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Martyrdom

The day of Fr. Daniel's martyrdom started with the Divine Liturgy and Holy Communion. He baptized a child and conducted a confirmation in Orthodoxy of a person who had slipped into occultism. In the evening Fr.Daniel had his usual Bible homilies after which he remained in the temple for a long time talking to the listeners and answering their questions.

When almost everyone left the temple he went into the altar to hear a confession. At this moment the killer broke in the church. He was wearing mask and had a gun in his hand. He shouted: "Where is Sysoev?" Shooting in the air he wounded the choir master. Father Daniel walked out of the altar saying: "I am here" and walked fearlessly towards the killer. He was then fatally wounded. The killer then ran out of the church and Fr. Daniel died within a few hours never regaining consciousness. He was 35 years old and left his wife and three daughters.