Saint Daniel Katounakiotis of Smyrna (, also known as Daniel of Katounakia; born Dimitrios Dimitriadis, ) (

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, 1846 –

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

, 8 September 1929) was a Greek Orthodox monk who lived on

. He was canonized as a saint by the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

in 2020. His feast is commemorated on

September 7 Events Pre-1600 * 878 – Louis the Stammerer is crowned as king of West Francia by Pope John VIII. * 1159 – Cardinal Rolando Bandinelli is elected Pope Alexander III, prompting the election of Cardinal Octaviano Monticelli as Anti ...

. Today, he is known as the founder of the , which is still currently located in

Katounakia Katounakia () is an Eastern Orthodox skete of the Monastic community of Mount Athos, community of Mount Athos that is subordinate to the Great Lavra. The skete is located between Little Saint Anne's Skete and Karoulia. The skete consists of 22 cel ...

at the southernmost tip of the Athos peninsula.

Early years

He was born in

(now

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

in western

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

) in 1846. He was the youngest son of a large family and graduated with honors from the

Evangelical School of Smyrna The Evangelical School ( officially Ἡ ἐν Σμύρνῃ Εὐαγγελική Σχολή) was a Greek educational institution established in 1733 in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, now İzmir, Turkey. The school, initially an Orthodox Church-approved ...

, the educational institution of the Greek community of Smyrna. When he was 19, desiring to become a monk, he visited various monasteries in

Peloponnesia The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

and on the islands of Hydra,

Tinos Tinos ( ) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It forms part of the Cyclades archipelago. The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of and a 2021 census population of 8,934 inhabitants. Tinos is famous amo ...

Paros Paros (; ; ) is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. Part of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos (island), Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of Piraeus. The Co ...

, and

Ikaria Ikaria, also spelled Icaria (; ), is a Greece, Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos. Administratively, Ikaria forms a separate municipality within the Ikaria (regional unit), Ikaria regional unit, ...

, where he met various Orthodox elders.

St. Panteleimon Monastery

, Daniel met St. Arsenios of Paros ( ''or'' ; d. 1877). In response to the young Dimitrios' request to stay and practice with him, St. Arsenios of Paros recommended him to go to the then famous and flourishing

St. Panteleimon Monastery Saint Panteleimon Monastery (, ), also known as Rossikon ( ) or New Russik (, ), is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries on Mount Athos, located on the southwestern side of the peninsula in Northern Greece. It is the Russian monastery o ...

. He became a monk at St. Panteleimon Monastery in 1866, where he was held in esteem by the Greek abbot of the monastery and the other, mostly Greek monks. The monk Daniel, during this period, served as secretary of the monastery. From 1874 to 1875, Russian monks tried to control

, resulting in quarrels and tensions. As a result, the Greek monks left, among them the monk Daniel who moved to Little St. Anne's Skete.

In Thessaloniki

Due to the tensions at

, Daniel was summoned to the

Ecumenical Patriarchate The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen Autocephaly, autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. ...

and was punished with permanent removal from Mount Athos. He was sent to Metropolitan Joachim of Thessaloniki (who later became Ecumenical Patriarch

Joachim III of Constantinople Joachim III of Constantinople (; 30 January 1834 – 30 November 1912) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1878 to 1884 and from 1901 to 1912. Joachim was born in Constantinople on 30 January 1834, with Aromanian origin from Kruš ...

) who, recognizing the injustice, suggested that he stay in a monastery of the

Metropolis of Thessaloniki The Metropolis of Thessaloniki () is a Greek Orthodox metropolitan see based in the city of Thessaloniki in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is part of the so-called "New Lands", belonging to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constan ...

. Thus, Daniel chose the Monastery of St. Anastasia Pharmakolytria () in

Vasilika, Thessaloniki Vasilika () is a community and a municipal unit of the Thermi municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform the municipal unit of Vasilika was an independent municipality, with the respective community being the seat. The 2021 census recor ...

. There, Daniel contributed to the revitalization of the monastery by introducing the Athonite rite in fasting and services. Since the Russian monks' deconsecration of

and the successful appointment of the Russian Abbot Makarios, Daniel's exile was overturned. He was allowed return to Mount Athos, but not to St. Panteleimon Monastery.

Return to Mount Athos

Returning to

, he stayed for about five years at the Holy Monastery of

Vatopedi The Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi (, ) is an Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos, Greece. The monastery was expanded several times during its history, particularly during the Byzantine period and in the 18t ...

, where he was said to have been miraculously cured of

renal colic Renal colic (literally, kidney pain), also known as ureteric colic (literally, pain in the ureters), is characterized by severe abdominal pain that is spasmodic in nature. This pain is primarily caused by an obstruction of one or both ureters fr ...

. He was sent from the Monastery of

to his hometown, Smyrna, to settle the affairs of the monastery's

metochion A ''metochion'' or ''metochi'' ( or ; ) is an ecclesiastical embassy church within Eastern Orthodox tradition. It is usually from one autocephalous or autonomous church to another. The term is also used to refer to a parish representation (or ...

there. He remained in Smyrna for nine months. The Metropolitan Meletius of Smyrna was impressed by Daniel, and offered him the opportunity to remain in Smyrna and be ordained bishop as his assistant. However, Daniel refused, as he wanted to live a contemplative life, and thus returned to Mount Athos. In 1881, he established his hut in

on Mount Athos, which was the foundation for the present-day retreat of the Danieleian (or Danielaioi/Daniilei) Brotherhood in Katounakia. Daniel practiced the art of

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

and handed it down to his brotherhood, which still practices it today. He is also known for his essays and hundreds of letters on spiritual and theological matters. Daniel was spiritually connected with St. Nectarios of Pentapolis, with Elder , and with Elder Theodosia (Abbess of Kechrovouni Monastery in

), the writer (later Monk Andronikos), whom Daniel helped in his monastic orientation, and with many other spiritual figures of his time. In the 1920s,

Joseph the Hesychast Joseph the Hesychast (; born Fragkiskos Kottis, ; 12 February 1897 – 15 August 1959) was a Greek Orthodox monk and elder who led a small group of monks at Monastic community of Mount Athos, Mount Athos. He was canonized as a saint by the Ecumen ...

became his disciple. One of his disciples was Elder Kallinikos the Vigilant (also known as Kallinikos the Hesychast; died 1930). He died on

8 September Events Pre-1600 * 70 – After the capture of Herod's Palace the previous day, a Roman army under Titus secures and plunders the city of Jerusalem. * 617 – Battle of Huoyi: Li Yuan defeats a Sui dynasty army, opening the path to h ...

1929, on the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.

Canonization

On 20 October 2019, at the Protaton Church in Karyes on Mt. Athos,

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Bartholomew (born Dimitrios Archontonis, 29 February 1940) is the current Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople since 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals) in the Eastern Orthodox ...

announced the

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

of four great 20th-century Athonite elders, including:
Elder Joseph the Hesychast, Three Other 20th-Century Athonite Elders Canonized
'' Orthodox Christianity. Mt. Athos, October 21, 2019. * Daniel of Katounakia (died 1929) * (died 1957) *

(died 1959) *

Ephraim of Katounakia Saint Ephraim of Katounakia or Efrem/Ephraim Katounakiotis (; born Evangelos Papanikitas (; 6 December 1912 – 27 February 1998) was a Greek Orthodox monk who lived on Mount Athos. He was canonized as a saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Co ...

(died 1998) He was canonized as a saint on 9 March 2020, along with the three other monks listed above.

References

External links

* Daniel Katounakiotis at OrthodoxWiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel Katounakiotis 1846 births 1929 deaths 19th-century Christian saints 19th-century Christian mystics 20th-century Christian saints 20th-century Christian mystics Christian ascetics Athonite Fathers Eastern Orthodox mystics Eastern Orthodox monks Greek saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Hesychasts Smyrniote Greeks People associated with St. Panteleimon Monastery People associated with Vatopedi Saints of modern Greece