The Cult of St. Daniel the Stylite Among the Russian Princes of the Rurik Dynasty

Abstract

The influence of Grand Princess Euphrosyne (second wife of Prince Roman Mstislavovitch) explains the appearance among the Galician-Volhynian princes of Christian names which were unusual and unique for the Rurikides. This is the name Daniel, which was later included into the name list of the Moscow princes. This name spread among the princes due to the expansion of the cult of St Daniel the Stylite and the rising interest in the attributes of Stylitism. This can be seen in sphragistics and in the numerous architectural monuments of Galician-Volhynian Rus' of the 13th–early 14th century. Thanks to the family links between the Galician-Volhynian and the Vladimir-Suzdal princes, this cult spread in the North-Eastern Rus' and later to Moscow. The fact that Euphrosyne of Galicia was the daughter of Basileus Isaak II explains the unexpected rise of interest in Stylitism among the princes of Rus' and their milieu. According to Niketas Choniates, Emperor Isaak II especially sympathized with the Stylites and the ascetics and patronized them. Thus he astonished his contemporaries, since the Stylites had lost the influence over the emperors that they had exerted at the time of iconoclasm. The Byzantine hagiography concerning Sts. Daniel the Stylite and Leo the Great Tsar explains the connection between the names of Daniel and Leo among the descendants of Roman Mstislavich. Daniel the Stylite was the spiritual father and the main adviser of Emperor Leo I. Apparently this relationship was reflected in the names of the father and the son, the Galician-Volhynian princes Daniel Romanovich and Lev Danilovich.