The biography of priest Daniil Sysoev is very interesting, despite the fact that he lived a short life. The rector of the Moscow Church of St. Thomas the Apostle on Kantemirovskaya, he is an active man with his own position; he devoted his entire life to faith and people. He founded the Orthodox Missionary School and actively preached to people.
He died when he was very young - at the age of 35, at the hands of an undetected killer in a temple, while performing his priestly duties. People who came to him believe that Father Daniel, a holy martyr, should be awarded canonization.
The path from seminarian to priesthood
17-year-old Sysoev, after graduating from school, on the recommendation of priest Artemy Vladimirov, was enrolled as a seminarian at the Moscow Theological Seminary, where he soon became a singer and director in the mixed choir of the school of regents.
Before reaching his 20th birthday, as a seminarian, he already:
- had a strong conviction in the saving power of Orthodoxy;
- knew all the canons;
- had heated discussions with both students and teachers if he saw that someone was compromising.
In 1994, Bishop Rostislav (Desyatov) of Magadan ordained seminarian Sysoev as a reader. His life resembles a rapid flight, as if anticipating trouble, the Lord blesses the young man to live the time allotted to him to the maximum.
At the age of 20, Daniil meets the daughter of a businessman, Yulia Mikhailovna Brykina, and marries her. After graduating from the seminary in 1995, he was ordained to the sacred rank of deacon, and in the same year he entered the correspondence department of the Moscow Theological Academy.
The deacon of the Goncharovsky Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, seeing compromises in the ministry of Archimandrite Boris (Dobrev), is not afraid to talk about them with the rector of the church.
Father Daniel graduated from the Theological Academy in 2000 with a candidate of theology degree, having defended his dissertation on the topic “Anthropology of the Seventh-day Adventists and the Watchtower Society and its analysis.”
Important! At the beginning of 2001, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II ordained Sysoev to the rank of priest.
Cleric Sysoev serves in the Church of Peter and Paul in Yasenevo, where Melchizedek (Artyukhin) was appointed abbot, and then moves to the Krutitsy courtyard as a priest of the Church of the Resurrection of the Word under rector Anatoly Berestov.
With the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II, in 2003 he began his independent journey, organized a community in the Kantemirovsky district and began to lead the construction of a new church in honor of the Prophet Daniel, his heavenly patron.
Memoirs of Father Georgy (Maksimov)
Father George received a call immediately after the tragedy with a request for prayer for the servant of God Daniel. He immediately hurried to the Church of St. Thomas on Kantemirovskaya. I managed to arrive at the moment when Father Daniil was being taken out by ambulance, and he was still alive. By midnight it became known about the death of Daniil Sysoev. At this time, a service was being held at the temple, since they were not allowed inside (the police and the Federal Security Service were working).
This priest is remembered as a truthful and sincere person. He never lied or was a hypocrite. God was at the core of his life. Father Daniel remained in memory as a bright, sincere believer and friend.
Teaching and missionary activities
By 2006, the temporary throne of the Apostle Thomas was erected and consecrated, where Abbot Daniel founded a missionary school, teaching parishioners to preach on the street, calling passers-by to the Orthodox faith. His wife Yulia Sysoeva, at that time the mother of three daughters, supports her husband in everything, being a reliable rear.
Priest Sysoev began his teaching career as a student in 1995, reading the Law of God at the Orthodox classical gymnasium.
Since 2000, he has been working as a teacher of liturgics at the Moscow Theological Courses at the Metochion of the Holy Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage.
Since 2004, for five years, he has been teaching liturgics and missiology to students at the Perervinsk Orthodox Theological Seminary at the Nikolo-Perervinsk monastery.
Father Daniel at the service
The priest called bringing the message about eternal life and the Kingdom of Heaven to the broad masses missionary work. Since 1997, first at the Krutitsky courtyard, and since 2006 in the Church of the Apostle Thomas, every Thursday he gathered parishioners - missionaries, doing a detailed analysis of the Bible, using interpretations made by John Chrysostom and other Fathers of the Church.
Father Daniel paid special attention to missionary work in remote villages of Tatarstan, in 2007 he made a missionary trip to the Kryashens, an ethnic Tatar people.
During a missionary trip to Kyrgyzstan in 2008, in addition to sermons in Orthodox churches, he held conversations with the local population, performed several baptisms, and carried the word of God while visiting the Muslim city of Osh.
2009 was marked by a new missionary group trip to Tatarstan; in addition, Sysoev made personal trips to many Russian cities and parishes in Macedonia.
Interesting! An ardent champion of the Orthodox faith holds discussions with Muslim preachers, the debate “Are the Bible or the Koran revelations of God?” caused many comments on both sides, especially after Father Daniel ordered the painting of the holy image “The Council of Saints from Islam who converted to Orthodoxy.”
The priest did not bypass the Old Believers either, holding thematic meetings “Rite and Faith”, “Old and New Rites” and others. Daniil Sysoev's sermons are shown on radio and television.
"Beginnings"
The chronicle of “Beginnings” by Daniil Sysoev was released in 1999. The book describes in easy and understandable language the foundation of the Earth from ancient times to the present day. The priest clearly explains the role of Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark in the creation of the world. The text is written in a unique, individual style.
In the book you can find answers to all questions about the origin of life on Earth and the meaning of existence. It puts into place all available biblical knowledge and structures thoughts about the emergence of nations. Father Daniel presents to the public evidence of the Divine creation of the world, confirming this with modern scientific discoveries.
Active Orthodox position
Just some twenty years ago it was difficult to imagine that in Moscow, the mothers of Russian Orthodoxy would kill priests for preaching the Christian faith. Father Daniel's missionary work was aimed at preaching and converting people from the Tatar and Chechen people to the true faith.
He conducted constant polemics and discussions with Muslim preachers, talking about patriotism and creationism. Even Orthodox ministers criticized his harsh statements against Islam; the ardent defender of Orthodoxy received threats from skinheads, Old Believers, occultists and sectarians.
It would seem that there is no side of worldly life that the priest would not write about. He considered yoga, karate and belly dancing immoral and forbidden for Christians. His position in “Uranopolitism” was based on the fact that we are all relatives by the blood of Jesus Christ, and nationalism leads to a departure from true Christianity.
He activated his negative attitude towards communism in calls to demolish the mausoleum and thus perform an act of repentance. Sysoev’s book “Marriage with a Muslim” literally blew up the Muslim world; Father Daniil was accused of inciting ethnic hatred, and lawsuits were filed against him more than once.
Book by D. Sysoev “Names of the Most High God”
The Old Believers were outraged by Sysoev’s book “Reflections on Archpriest Avvakum, Church Troubles and Love for the Motherland”; they attributed slander, lies, distortion of history to the author of the scandalous book and incitement of interreligious enmity. The results of clarifying this problem were discussions around a round table, organized at the suggestion of Patriarch Kirill.
The restless priest did not leave the Orthodox believers alone, addressing them in his books:
- “Why go to church every Sunday?”
- “Who is like God?”
- "Married to an Unbeliever"
- “Why haven’t you been baptized yet” and many others.
Books by Daniil Sysoev
During his life, he wrote more than 30 articles and books on religious topics, including some in Latvian. The title of this work by Father translated means “Instructions for the Immortals.” His works undoubtedly play a huge role for the entire modern Orthodox world.
Moral and ascetic works
His moral and ascetic works include “Marrying an Unbeliever,” “Why Go to Temple Every Sunday,” and many others.
His works tell us about the close interweaving of our everyday experiences with religious ones, about the problems and solutions that the Orthodox faith offers us. He says that every person is a sinner, everyone makes their own mistakes, but everyone also has a chance to correct them, and everyone will be forgiven by the Lord.
Theological books
In his theological books, he talks about biblical events and personalities. Such stories contain an interpretation of certain events, commandments, as well as discussions about God and his unity, about his representation in other religions, and about the correctness of this representation from the Orthodox point of view.
Among these books:
- “Interpretation of the book of the prophet Daniel”;
- “In simple words about the mystery of the Trinity”;
- "A Protestant's Walk through an Orthodox Church."
Other articles and works
There is a fairly large number of publications of his articles, most of which were published in the Holy Fire magazine, as well as in several collections.
All of them are devoted to the same topics as his books: the everyday problems of the common man, his mental anguish, stories about Orthodox saints and church holidays and customs, discussions about the relationship between faiths, about the causes of quarrels between them and about the view of all this from the outside. sides of Orthodox Christianity, about who God is, about the correctness of the teachings about him and about his unity.
Murder in the temple and posthumous veneration
This day, November 19, 2009, did not foretell trouble. After the Liturgy, the priest performed the Sacrament of Communion and took communion himself, then performed the Baptism of a child and an adult who had previously apostatized from the true faith and fell into the occult.
During biblical discussions, a man in a medical mask burst into the Church of the Apostle Thomas and mortally wounded Priest Daniel with two shots, after which he died on November 20 during surgery.
The funeral lithium was performed by Patriarch Kirill after the funeral service for the deceased on November 23, 209 in the Church of Peter and Paul in Yasenevo by Archbishop Arseny (Epifanov). In his speech, Patriarch Kirill emphasized that death for the sake of the Orthodox faith is the most powerful word, if opponents of Orthodoxy have not found another way against Christian truth.
During the litia, there were more than a thousand parishioners and 237 clergy in the temple. The grave of Father Daniil Sysoev is located in the Moscow Kuntsevo cemetery near the Church of the Savior of the Image Not Made by Hands on Setun.
The reason for the murder was unanimously given as Father Daniel’s active position on Islamic issues. According to political scientist Stanislav Belkovsky, the priest was removed by order of a large company laying claim to the land plot of the Church of the Apostle Thomas.
Father Daniel was the rector of the Church of the Apostle Thomas in Moscow
According to Hieromonk Job (Homerov), God’s warriors cannot be killed, they can only be crowned, and Hieromonk Dmitry (Pershin) emphasized this in his last word with words from the Bible, that there is no need to be afraid of those who kill the body.
Notes of a priest
Daniil Sysoev's wife, Yulia, after his death, published several books on religious topics. Her first work is “Notes of a Priest.” The book is designed to erase the boundaries between an ordinary person and a priest. It reveals the secret of the life of clergy and their families.
The first book was a success, and later Julia published several more works. In one of them, “God Doesn’t Pass By,” the theme of changing religion is revealed. Thus, the missionary activity of Father Daniel found a response in the works of his wife. And even after his tragic death, ideas and devotion to the faith of Christ live on in the people close to him.
[edit] Links
- Sysoev's page on narod.ru
- Debriefing in Sysoev’s book “Instructions for immortals or what to do if you still die
.” Pay attention to the comments!
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“If you want to see miracles, become a missionary...”
Father Daniil Sysoev is the rector of the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle and the organizer of the community of the temple under construction in honor of the Prophet Daniel on Kantemirovskaya. The reason for our meeting was the opening of a missionary center in the name of St. Thomas the Apostle. With o. Daniil was interviewed by Olga Kurova.
— Father Daniel, the reason for our conversation is the opening of a missionary center. It is easy to guess that this was preceded by a lot of preliminary work. Please tell us how it all began.
— If you remember the very beginning, it would probably be 1993, when I was a missionary right on the streets. And since August 1996, I have been completely officially, with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, conducting missionary Bible conversations at the Krutitsky Patriarchal Metochion. These conversations were first intended to convert Protestants, then more and more occultists and victims of various “sorcerers” began to appear. And then I took up missions among Muslims. So our center is open to victims of psychics and totalitarian sects, and to young people who want to get acquainted with the basics of Christianity, and to people of other faiths.
— What goals do you set for yourself?
— Not long ago we consecrated a temporary temple in the name of St. Apostle Thomas. A large missionary church is being built in honor of the prophet Daniel, in which there will be a chapel of the Apostle Thomas. This chapel is already functioning today, for now as a separate temple. One of our goals is to convert non-Christians, mostly non-Russians, to Christ. The Kantemirovskaya district, where it is located, is an area of various diasporas. In addition, sects are very active here. Not far from the temple there is a large Mormon center; there are also Baptists, Adventists, and occultists in the area. But until recently there were no Orthodox Christians.
We have opened a catechumen school about the foundations of Christianity. Every five weeks we have a cycle of five public conversations for those who want to be baptized or simply learn more about Christianity. The Society of Orthodox Tatars is already operating at the temple and the Information Agency of St. Akhmet is developing its activities.
In the near future, we want to hold an Open Day: we will post notices throughout the area that on such and such a day everyone can come to the temple and ask the priest any question. In the future, we would like to organize such a Day once every three months.
We also work with young people - MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) is located nearby. It’s strange that we are the first to think of holding prayer services before the session. Prayer services before the start of the school year have already become a tradition in all Orthodox churches, but the session is a much more intense time. But for some reason, students limit themselves to sometimes lighting candles. We perform prayer services before the session after the liturgy and invite all students.
— Are you, father, really coping with all this mass of affairs alone? Do you have assistants, some kind of initiative group?
— Yes, there is an initiative group; it was formed at the Krutitsky courtyard. This is also the Tatar Orthodox community, which has existed since 2003. But, of course, a variety of Christians belonging to a variety of nations participate in the work of mission. After the feast of the Epiphany we hope to open missionary courses. Perhaps later on their basis we will create a missionary institute that will train preachers of the Gospel. There will be all kinds of preaching: street, online, in universities. We want to take away the sectarians' weapons.
— How do you work with diasporas? For example, Azerbaijanis live on Kantemirovskaya. How can you enter their environment, what can you talk to them about?
— I can’t say anything about the Azerbaijani community, because I have not yet established contacts with them. I can tell you a lot about the Tatar diaspora. I have repeatedly performed at the Tatar Cultural Center and traveled to Kazan to give performances. Tatars are the third largest nationality in Moscow. And our work is going quite successfully: many Tatars, especially young ones, are converting to Christianity. Since 2003, I have been conducting prayer services in the Tatar language for the conversion of the lost.
Our task is to destroy the barriers that exist in the culture of various peoples and prevent them from accepting Orthodoxy. The news that Orthodoxy is a universal faith to which all peoples are called is still scandalous.
— How should a real young missionary behave with his peers?
— A missionary must be the first to start talking about God, otherwise he is not a missionary at all. But, at the same time, you need to soberly assess your strengths and knowledge. You need to know the answers to the most frequently asked questions from your peers about Christianity. We must remember that the best self-defense is an offensive. You should never be embarrassed to say that you are right and they are wrong. There is no need to bow down in front of every listener. But, at the same time, proving that you are right, you cannot humiliate another person. Christ died for every person. We must remember that it is the person who should be respected, not his delusions. There must be rejection of lies, and love for the person
It is often difficult for a teenager to go against the team, to become a “black sheep,” but it is necessary to have courage. Previously, in the days of my youth, standing out, being different from others was considered prestigious, I think this tradition needs to be revived. "White Crow" is a noble bird. A true Christian must understand this. And if you don’t have enough strength, ask God. The young missionary, of course, must be prepared for the fact that his words may cause scandal and indignation. You shouldn't be afraid of this. Our mission is to say unpleasant things. Have you noticed that when you read the Bible, your soul becomes heavy: this Book begins to judge you. But this does not mean that the truth should be hidden. The Lord himself said - woe to you when all people speak well of you.
Another mistake that can befall a missionary is an attempt to focus the mission on certain groups of people. A mission for children, a mission for youth appears... Many smart, deep young people do not accept this mission. Why? Yes, because when we address young people in their language, as if condescendingly, we fix them at the level they have already achieved. And we must raise them higher, raise them to wisdom, and not leave them at the level that they may have already outgrown. Even with children it is better to speak like adults than like children. Makarevich, remember, sang in a very Christian way: “You shouldn’t bend to the changing world.” This should become the slogan not only of missionaries, but of all Orthodox Christians.
And, of course, we must not forget to pray and go to church, because sometimes misunderstood missionary work captivates a person so much that he does not pray and does not go to church.
— Why is it necessary to go to church every Sunday?
“Because the Lord gave this commandment: six days for yourself, the seventh day for the Lord God.” He has the right to demand that we give Him some of our time as a sacrifice. Secondly, we must remember about the Heavenly Lord, about the Heavenly Homeland.
If you like, all of us Christians are terrorists. We are members of a rebel army that is rebelling against the prince of this world (the devil). Churches are places of connection. There we receive instructions from our leadership: codes (the Gospel), we receive reinforcement (Holy Communion), we receive support through mutual communication. We learn various tricks on how to correctly carry out terrorist acts against the prince of this world, that is, to do good deeds. Naturally, if an agent of the Kingdom of Heaven skimps on visiting headquarters and does not get in touch with the Center, he risks getting lost, exhausted and killed. According to the rules of the Church, a person who, without a good reason, has not been to the Divine Liturgy for three Sundays in a row is excommunicated from communion.
Often those who do not visit the temple begin to get tired very quickly. If someone thinks that he will sleep off the whole week on Sunday instead of attending the liturgy, he will very soon realize that Sunday sleep turns out to be no joy for him at all. You can eat a lamb, but remain hungry; you can sleep for 25 hours, but feel sleep-deprived. If God does not give you strength, you will not find it anywhere or in anything.
If you are in love with someone, then you constantly want to see the object of your love and communicate. You shouldn't be forced to go on a date, should you? Christianity is built on love between God and man.
It is also very important not to make excuses for yourself if you miss a church service. We will find a thousand apologies, but this will only make things worse for us. We must fight mercilessly against sin and laziness. Christians are a different kind of being. There is Homo sapiens, and there is Homo Christianus. Christians should associate with members of their own species.
- Why do Christians have a different nature?
- A Christian is a person plus the Divine power given to him in Baptism. And a non-Christian is just a person, moreover, enslaved by the devil. The Holy Spirit in the heart or the devil in the heart - is there a difference?
— Everyone has their own way to the temple. But as a missionary, you probably have many amazing stories of people being converted.
Why go far - we have Tatyana Imranovna in our church, my closest assistant. She came from Islam to the occult, and from there, having encountered unpleasant things that frightened her, to Orthodoxy. She came to Christ - at first simply as salvation. And then she began to become a church member. And the deeper she became a church member, the worse her relatives treated her. But it’s strange - the worse they treated her, the more problems they had. For example, they cursed her, threw out icons - their dacha burned down that same night. Here is an example of how God stands up for his own.
There are also examples of miraculous healings. One day, the parents of a child, Pentecostals, came to me. At one time they took the child to all sorts of “psychics”. As a result, his temperature rose to 39 degrees and lasted for three months. There was nothing they could do to knock her down. We baptized him, and very solemnly, at the Baptismal Liturgy. He stood, of course, very weak, but he was keenly interested in everything. Afterwards we gave him Holy Communion and he went home. Went to bed, woke up - 36.6. And since then he has not been sick for several years.
It often happens that you have explained everything to a person, laid it out, and he agrees with you in his mind, but does not accept you in his heart. And I prayed for him - he immediately changed. After prayers for the conversion of the lost, several people always get baptized.
So if you want to see many miracles, become a missionary or a martyr. They say that if you want to anoint someone with myrrh, first you pour it on your hand and smell it, and then you anoint someone else. So it is here - if you want to tell others about the power of God, first you will feel it in yourself.
Source: www.pravmir.ru
The main secret of Christians
The book contains an interpretation for new believers. For many people who have converted to Orthodoxy, the process of worship and the understanding of the process of the Liturgy and the All-Night Vigil are not easy for them. It is for such believers that the book was written.
It reveals the meaning of the language of the clergy, the beauty of church action. Father Daniil Sysoev in “The Main Secret of Christians” talks about the differences in daily services and prayer services for Holy Holidays. Reveals the meaning of actions and conveys in simple language the essence of what is happening under the church vaults. Reveals for the reader the secret meaning of communion.
