Day of Remembrance of the Prophet Daniel and the three youths Ananias, Azariah and Misael (30/12)

600 years before the birth of Christ, Jerusalem was conquered by the king of Babylon, the temple erected by Solomon was destroyed, and many of the people of Israel were taken captive.

Among the captives were noble youths Daniel, Ananias, Azariah and Misael. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, ordered that they be taught Chaldean wisdom, raised in luxury, at his court. But they, keeping the commandments of their faith, renounced excesses and led a strict lifestyle; they ate only vegetables and water.

The Lord gave them wisdom, and Saint Daniel — was given the gift of insight and interpretation of dreams.

Soon King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the erection of his image — of a huge statue, which was to be given divine honors. For refusing to do this, the three youths — Ananias, Azariah and Misail — were plunged into a flaming oven. The angel of the Lord appeared and cooled the flames, and the youths remained unharmed. The king, seeing this, commanded them to go out and turned to the true God.

Under King Belshazzar, Saint Daniel interpreted the mysterious inscription «Mene, Tekel, Peres», which appeared on the wall of the palace during a feast, foreshadowing the fall of the Babylonian kingdom.

«This is the meaning of the words: me — God numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; Tekel — you are weighed on the scales and found very light; Perez — is divided your kingdom and given to the Medes and Persians» (Book of the Prophet Daniel 5:26-28).

Under the Persian king Darius, Saint Daniel, after slander from his enemies, was thrown into a ditch with hungry lions, but they did not touch him, and he remained unharmed.

Daniel himself and his friends Ananias, Azariah and Misael lived to a ripe old age and died in captivity. According to the testimony of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Saints Ananias, Azariah and Misael were beheaded by order of the Persian king Cambyses.

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