10 years have passed since the martyrdom of the outstanding Christian missionary and preacher Father Daniel Sysoev, and we are publishing the memoirs of his wife Yulia Sysoeva.
The daring crime had a huge resonance, as Father Daniel became known all over the world — and he has not been forgotten to this day, because he was a talented preacher and a brilliant missionary. His works and sermons spread all over the world. He was known as a priest — kind, sympathetic, attentive to every person who came to him.
He was interested in every soul, every person, and non-Orthodox people were drawn to him — people of all religions and beliefs, former sectarians and atheists, and many acquired a living faith and received Baptism. How did he do it? He valued all people; he believed that if a person came to him, he should be accepted as Christ Himself.
How did he have enough strength and energy for everyone? Surprisingly, but true – there was enough and even more than enough. And only his family, his beloved children, remained in the shadows. He was very busy with his parish duties, often arriving late when the children were asleep and leaving early when they were still awake. He tried to devote his rare weekends entirely to his children.
Can he be called a bad father and a bad husband for this? Definitely not! Surprisingly, he managed to love his family. He managed to give warmth and care to his children. How did he do it, with such crazy busyness?
God gave Father Daniel and me three daughters. Three daughters, very different and dissimilar. This was probably significant for a father like him. Three daughters who were born about five years apart. And Father Daniel knew a lot about each one, as if he could see the future: character, talent, abilities and characteristics. He spoke about each one with an eye to the future, as if he had a presentiment that he would not be able to see any of them as adults. Yes, we believe that he has not left us and is present in our lives, and continues to invisibly guide our destinies. After all, we believe in the immortality of the soul. He valued his children very much. He often came to their room when they were sleeping and admired them sleeping.
“I am touched by them,” he said at such moments. In silence and darkness, he sat near their cribs and prayed. Only God knows what he said to Him in these secret, quiet moments of life.
He wished one thing for all of them: to become worthy Christians. Therefore, he chose names for a reason, but the names of his beloved saints, holy women.
He greatly revered Cyprian and Justina and loved their amazing story, when a terrible and powerful sorcerer could not overcome a weak, fragile girl, after which he realized that the demons he served were incredibly weak and could not do anything. This is what turned the sorcerer to the true God. The first daughter was named Justina, in honor of Saint Justina.
We named our second daughter by lot. We had heated debates, and I was against such an unusual name as Dorothea. And Father Daniel said that the martyr Dorothea won victory over the pagans, because in weakness the power of God is made perfect. For Dorothea, God gave a great miracle for her faith, sending her tormentors, through her prayers, apples and roses from the Garden of Eden. Of course, Father Daniel won the draw, because he named his daughters not with thoughts of how this name would sound in public, but according to the life of the saint.
The third daughter — and again the lot, again disputes about the name. Angelina fell out, in honor of Queen Angelina of Serbia. And again an example of a true Christian, endowed with power and wealth and fulfilling the commandments of the Lord.
Father Daniel was very strict, but at the same time merciful to everyone who came, especially regarding life in a Christian marriage. He was irreconcilable with cohabitations, considering them unacceptable for anyone if people consider themselves believers and belonging to the bosom of the Church.
He really loved marriages. I often attended the weddings of our friends who wanted to get married with him. Then he baptized their children and himself became a godfather several times. I hope that his godchildren have not forgotten their godfather and remember him in their prayers.
He once became a godfather when he baptized our friends’ newborn in intensive care. Then there was no time to select godparents. We dropped everything and rushed along the winter road, in the snow, to a hospital near Moscow. In such cases, Father Daniel did not allow the slightest delay.
He always rejoiced like a child when they brought him those children whom he himself had baptized in intensive care or in the hospital, especially when these children came to the temple with their own little feet. Once he told me how a baby came to the temple, whom he baptized in the premature ward; she weighed only 600 grams, and the doctors did not give any prognosis. After Baptism, she quickly began to recover. And so, a year later, she herself, together with her happy mother, came to him and even asked to be held in his arms.
He always taught his parishioners and non-idle parishioners to know the formula for emergency lay Baptism. He always advised pregnant women to undergo unction both before giving birth and when they first found out that they were expecting a child. He believed that pregnancy is a special gift, so one should devote as much time as possible to prayer for the unborn baby. He even advised pregnant women to sing prayers out loud more often, so that the child, who hears everything, would become accustomed to listening to prayer from the womb. And he was very indignant about abortion. He was an ardent opponent of all manifestations of this evil. There is even a famous photograph where Father Daniel strides with his leaps and bounds in front of a banner with the words “Stop killing!” He fought against this evil as best he could, and always blessed me to write articles against abortion.
There was also a miracle when he baptized a four-year-old child who had been hopelessly ill with chronic pneumonia for a long time. And so, immediately after Baptism, the baby’s temperature dropped for the first time in several months, and he calmly fell asleep. At such moments, the priest himself turned into a child and almost jumped for joy, his face and eyes shone with happiness for these people and with the happiness of touching God.
He can rightfully be called the guardian of the family. Very often he reconciled quarreling spouses and did everything to prevent divorce and family breakdown. Sometimes he even sat the spouses at the table opposite each other and ordered them to write mutual claims on pieces of paper, then he examined each claim separately, and by the end of the conversation, people often came to reconciliation and realized that the quarrels and insults were in fact far-fetched and worthless. Father Daniel was very sad when families were destroyed, when spouses scattered to different rooms and lost mutual understanding. He believed that any misunderstanding could be resolved through confidential conversation and, of course, prayer. I always said that spouses should pray for each other and for their children, because having a family is work. Love is long and hard work. Marriage is a fire into which you need to put logs, otherwise everything will go out. And if you forget about this, then cooling, boredom, fatigue will always set in, and the search for illusory happiness on the side will begin.
In his parish, he knew about every family. Many people say that his advice regarding saving or starting a family was always, as they say, right on target. Sometimes he gave some unexpected advice; a person could leave discouraged, because he expected to hear something different from the priest that was familiar to his ears. Then it turned out that this particular advice was needed precisely in the situation with which the person came.
Once there was such a case. One young man lost his head in love with a girl. He was going to marry her, but something constantly confused him. Then Father Daniel offered to serve a prayer service to Peter and Fevronia with him. He told him: if the embarrassment passes, then let him get married, and if cooling comes, then everything is clear — there is no need to get married. They served a prayer service and prayed. Then the young man said that literally the next day he woke up and realized that this was not his destiny and there was no need to marry her. As it turned out later, this girl specially bewitched the guy with the help of witchcraft rituals. This guy still thanks Father Daniel and the Lord for this decision. He later got married and is happily married.
Father Daniel always said that one must ask the Lord about any question, and never make any decisions without prayer and faith.
He knew how to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. He knew how to place people’s pain and hardships on his shoulders in order to alleviate their sorrows and misfortunes.
Therefore, on the tenth year of his repose to the Lord, we ask for fervent prayers for the repose of his soul. We believe that he is praying for all of us — already in heaven, in the abodes of the Heavenly Father, to whom his thirsty soul so yearned.
