Saint Danilo, Archbishop of Serbia

Life

Danilo was the son of wealthy and God-loving parents. In his youth He was well educated. King Milutin took him to his court, but Danilo out of great love for God fled and became a monk at the Konchul Monastery beside the Ibar River. Later He was abbot of Hilandar and suffered much from the plundering Latin crusaders. He was Bishop of Banja, then of Hum, and finally Archbishop of Serbia. From beginning to end He was a strict ascetic and had the special gift of tears. Danilo reconciled King Dragutin and Milutin, then Milutin and Stefan Dečanski. He fought strongly against the Latins as well as against the Bogomils. Under his supervision the monasteries of Banja and Dečani were built. He restored and built many churches, and he wrote the genealogy of the Serbian kings and saints. Tireless in service to God until the end of his life, Danilo reposed peacefully in the time of Emperor Dušan, in the night between December 19 and 20, 1338. He was great hierarch, a great ascetic, a great laborer and a great patriot.