Daniil Sihastrul
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Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
for "Daniel the Hesychast
Hesychasm
Hesychasm is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some of the Eastern Catholic Churches, such as the Byzantine Rite, practised by the Hesychast Hesychasm is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some of the Eastern Catholic Churches,...
"; after 1400 — ca. 1482), a saint of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The Primate of the church has the title of Patriarch...
, was born into a peasant family at the beginning of the 15th century in a village near Rădăuţi
Radauti
Rădăuţi is a municipality in Suceava County, Romania with a population of 27,759 inhabitants.-Geography and demographics:Rădăuţi is situated in Bucovina, northern Moldavia, on a plain between the Suceava and Suceviţa rivers, north from Suceava, at 375 m altitude...
, and baptised under the name Dumitru. He was given the name David when he entered Bogdana Monastery
Bogdana Monastery
Bogdana Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the town of Rădăuți, northern Romania. Its church is the oldest still standing religious building in Moldavia. The monastery was built by Bogdan I of Moldavia somewhere around 1360....
as a youth. Desiring a more eremitical
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
life, he moved to Saint Laurence Monastery near Vicovu de Sus
Vicovu de Sus
Vicovu de Sus is a town in northern Suceava County, on the border with Ukraine. The town administers one village, Bivolărie.-History:It was bought by Ştefan cel Mare for Putna Monastery in the year 1466...
, where he became Daniil. However, he left for a mountain cave hermitage that he dug in a rock, where many came for confession and spiritual guidance. One of his visitors was the young prince Stephen III of Moldavia
Stephen III of Moldavia
Stephen III of Moldavia was Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504 and the most prominent representative of the House of Mușat.During his reign, he strengthened Moldavia and maintained its independence against the ambitions of Hungary, Poland, and the...
, who on Daniil's advice began Putna Monastery
Putna Monastery
The Putna monastery is a Romanian Orthodox monastery, one of the most important cultural, religious and artistic centers established in medieval Moldavia; as with many others, it was built and dedicated by Prince Stephen the Great. Putna was founded on the lands perambulated by the Putna...
nearby in 1466. However, when Stephen wished to make Daniil the metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
, the monk withdrew to Voroneţ in 1470. Six years later, when Stephen was about to cede the region to the Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
to avoid more bloodshed after his defeat at Războieni, Daniil prophesied that he would eventually be victorious, which proved to be the case. This visit was the subject of a poem by Dimitrie Bolintineanu
Dimitrie Bolintineanu
Dimitrie Bolintineanu was a Romanian poet , diplomat, politician, and a participant in the revolution of 1848. He was of Macedonian Aromanian origins...
. In 1488, after Daniil's death, Stephen built a monastery
Voronet Monastery
Voroneț is a monastery in Romania, located in the town of Gura Humorului, Moldavia. It is one of the famous painted monasteries from southern Bukovina, in Suceava County...
at Voroneţ in honour of his victory; the monk was buried there. Long venerated locally, the church canonised him formally on 20 July 1992; his feast day is 18 December.
It is located in the North-East of Romania