Eight centuries ago, on the bank of the Moscow River a settlement first appeared which would grow to become Russia’s capital city. Daniel, the youngest son of Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky inherited the settlement. As it did not have its own prince early on, it was one of the weakest and most insignificant kingdoms in Ancient ‘Rus. In order to strengthen the Moscow Principality and the unity among citizens, Prince Daniel founded the Russian capital’s first monastery. Over its 7-century history, the Danilov Monastery has experienced years of formation and bloom as well as decay and ruin. However having overcome these challenges, the monastery has obtained a new life. In anticipation of the millennium of the baptism of Ancient ‘Rus, the Danilov Monastery became the first Moscow monastery relinquished to the Russian Orthodox Church. Since that time and to this day the monastery has been the country’s spiritual centre. It serves as the residence of the Patriarch as well as home to the Department of External Church Relations.