ST. MOSES THE BLACK (AUG. 28TH)
Edited by Bp. Joseph ( Ancient Church of the West ) Today, the Western Orthodox also remember St. Moses the Black, another African Saint, who, like St. Augustine of Hippo, taught the Western Church about holiness and asceticism. Moses the Black (AD 330–405), also known as Abba Moses the Robber, the Ethiopian , and the Strong, was an ascetic monk and priest in Egypt in the fourth century AD, and a notable Desert Father. According to stories about him, he converted from a life of crime to one of asceticism. He is mentioned in Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History, written about 70 years after Moses's death. Moses was a slave of a government official in Egypt until he was dismissed for theft and suspected murder. He then roamed the Nile Valley with an infamous and violent gang of robbers. On one occasion, a barking dog prevented Moses from carrying out a robbery, so he swore vengeance on the owner. Weapons in his mouth, Moses swam the river toward the owner's hut. The owner, a...
