THE HOLY PROPHET DANIEL (DEC. 17TH)

The Traditional Icon of St. Daniel the Prophet, Showing His Head Covered with God’s Word in the Form of a Large Phylacteries or Tefillin

Edited by Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

On December 17, the Western Orthodox Church commemorates the Holy Prophet Daniel, one of the Four Great Prophets of the Old Testament alongside Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. According to the Byzantine Kalendar, it is also the commemoration of his three friends, Azariah, Hananiah and Mishael. St. Daniel’s life and witness are set in the era of the Babylonian Captivity, when the people of Judah were exiled under King Nebuchadnezzar, and his prophetic ministry continued through the reigns of the mighty kings Darius I and Cyrus the Great. His story is one of steadfast faith, unshaken courage, and divine deliverance, offering a foreshadowing of Christ’s victory over sin and death. 

As a youth of noble lineage, Daniel was taken captive to Babylon, where he and his companions - better known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - were trained in the ways of the Babylonian court. Yet Daniel refused to defile himself with the food and drink of the Gentiles, choosing instead a life of fasting and obedience to God’s law. For this, God granted him favor, wisdom, and understanding, surpassing all the sages of the kingdom (Daniel 1:8-20). 

His gift for interpreting dreams brought him before King Nebuchadnezzar, where he revealed and interpreted the king’s vision of the great statue, foretelling the rise and fall of empires and the ultimate establishment of God’s eternal kingdom (Daniel 2:31-45). In this, Daniel became not merely a counselor to kings but a prophet of the coming reign of Christ, the Rock cut without hands that would fill the whole earth. 

St. Daniel’s courage shone brightly amid the trials of captivity. He witnessed God’s deliverance when his companions were cast into the fiery furnace for refusing to worship the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar. From within the flames, they sang praises to the Lord, while a heavenly figure - prefiguring Christ - walked with them in the fire. 

Years later, under King Darius, Daniel himself was tested when envious officials conspired against him, leading to his condemnation for praying openly to the God of Israel. Thrown into the lions’ den, Daniel remained steadfast, trusting in the God who “shutteth the mouths of lions.” By morning, he was found unharmed, and Darius proclaimed, “The God of Daniel is the living God, and steadfast forever, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 6:26). 

The Oldest Icon Depicting Stories from Daniel in the Christian Tradition Come from the Catacomb of Priscilla 

The Motif Would Hold Throughout Ancient Christianity 

Daniel in a Byzantine Basilica 

The Three Companions in the Furnace in the Byzantine Martyrology

A British Anglo-Saxon Icon of the Life of the Prophet Daniel 

A French Medieval Illustration of St. Daniel and a Lion

A High Renaissance Illustration of the Fiery Furnace 

Daniel in the Lion’s Den in a Late 19th Century Greek Icon, Heavily Influenced by Roman Catholic Illustrations 

Another, More Traditional, Greek Icon 

The Western Style Icon, Now Associated with St. Daniel in Both Protestant and Roman Catholic Traditions 

The Prayer of St. Daniel

This miraculous deliverance, recounted in iconography and illuminated manuscripts, is coupled with another divine intervention: the prophet Habakkuk, carried by an angel from Judea to Babylon, brought food to Daniel in the den. This heavenly provision reveals God’s care for His servants and foreshadows the Eucharistic mystery, wherein Christ Himself nourishes the faithful. 

St. Daniel’s prophetic visions extended far beyond his own time. In the vision of the “Son of Man” coming on the clouds (Daniel 7:13-14), he foretold the coming of Christ, to whom all dominion, glory, and kingship would be given. Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27) pointed to the atoning sacrifice of the Messiah and the consummation of all things. His visions of beasts, kingdoms, and the end of days serve as a foundation for Christian eschatology, illuminating the triumph of God’s kingdom over all earthly powers. 

The Church honors St. Daniel as a model of holiness and steadfastness in the face of persecution, a preeminent prophet of Christ, and a symbol of God’s unwavering protection of the faithful. His story calls the Church to prayer, fasting, and trust in God’s promises, reminding us that no worldly power can overcome the steadfast love of the Lord. In the illuminated manuscripts of the medieval Church, such as those illustrating the Commentaries of St. Jerome and the Apocalypse of Beatus of Liébana, Daniel’s story inspired generations to look to the deliverance of the righteous and the coming of God’s eternal kingdom. 

COLLECT

O Almighty God, who didst give to Thy servant Daniel grace to stand firm in the midst of persecution, wisdom to interpret Thy holy will, and faith to trust in Thy deliverance: Grant that we, following his example, may remain steadfast in prayer and obedient to Thy commandments, that we may be found faithful in the day of Christ’s coming; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

#WesternOrthodox #Hagiography #ProphetDaniel #FaithfulServant #LionsDen #BiblicalHeroes #CourageInFaith #OrthodoxTradition #BabylonianCaptivity #DivineDeliverance #ChristForeshadowed #MessianicProphecy #ChurchFathers #SteadfastPrayer #KingdomOfGod