Saint Moses was an Ethiopian and therefore he was called Murin, i.e. The black one. He lived in the IV century. In his youth he was a slave of a rich landowner, but he ran away from his master and joined a band of robbers. Due to his great physical strength, he soon became their leader. But once, pursued by the authorities for his many crimes, he went and hid in the desert where hermit monks lived.
A few days of Moses’ association with these holy men made him realize how pernicious the path he had been walking in recent years was. He was overshadowed by God’s grace, gradually came to deep repentance and wished to atone for his great sins. His inner change was radical and very soon he reached the humility and repentance of the great fathers of the desert. He accepted holy baptism and continued to strive with great humility and self-condemnation for his previous sinful life. According to the tradition, he later became a priest. Until his last breath, he wept bitterly for his sins and considered himself inferior not only to other people, but also to irrational creatures.
Out of humility, the venerable Moses shunned the glory and honors of people and therefore tried not to communicate with the laity who visited him, although he was hospitable at heart. But he readily accepted all the brothers from the surrounding fasts and hermitages who came to him for advice and support in the monastic endeavor. He also imposed such a vow: he went out at night, collected the empty vessels left by the cells of the hermits and brought them water from a distant well.
In about 400, when he was 75 years old, Berber robbers broke into the cave where he was asceticing and stabbed him to death along with six of his fellow monks.
The black saint Moses Murin is also revered as the patron saint of Africans.
Source: BTA, Prof. Ivan Zhelev
2023-08-28 05:26:08
#celebrate #memory #great #saint
