Daniel the Prophet

Today the Church remembers Daniel, prophet of Israel in exile. Daniel, meaning "God is my Judge," is the hero of the biblical Book of Daniel. A noble Jewish youth of Jerusalem, he is taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and serves the king and his successors with loyalty and ability until the time of the Persian conqueror Cyrus, all the while remaining true to the God of Israel

Six cities claim the Tomb of Daniel, the most famous being that in Susa, in southern Iran, at a site known as Shush-e Daniyal. He is not a prophet in Judaism, but the rabbis reckoned him to be the most distinguished member of the Babylonian diaspora, unsurpassed in piety and good deeds, firm in his adherence to the Law despite being surrounded by enemies who sought his ruin, and in the first few centuries CE they wrote down the many legends that had grown up around his name. The various branches of the Christian church do recognize him as a prophet, and although he is not mentioned in the Quran, Muslim sources describe him as a prophet (nabi).

The Roman Catholic Church commemorates St. Daniel in the Roman Martyrology on July 21. Some local liturgical calendars of dioceses also list his feast, sometimes on July 21 and sometimes on another day.

Daniel is also closely associated with the three young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (or Hannaniah, Azariah, and Mishael) who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to eat prohibited foods and refusing to worship foreign gods.