Daniel Alexeyevich Sysoev (russian: Даниил Алексеевич Сысоев; 1974–2009) was a married Russian Orthodox priest, the rector of St. Thomas' church in southern Moscow and a prominent missionary. He was killed in a Russian Orthodox Church by a masked gunman on November 19, 2009. Sysoev was known for his missionary activity, including among Russia's

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

community,

neo-Pagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

s, and Protestants. In December 2009, Sysoev's murder was claimed by a militant Islamic group based in the North Caucasus. According to a statement made by Russian Islamists and released on kavkazcenter.com,

"One of our brothers who has never been to the Caucasian took up the oath of (former independent Chechen president
Doku Umarov Doku Khamatovich Umarov ( ce, Ӏумар Хьамади кӀант Докка, translit='Umar Ẋamadi khant Dokka, ; russian: Доку Хаматович Умаров, Doku Khamatovich Umarov; 13 April 1964 – 7 September 2013), also known as ...
) and expressed his desire to execute the damned Sysoyev."

Sysoev was born into a family of Soviet dissidents. His father was Alexei Sysoev, senior priest of St John the Theologian Cathedral in Yasenevo District.Julia Sysoeva: About Fr Daniel, Happiness, Miracles and Martyrdom
(in Russian) Sysoev's sermons were published in a series of books. Explaining the teaching of the Orthodox Church, Sysoev used the term 'Uranopolitanism'. Hieromonk

Job Gumerov Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

and many other faithful and clergy consider the murder of Sysoev to be a martyrdom. Many Orthodox Christians hold him in high esteem, venerating him in iconography, liturgy and prayer though he has not yet been formally canonized by an Orthodox synod. 237 priests and more than 1000 lay people were present at the burial service. Patriarch Kiril I also came to say farewell to Sysoev.

References

1974 births 2009 deaths Russian Eastern Orthodox priests Eastern Orthodox theologians Eastern Orthodox missionaries Eastern Orthodox writers 20th-century Eastern Orthodox clergy Russian Christian missionaries Assassinated Russian people Deaths by firearm in Russia Clergy from Moscow Christian critics of Islam 21st-century Eastern Orthodox priests 20th-century Eastern Orthodox priests Christian missionaries in Russia {{Russia-bio-stub