its origins back to St. Daniel Monastery.
In 1917, after the assumption of power in Russia by the Bolsheviks, Orthodox Christianity became severely restricted, including closing almost all churches and monasteries and [[martyr]]dom for much of the [[clergy]]. In 1930, St. Daniel Monastery was the last monastery closed in Moscow. After the Soviet government took control of the monastery it was rebuilt for secular purposes, Additionally, the graves of many prominent people in the St Daniel cemeteries were moved to other cemeteries. Besides St. Daniel, many prominent people had been buried in these cemeteries, including writer N. V. Gogol, the poet N. M Yazikov, the painter V. G. Perov, and the musician N. G. Rubinstein. It was during these times that the [[relics]] of St. Daniel were lost.
[[Image:DanilovFrsCouncils.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Cathedral of the Holy Fathers of Seven Ecumenical Councils, St Daniel Monastery, Moscow]]
==Restored monastery==
As restrictions by the government lessened in the 1980s, St. Daniel Monastery, in 1983, was the first property given back to the Russian Orthodox Church. Reconstruction of the buildings began soon afterward, in the architectural style of the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. The Cathedral of the Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils was restored which also included the Church of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God on the ground floor. The restored iconostasis was done in the manner of the Kostroma school.
Relics of St Daniel have been recovered. Part of the relics were returned to the monastery by [[Theodosius (Lazor) of Washington|Theodosius]], the Archbishop of Washington, in 1986. Relics of the saint are now kept in the tabernacles of both the Cathedral of the Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils and St. Trinity Cathedral.
[[Image:DanilovWhiteHouseMoscow.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Official Residence of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia ("White House"), St. Daniel Monastery]]
==Organization==
The Monastery of St. Daniel is directly subordinate to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, presently [[Alexei II (Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]]. The monastery is his official residence and holds the offices of the Patriarchate.
Everyday operation of the monastery is in the hands of the Father Superior, presently [[Archimandrite]] Alexei. The brethren of the monastery participate in the religious services every day. They also participate in charitable affairs and affairs of mercy in hospitals, schools, orphanages, prisons and other places of need of spiritual care, as well as act as teachers in seminaries, academies, and secular schools.
==External links==
*[http://www.msdm.ru/eng/ Official site St Daniel Monastery]
*[http://www.botik.ru/PZ/sites/monaster.html St Daniel Monastery]
*[http://www.danilovbells.com/saintdaniel/ St Daniel Monastery MoscowReturn of the Bells]
*[http://www.danilovbells.com/saintdaniel/history_of_the_bells_and_the_bel/ History of the Bells and Belfrey]
[[Category: Monasteries|Daniel Monastery]]
[[Category: Russian Monasteries|Daniel Monastery]]
