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Moscow
was founded in 1147 by Grand Prince Yuri Dolgoruky who
founded a Kremlin (fortress) where the rivers Moskva and
Neglinnaya meet. The city was the site of many raids, and as it
enlarged, it fortified it's new areas. First with the area known
as Kitay-Gorod, then Beliy Gorod inside the present Boulevard
Ring. Next came the Zemlyanoy Gorod inside the Garden ring.
Outside of this a series of fortified Monasteries protected the
city. One of these is the Danilov Monastery.
The Monastery was founded in 1282 by the son of Alexander Nevsky, Prince Daniil Alexandrovich who
was the Prince of Moscow from 1276-1303, and founder of the
Rurik Dynasty. In 1330 Ivan Kalita (the only surviving son of
Daniil) dissolved the Monastery and moved it's monks and icons
into the Kremlin. It underwent a revival during the reign of Ivan
IV (the Terrible 1547-1584) and new church buildings were
constructed.
Daniil was cannonized in 1652 and the monastery was renamed in
his honor. He was laid to rest in a golden coffin in the
Cathedral of the Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils.
This church was built by Ivan IV in 1565 On the original site
of St. Daniil's church. The fresco of St, Daniil is the oldest
in the church. The first church had been dedicated to St. Daniil
Stolpnik and the cloisters were also named after him.
In the seventeenth century, the cathedral precincts were
encircled by a crenellated wall with ten towers, and included an
alms house and hospital.
The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity which dominates the complex
today was built in the nineteenth century to the design of Osip
I. Bove in the neo-classical style. Although, after the October
Revolution the monastery was officially closed, it survived as
the last working monastery in Russia until 1930,when the monks
were expelled and it was used for a children's home and as a
reformatory for young offenders.
In 1983 the state handed the monastery back to the Orthodox
Church, which restored it fully. The four church buildings now
show forth in all their ancient splendor and quite a few new
buildings have been constructed, including the Patriarch's
residence, the administrative wing of the Holy Synod, and
accommodation for the monks.
In 1988, on the occasion of the celebrations in honor of the
millenium of the birth of Christianity in Russia, The patriarch
of Moscow and all Russia, together with his holy synod, moved
his seat from the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Zagorsk to
the Danilov Monastery in Moscow. A modern press center was
opened in 1988 and a hotel was added.
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