Daniel (russian: Даниил) (before 1492 – May 22, 1547) was the Metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus' from 1522 to1539. He was the eighth Metropolitan in Moscow to be appointed without the approval of the

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople ( Istanbul), New Rome and ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

as had been the norm. He represented the belligerent ecclesiastic circle that was interested in alliance with the princely authority. Daniel was a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery Joseph Volokolamsk Monastery (Иосифо-Волоколамский монастырь, Волоцкий Успенский Иосифов монастырь in Russian language, Russian) is a monastery for men, located 17 km northeast of V ...

and a student of

Joseph Volotsky Joseph Volotsky — also known as Joseph of Volotsk or Joseph of Volokolamsk (russian: Ио́сиф Во́лоцкий); secular name Ivan Sanin (russian: Ива́н Са́нин) (1439 or 1440 – September 9, 1515) — was a prominent Russian ...

. In 1515, he was elected

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

of the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

, which had been under the patronage of

Vasili III Vasili III Ivanovich (russian: Василий III Иванович, 25 March 14793 December 1533) was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1505 to 1533. He was the son of Ivan III Vasiliyevich and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name ...

. When Daniel became

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a ty ...

, he assisted Vasili III in summoning the Prince of

Seversk Seversk ( rus, Се́верск, p=ˈsʲevʲɪrsk) is a closed city in Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located northwest of Tomsk on the right bank of the Tom River. Population: It was previously known as ''Pyaty Pochtovy'' (until 1949) and ''Tomsk-7'' ...

Vasili Shemyachich Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy ( Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to '' Basil''. It may refer to: * Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425 *Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and imprisoning him. In 1525, bypassing the ecclesiastic

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

s, Daniel sanctioned the divorce between Vasili III and his childless wife

Solomonia Saburova Saint Solomonia Yuryevna Saburova (russian: Соломония Юрьевна Сабурова) (c. 1490 – 18 December 1542) was the first wife of Grand Prince Vasili III of Muscovy. She was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint ''S ...

, which caused general discontent in

Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domest ...

. Daniel was the initiator of a number of church councils (''sobory'') between 1525 and 1531, which condemned the opponents of the

Josephinians Joseph Volotsky — also known as Joseph of Volotsk or Joseph of Volokolamsk (russian: Ио́сиф Во́лоцкий); secular name Ivan Sanin (russian: Ива́н Са́нин) (1439 or 1440 – September 9, 1515) — was a prominent Russian ...

Maximus the Greek Maximus the Greek, also known as Maximos the Greek or Maksim Grek (; ; –1556), was a Greek monk, publicist, writer, scholar, and translator active in Russia. He is also called Maximos the Hagiorite (), as well as Maximus the Philosopher.. His ...

and

Vassian Patrikeyev Vassian Patrikeyev, also known as Vassian Kosoy (''Вассиан Патрикеев'', ''Вассиан Косой'' in Russian; real name – knyaz ''Василий Иванович Патрикеев'', or Vasili Ivanovich Patrikeyev) (c. 1470 ...

. While on his deathbed, Vasili III asked Daniel to take care of his wife and son. The metropolitan solemnly blessed

Ivan IV Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

in the

Cathedral of the Dormition The Cathedral of the Dormition (russian: Успенский собор , translit = Uspensky sobor), also known as the Assumption Cathedral or Cathedral of the Assumption, is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotok ...

. During the struggle between the

Shuisky The Princes Shuisky (russian: Шуйские, Shuyskiye) was a Rurikid family of Boyars descending from Grand Duke Dimitri Konstantinovich of Vladimir-Suzdal and Prince Andrey Yaroslavich, brother to Alexander Nevsky. The surname is derived ...

family and prince Ivan Belsky in 1538, Daniel supported the latter, for which he would be

defrock Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. It may be grounded on criminal convictions, disciplinary problems, or disagreements over doctrine or ...

ed a year later by the Shuiskys. He died on May 22, 1547 in the

, where he was incarcerated.E.E. Golubinskii, Istoriia russkoi tserkvi, vol. 2, pt. 1 (Moscow: University Press, 1900), p. 736. Daniel was the author of a number of works, condemning

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

s in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. Some historians believe that he was one of the compilers of the

Chronicles of Nikon Chronicles may refer to: * ''Books of Chronicles'', in the Bible * Chronicle, chronological histories * ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', a novel series by C. S. Lewis * ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', the collected works of Raphael Holinshed * '' The Id ...

References

{{s-end Metropolitans of Kiev and all Rus' (Patriarchate of Moscow) 1547 deaths Year of birth unknown