Saint Daniel Katounakiotis of Smyrna (Greek: Δανιήλ Κατουνακιώτης ο Σμυρναίος, also known as Daniel of Katounakia; born Dimitrios Dimitriadis, Greek: Δημήτριος Δημητριάδης) (Smyrna, 1846 – Mount Athos, 8 September 1929)[1] was a Greek Orthodox monk who lived on Mount Athos. He was canonized as a saint by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2020. His feast is commemorated on September 7.[2]
Today, he is known as the founder of the Danielaioi Brotherhood [el], which is still currently located in Katounakia at the southernmost tip of the Athos peninsula.[3]
Early years
He was born in Smyrna (now İzmir in western Turkey) in 1846. He was the youngest son of a large family and graduated with honors from the Evangelical School of Smyrna, the educational institution of the Greek community of Smyrna.[4][5]
When he was 19, desiring to become a monk, he visited various monasteries in Peloponnesia and on the islands of Hydra, Tinos, Paros, and Ikaria, where he met various Orthodox elders.[6]
St. Panteleimon Monastery
In Paros, Daniel met St. Arsenios of Paros (Greek: Αρσένιος της ΠάρουorΑρσένιος o εν Πάρω; d. 1877).[7] In response to the young Dimitrios' request to stay and practice with him, St. Arsenios of Paros recommended him to go to the then famous and flourishing St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos. He became a monk at St. Panteleimon Monastery in 1866, where he was held in esteem by the Greek abbot of the monastery and the other, mostly Greek monks. The monk Daniel, during this period, served as secretary of the monastery.
From 1874 to 1875, Russian monks tried to control St. Panteleimon Monastery, resulting in quarrels and tensions. As a result, the Greek monks left, among them the monk Daniel who moved to Little St. Anne's Skete.[8]
Returning to Mount Athos, he stayed for about five years at the Holy Monastery of Vatopedi, where he was said to have been miraculously cured of renal colic. He was sent from the Monastery of Vatopedi to his hometown, Smyrna, to settle the affairs of the monastery's metochion there. He remained in Smyrna for nine months. The Metropolitan Meletius of Smyrna was impressed by Daniel, and offered him the opportunity to remain in Smyrna and be ordained bishop as his assistant. However, Daniel refused, as he wanted to live a contemplative life, and thus returned to Mount Athos. In 1881, he established his hut in Katounakia on Mount Athos, which was the foundation for the present-day retreat of the Danieleian (or Danielaioi/Daniilei) Brotherhood in Katounakia.[3][11]
Daniel practiced the art of hagiography and handed it down to his brotherhood, which still practices it today. He is also known for his essays and hundreds of letters on spiritual and theological matters.[3]