September 10 / August 28
1. The Venerable Moses the Black, of Scetis (ca. 375)
Moses was an Ethiopian by birth. In the world, his was a thief and the leader of a band of thieves, and yet he became a penitent and a great ascetic. Moses was once a slave, who escaped and joined the thieves. Because of his great physical strength and daring, the robbers chose him as their leader. Then one day he was suddenly overcome with pangs of conscience and repented for his misdeeds. He left the thieves, entered a monastery, and gave himself over completely to obeying his spiritual father and the monastic rule. He benefitted much from the teachings of Saints Macarius, Arsenius and Isidore. Later he withdrew to solitude in a cell, where he dedicated himself completely to physical labor, prayer, vigils and contemplating God. Tormented by the demon of lust, Moses confessed to Isidore, his spiritual father, who gave him counsel to increase his fasting, and even when eating to avoid satisfy- ing his appetite. When this regimen did not help, he was counseled to keep all-night vigil and to pray standing. Then he also began the practice of bringing water to the elderly monks from a distant well, all night long. After six years of terrible struggles, St. Isidore miraculously healed him of lustful thoughts, fantasies and dreams perpetrated on him by the demon. Moses was ordained a priest in old age. He founded his own monastery, had seventy-five disciples, and lived to the age of seventy-five. He foresaw his death: one day he told his disciples to flee, for the barbarians were about to attack the monastery. When the disciples urged him to escape with them, Moses said that he had formerly been violent, and had to suffer violence himself, according to the words: For all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword (Matthew 26:52). He remained at the monastery with six brethren, and the barbarians slew them. One of the brethren, hiding nearby, saw seven shining wreaths descend from heaven upon the seven martyrs.
2. The Venerable Sava of Pskov and Krypetsk
Sava was a Serb by descent. He lived a life of asceticism in the Monastery of the Holy Theotokos in Pskov, and then became abbot of that monastery.
But they praised him, and so, fleeing the glory of men, he withdrew to the shores of Lake Krypetsk, where he founded a new community dedicated to St. John the Theologian. Nevertheless, he was unable to conceal his fame and prominence even there. He was visited by Prince Yaroslav of Pskov and his wife. Sava would not allow the wife to enter the monastery, but he blessed her and prayed to God for her, and healed her of a disease outside the monastery. This saint of God found rest in the year 1495 and his relics have retained miracle-working power. Abbot Dositheus was one of his visitors at Krypetsk.
3. The Synaxis of all the Saints of the Monastery of the Kiev Caves
- Righteous Hezekiah, king of Judah (691 c.).
- Righteous Anna the Prophetess (1st ).
- Repose of Blessed Augustine, bishop of Hippo (430).
- Martyr Queen Shushanik (Susanna) of Georgia (475).
- Amphilochius of the Kiev Caves, bishop of Vladimir, Volhynia (1122).
- Theodore (in monasticism Theodosius) of the Kiev Caves, prince of Ostrog in Volhynia (1483).
- Uncovering of the relics (1659) of Job, abbot and wonderworker of Pochaev (1651).
- New Hieromartyrs Sergius, archimandrite, Lawrence and Seraphim, hieromonks, Theodosius, hierodeacon, New Monk-martyrs Leontius and Stephen, and martyred novices George, Hilarion, John, and Sergius, of Zilantov Monastery in Ka- zan (1918).
- New Hieromartyr Chrysostom, metropolitan of Smyrna (1922).
HYMN OF PRAISE
The Venerable Moses the Black
Blessed is he upon whom God shows mercy!
The mercy of God is joy,
Joy in both worlds.
Moses the Black, like a prodigal son,
Repented and returned to God,
And redressed his many sins with tears.
He withered himself by much fasting—
Black of face, and radiant in soul.
Incessant night vigils tamed his passions,
And freed him from the demon’s power.
His soul became like a mountaintop lake
Which gazes into the heavens,
In which heaven sees its face.
When others asked Moses:
“Do the sins of others not sadden you?
Do sinful people not concern you?”
St. Moses tearfully replied:
“Whoever has a corpse in his house
Does not weep over someone else’s corpse,
But rather weeps over his own corpse.”
The lion can often change into a lamb,
But only Christ performs such miracles.
Moses was a lion in the mountains,
Yet became a gentle lamb.
By his holy prayers,
May God grant salvation to us as well.
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