[D6Ri5u13]

Dear Nina,

Dear Jonathan, you are right priests should pray for the soul of Father Daniil... However when *I* am asked to pray for him, I think 'Who am I to pray for him?! Father Daniil is interceding for us in front of God!' Don't these saintly, or martyred souls go straight to Heaven like eagle, or bullet without any barriers? I do not know exactly, but so I have heard. Maybe one of the Fathers here can tell us. I know exactly what you mean about praying for Fr Daniil; in my prayer book I have the prayer (for Saturdays) that reads:

Remember the souls of Thy servants, O Lord,
For Thou art good,
And insofar as they sinned in this life, forgive them;
For no one is sinless but Thee,
Who can also give rest to the departed.

This can be modified for an individual, but it does feel strange to pray for such an obviously holy man. However, there is another one which might be better to pray:

With the Saints, give rest, O Christ,
To the soul of Thy servant, Fr Daniil,
Where there is no pain, no sorrow, no sighing,
But life everlasting.

I think this prayer isn't too presumptuous. There is another Saturday prayer for the martyrs:

The world offers to Thee, O Lord, as the Father of creation,
The God-bearing Martyrs as the first fruits of nature.
By their prayers through the Mother of God
Keep Thy Church in deep peace, O Most Merciful One.

I must admit I have already modified this prayer for my own personal use so that Fr Daniil is the "God-bearing Martyr".