Dmitri of Rostov (1651-1709) died while praying. Literally! He was found dead in his monastic room, in a posture of kneeling. What a way to go!
Dmitri was one of the outstanding preachers of the Russian Orthodox Church at the turn of the seventeenth century. I read one of his sermons recently about the deleterious effects of sin. “Sin,” he observed, “turns man into an animal” (with apologies to animals!). Dmitri wrote a massive book on the lives of faithful Russian believers from the past. He was also a composer who set to music a six-hour opera on the lives of great Russian saints from history. He served a church in Kiev and some of his music endures as part of the Ukrainian folk tradition.
At age 58, Dmitri sensed the end of his life was near. He asked forgiveness from fellow clergy and singers who served with him. On the eve of his death, he called the choir together and requested they sing a portion of his composition, “I place my hope in God, Thou my God, Jesus, Thou art my joy.” The next morning, he was found dead on his knees. Dmitri’s prayer was set to music recently in the hymn, “Come, My Light.”