The Life of Abbot Daniel

Among the other heroes of the Christian philosophy we also knew Abbot Daniel. He was the equal of those who lived in the desert of Scete in every kind of virtue, and he was especially marked by the grace of humility. Because of his purity and gentleness, the blessed Paphnutius, presbyter in that same desert, chose him for the office of deacon, though he was younger than most. For the blessed Paphnutius was so delighted with his excellent qualities that, knowing Daniel was his equal in virtue and in grace of life, he was eager to make him his equal in the order of the priesthood as well. And since he could not bear to have him remain any longer in a lower office, and was also anxious to provide a worthy successor to himself while he was still alive, he promoted him to the dignity of the priesthood. Yet Daniel gave up nothing of his old, accustomed humility. When the other was present, he never took anything on himself because of his advance to a higher order; whenever Abbot Paphnutius was offering the spiritual sacrifices, he always went on acting as a deacon in the duties of his former ministry. But the blessed Paphnutius, though he was so great a saint that he had the grace of foreknowing many things, was disappointed in this case in his hope of the succession and in the choice he had made. For the man he had prepared to be his successor went to God first, and he himself followed only a short time after him. [a]