The St. Daniel Ministry is dedicated to providing St. Anne’s parishioners and their families with assistance during serious illnesses, death, and burial. We are building the knowledge base and structures to provide as much support and services as possible so that our parishioners can minimize the use of outside funeral services to take care of the final needs of their bodies. We pray for a painless, blameless and peaceful death, and we want to be surrounded, even in death, by our fellow Christians, knowing that they will be praying for us and caring for us in an Orthodox manner.

The Life of the Ministry's Patron Saint: St. Daniel the Abbott of Pereyaslavl-Zalesski was born around 1460 in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessk. From his childhood, Daniel had a love for the pious life and Christian deeds. He became a monk in the monastery of St. Paphnutius of Borovsk. Later in his native land, he dedicated himself to love for neighbor and had a unique form of asceticism – that of caring for the dead. Whenever he heard that someone had died and was unburied because of neglect, poverty, or lack of family, Daniel would hasten to bury him decently and to offer prayers to God for him. The saint founded a monastery on the site of the cemetery. St. Daniel died April 7, 1540. His relics remain incorrupt.

Information for End-of-Life Planning: The first step in the preparation for burial is to determine what we want to have happen to us when we enter our final illness and death. The documents (attached below for easy download) help us communicate our desires and inform our families, loved ones and priest of our wishes.

For more information on the St. Daniel Burial Assistance Ministry, please contact ministry coordinator Valerie Tenney or feel free to phone the church office at your convenience.