ON SAINT MOSES, BISHOP OF THE SARACENS IN ARABIA
End of the Fourth Century
HISTORICAL COMMENTARY
Moses, Bishop of the Saracens in Arabia (Saint)
By the author G. H.
Section I. The origin, territories, and war of the Saracens with the Romans.
[1] Ptolemy, in book 5 of his Geography, "in the Arabian sections," and indeed with Stephanus on cities as witness, in the entry on "Charakmoba," calls him "a man worthy of trust in such matters, for he took pains to describe Arabia accurately" -- a man worthy of trust in such matters, the Saracens are twofold according to Ptolemy who expended diligent effort to describe Arabia accurately. And he was able to succeed in this, being born at Pelusium, a city of Egypt neighboring Petreian Arabia, a part of which, nearest to these Egyptians, he assigns in chapter 17 to the Saracen people, from whom he distinguishes other Saracens in Arabia Felix, in Arabia with the Scenitae and Pharanitae interposed, but afterward counted among the Saracens. So Ammianus Marcellinus, in book 23, repeatedly relates that those whom the ancients had called Scenitae were in his time called Saracens; the intermediate Scenitae and Pharanitae and Saint Jerome in his book on Hebrew Places says that Pharan is a town beyond Arabia, adjoining the Saracens, who were wandering in the wilderness -- so that some would even derive the name Scenitae from their tents (tabernaculis). Saint Jerome adds that Ishmael dwelt in the desert of Pharan, and that those who were then Saracens were Ishmaelites. or Ishmaelites Concerning all these, Stephanus of Byzantium is to be understood: "Saraca, a region of Arabia beyond the Nabataeans; the inhabitants are Saracens." Strabo, in book 16 of his Geography, says the Nabataeans were Idumaeans, but having been expelled thence through sedition, they attached themselves to the Jews and embraced their laws. Now there is a town of the Idumaeans, a people of Palestine, called Elusa, neighboring the Saracen people, which Saint Jerome reports in the Life of Saint Hilarion (October 21) to be in great part semi-barbarous on account of the nature of the place; and when Saint Hilarion was passing through there, the entire populace of the town had been assembled in the temple of Venus. with the neighboring Elusans That goddess was worshipped on account of Lucifer (the Morning Star), to whose cult the Saracen nation was devoted; Jerome tacitly ascribes the Elusans to this as well, as they were formerly reckoned to Arabia.
[2] From these barbarians, Saints Sabbas, Isaiah, and thirty-six other monks on Mount Sinai were said to have been killed in the time of Diocletian, as we stated on January 14. hostile to Christians When, however, in the following century their annual feast was being celebrated there, other monks were likewise slaughtered: Theodulus the Presbyter, Paul, John, Proclus, Hypatius, Isaac, Macarius, Mark, Benjamin, Elias, and others, whose struggle, described by the monk Saint Nilus, an eyewitness, we presented on the same January 14. According to this author, the said people in that century inhabited the wilderness stretching from Arabia to Egypt, bounded by the Red Sea and the river Jordan. they worship the star Lucifer They paid ceremonial homage to the star Lucifer, bowed down in worship before it, and sacrificed to it the choicest things from their booty.
[3] These things concerning the Saracens; on account of which we are less inclined to approve what Sozomenus relates about them in connection with the episcopate of Saint Moses (book 6, History of the Church, chapter 38), in these words: Whether correctly said by Sozomenus to be descended from Ishmael "This nation drew its origin from Ishmael, the son of Abraham, and received its name from him; and therefore the ancients called them Ishmaelites after their progenitor. But in order to utterly obliterate the stain of their illegitimate birth and the ignoble status of Hagar, the mother of Ishmael (for she was a slave), they called themselves Saracens, as though descended from Sarah, the wife of Abraham. Those who trace their lineage from him are all circumcised in the manner of the Hebrews, said to Judaize and abstain from pork, and observe many other rites of the Jews. The fact that they do not follow entirely the same laws and institutions of life is to be attributed either to the great length of time that has passed, or to the fact that they were intermingled with neighboring peoples. For Moses, born many centuries later, gave laws only to those who had come out of Egypt; and their neighbors, who, as is credible, were exceedingly superstitious, entirely corrupted the ancestral way of life derived from Ishmael (according to whose sole precepts the ancient Hebrews had regulated their lives before the laws established by Moses, and had used unwritten institutions). and at the same time to worship demons Furthermore, worshipping the same demons as their neighbors and giving them the same honors and names, they transferred the reason for their departure from their paternal and ancestral laws to the similarity of religion which they had with their neighbors. Add to this the great length of intervening time, which, as is customary, buried some things in oblivion and caused others to be worshipped. Later, however, some of them, having met with Jews, learned whence they had drawn their origin, and so returned to that knowledge and devoted themselves to the institutions and laws of the Hebrews. From which time indeed, quite a number among them have followed the Jewish way of life up to now." So far Sozomenus, whom Nicephorus follows (book 11, Church History, chapter 47). But these things are rather to be referred to certain Ishmaelites and Nabataeans, separated from the Idumaeans and Judaizing, as was said above, than to the autochthonous, indigenous Saracens of Arabia, or rather autochthonous peoples of Arabia? about whom Saint Nilus relates (who lived at the same time Sozomenus wrote -- a Salaminian Scholastic in Cyprus, formerly a disciple of Saint Chrysostom -- who lived among these Saracens) that they had no religion, no care or thought for any god, whether handmade or conceived in the mind, beyond the ceremonies and sacrifices offered to the star Lucifer, or Venus, which Metaphrastes also testifies to have been the patron goddess of the Ishmaelites, in the Life of Saint Simeon Stylites (January 5, number 20).
[4] Concerning the Christian faith received by the Saracens, the same Sozomenus writes: "Not long before the present reign of Valens" -- some were instructed in the faith by monks before the year 364 who was adopted as a colleague by his brother Valentinian in the year 364 -- "the Saracens began to embrace Christianity, having been made partakers of the Christian faith through the company of their priests and monks, who lived among them and practiced the monastic discipline in the neighboring wildernesses -- men ennobled both by pious life and by miracles. It is also said that at that time an entire family or tribe was converted to the Christian religion, its leader or chief Zocomus having been baptized and Zocomus, having obtained offspring, was baptized for the following reason. He, being destitute of children, came to a monk, prompted by his great fame, to converse with him and to complain of his misfortune. For among the Saracens (as I judge among all barbarians), the begetting of children is customarily held in the highest esteem. The monk bade him be of good courage, and having offered prayers, dismissed him, promising that if he believed in Christ, he would have a son. When God had fulfilled this promise and a son had been born to him, Zocomus was initiated into the mystery of baptism and led his subjects to the same. From that time this family is said to have been both prosperous and numerous, so as to inspire terror in both the Persians and the other Saracens." So far Sozomenus, and the same is found in Nicephorus.
[5] But the matters that more closely touch upon Saint Moses and the Saracen Queen Mauvia, by whom he was sought for the episcopate, Mauvia the Queen: was she Roman and Christian? are brought forward by Anastasius Bibliothecarius from Theophanes in his Ecclesiastical History, at the year of the world 5868, the year of Christ 368: "They say moreover," he writes, "that Mauvia the Queen herself was also a Christian, Roman by nation, and having been led away captive, she pleased the King of the Saracens on account of her beauty, and thus obtained the kingdom." Meanwhile, among the Alexandrians, when Saint Athanasius died in the consulship of Gratianus II and Probus, in the year 371, Peter was appointed as his successor; but when the Emperor Valens ordered the Arian Lucius to be ordained there, Peter was bound by the Prefect Palladius; around the year 372 but escaping by flight, he went to Rome. At this time a terrible persecution was stirred up against the Catholics and monks, about which we shall treat on May 13, on which day in the Roman Martyrology a commemoration is made of the very many holy Martyrs who were then killed at Alexandria by the Arians for the Catholic faith. "While Lucius," says Rufinus (book 11, Church History, chapter 6), she wages war on the Romans "was conducting all things with arrogance and cruelty, Mauvia, Queen of the Saracen nation, began to batter the towns and cities of the Palestinian and Arabian frontier with a violent war, and to lay waste the neighboring provinces at the same time."
[6] Then, says Socrates (book 4, Church History, chapter 30), "the Saracens, who had previously been allied, revolted from the Romans, with the woman Mauvia ruling over them she devastates the neighboring provinces after the death of her husband. And so all the Roman provinces toward the East were being devastated by the Saracens at that time." Sozomenus, cited above, describes this at greater length: "When the King of the Saracens had died, the treaties with the Romans were broken. Mauvia, his wife, administering the government of that nation, laid waste the cities of the Phoenicians and Palestinians as far as the Egyptians who inhabit that part called Arabion, on the left bank when one navigates the Nile upstream. Nor was the war a light one, such as might be thought to be waged by a woman; but it was fought fiercely, as they say, and with an unconquerable spirit by her against the Romans, to the extent that the Prefect of soldiers in Phoenicia sought aid from the Commander of all cavalry and infantry forces in the East. The Commander, laughing that he was being called to such a war, caused the other to abstain from battle. she routs the Roman army But seeing the Romans, having drawn up their line against Mauvia fighting from the opposite side, turn their backs and barely escape safely with the aid of the Prefect of soldiers in Palestine and Phoenicia, he considered it foolish to remain outside the battle as he had wished. And so, coming to their aid, he resisted the barbarians and supplied the other with an opportunity for safer flight. But he himself, withdrawing, hurled javelins while fleeing and drove back the attacking enemy from the armies. And these things are still commemorated by many of the inhabitants of that place, and are recited in songs among the Saracens." So far Sozomenus, and nearly the same is related by Nicephorus (book 11, chapter 46). Theodoret (book 4, Church History, chapter 21) calls these Saracens Ishmaelites: "The Ishmaelites," he says, "ravaged the territories bordering the Roman Empire, whose leader was Mauvia, who, not embracing in her mind the nature she possessed, assumed a masculine spirit."
Section II. Saint Moses is sought and ordained Bishop of the Saracens.
[7] "In this war," says Socrates, "the providence of God checked the assault of the Saracens. The reason was as follows. A certain Moses, a Saracen by race, who was leading a monastic way of life in the wilderness, [Saint Moses, the Bishop of the Saracens, is sought by Mauvia when she is about to make peace] had been celebrated by fame and universal report on account of his extraordinary piety, steadfast faith, and the miracles wrought by him. Mauvia, Queen of the Saracens, demanded that he be designated Bishop of her nation by the Romans, and on that condition she promised to extinguish the war and make treaties with them. When they heard this, the Roman Generals thought matters were going well for them if peace were established on that condition; therefore, casting aside all hesitation, they gave orders for it to be accomplished." So much there; Rufinus narrates the same thus: "When Mauvia had worn down the Roman army with frequent wars and had put the rest to flight after killing very many, she sought peace and promised she would embrace it on no other condition than that a certain monk named Moses be ordained Bishop of her nation -- one who, leading a solitary life in the desert near her territories, famous for miracles had become magnificently known through his merits, virtues, and the signs that God was working through him. Her petition was made known to the Roman Prince, and it was ordered to be fulfilled without any delay."
[8] Sozomenus has nearly the same: "When the war was growing worse," he says, "it seemed necessary to send envoys to Mauvia concerning peace. She is said to have responded to the envoys that she would by no means conclude treaties with the Romans unless Moses, who was leading a monastic life in the neighboring wilderness -- a man distinguished both for his pious manner of living and for the divine signs and miracles wrought by him -- were created Bishop of her nation." So much there. Theodoret writes somewhat differently: namely, that Mauvia, after many battles had been fought, first made a treaty with the Romans, he dwelt on the borders of Egypt and Palestine and then, having received the light of divine knowledge, requested that a certain Moses, who dwelt on the borders of Egypt and Palestine, be designated as Bishop for her nation. Nicephorus, however, asserts that Mauvia first proudly rejected the conditions of peace with the Romans, but that, having been initiated into the doctrine of our sacred faith, she finally accepted peace, on condition that Moses, who was then living a philosophical life in the neighboring wilderness, be consecrated Bishop of her people -- a man distinguished for his virtue, the severity of his more holy life, and for many signs and wonders. Among the borders, or as Theodoret calls them, "the frontier regions," of Palestine and Egypt, Saint Jerome (on Isaiah 27) places the town of Rhinocorura, which he notes was translated as "the Torrent of Egypt," which it adjoins, by the Seventy Interpreters. At the beginning of the fifth century, Saint Melas the Bishop presided over this city, then inhabited by monks about whom we treated on January 16. Not far from this Rhinocorura is the cell of Saint Hilarion, who came thence to Pelusium, and having visited the brethren who were in the neighboring desert and were dwelling in the place called Lychnos, proceeded to the fortress of the Thebaid, etc., as Saint Jerome relates in his Life. Saint Hilarion died around the time when Saint Moses was sought by Mauvia as Bishop of the Saracens. We have said something about the monks of those regions in the Life of Saint Isidore of Pelusium, February 4, section 1.
[9] Finally, that the Saracens at that time were not so averse to the Christian religion is indicated by Theophanes in Anastasius with these words: "Mauvia, Queen of the Saracens, doing many evils to Christians, sought peace and requested that a certain Moses, one of the religious men dwelling in the desert, be given as Bishop to the Saracens who were becoming Christians among them. But when the Emperor Valens was eagerly doing this, Moses refused to be consecrated by the Arian Lucian, by the command of the Emperor Valens but instead by one of the Bishops who had been in exile, which was in fact done." The one who is called Lucian by Anastasius is called Lucius by others -- the one who, after the expulsion of the Catholic Peter, was intruded into the See of Alexandria. Others recount the matter at greater length, and Rufinus indeed in these words: "Moses, captured by our Generals who had been fighting there unsuccessfully, he is captured and brought to Alexandria was brought to Alexandria to receive the priesthood in the customary manner. Lucius was present, to whom the office of ordaining was deferred. When Moses saw him, he said in the presence of the Generals, who were pressing the matter, and the people: 'I indeed judge myself unworthy of so great a priesthood. However, if any divine dispensation is thought to be fulfilled in me, unworthy though I am, I call to witness our God of heaven and earth that Lucius shall not lay upon me his hands, polluted and stained with the blood of the Saints.' he refuses to be ordained by the Arian Lucian When Lucius saw himself branded with so severe a mark in the eyes of many, he said: 'Why, O Moses, do you so easily condemn one whose faith you do not know? Or if someone has told you otherwise about me, hear my faith, and believe yourself rather than others.' Then he said: 'Cease, O Lucius, to assail me also with your deceitful pretenses. Your faith is well known to me, a persecutor to which the servants of God condemned to the mines bear witness, the Bishops driven into exile, the Presbyters and Deacons banished beyond the borders of Christian habitation -- some delivered to wild beasts, others even to the flames. Can that faith be truer which is received by the ears than that which is perceived by the eyes? With me it is certain: those who rightly believe in Christ do not do such things.' And so, covered with greater disgrace -- since the necessity of providing for the commonwealth was pressing -- he was compelled to acquiesce, so that Moses might receive the priesthood from the Bishops whom he had driven into exile."
[10] Socrates, Sozomenus, and Nicephorus have nearly the same. Theodoret disagrees slightly, writing thus: "Valens, having assented to Mauvia's demand, ordered that divine man Moses to be brought to Alexandria and there to be endowed with episcopal grace, on account of the proximity of that place. When he had been brought there and saw that Lucius wished to lay his hand upon him, he said: 'Far be it that your hand should consecrate me. For by your invocation, the grace of the Holy Spirit descends upon no one.' To whom Lucius said: 'Whence do you make this conjecture, when you say this?' He replied: 'I do not speak following conjecture, steadfast but I know with certainty. For you fight against Apostolic doctrine and teach the contrary, and you join impious deeds to words of blasphemy. For what impious person has not, because of you, insolently attacked ecclesiastical assemblies? What praiseworthy man has not been exiled through you? What barbarous cruelty have not the outrages committed by you day after day far surpassed?' with danger to his life When he had said these things with a very confident spirit, Lucius, having listened attentively to his words, greatly desired to kill him, but was afraid lest he kindle the war anew. he is released by Lucius Wherefore he ordered him to be led to the other Bishops whom he himself had requested." So far Theodoret concerning the encounter of Saint Moses with Lucius, whose impious deeds he had narrated in the preceding chapter from the letter of Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, and here he concludes with this exclamation: "And so we have learned that such crimes were committed at Alexandria by Lucius and were wonderfully checked by divine providence." Socrates adds that at the same time, as soon as the Emperor Valens had departed from Antioch, all who were everywhere tossed by the tempest of persecution, and especially at Alexandria, were greatly encouraged, because Peter had returned from Rome with letters from Damasus, Bishop of Rome. then, when Lucius had been expelled from Alexandria These things both confirmed the faith of Moses and the ordination of Peter. The people, therefore, placing their confidence in them, expelled Lucius and installed Peter in his place.
[11] Sozomenus encompasses the same in few words. Concerning the conferral of the episcopate upon Moses, he says: "When Moses had confirmed by oath he is ordained Bishop by the exiled Bishops that he would never wish to be made Bishop by Lucius, the Roman Generals, having rejected Lucius, led him directly to the Bishops who were already spending their time in exile. By whom Moses, having been created Bishop, betook himself to the Saracens; and when treaties had been made between them and the Romans, he discharged the episcopate there. And finding very few there who professed the Christian religion, he himself led many to profess it." So much there. But according to Socrates, his associates, or intimates, having received permission from the Generals, led him to a certain mountain, so that he might be created Bishop by those who were in exile there. And so, with Moses designated Bishop in this manner, the war of the Saracens was extinguished. Mauvia, moreover, so faithfully kept the peace with the Romans thereafter that she betrothed her daughter to the General Victor. The orthodox faith of this Victor is praised by Theodoret (book 4, chapter 29) and Nicephorus (book 11, chapter 49). Indeed, according to Anastasius, Mauvia, having received the Bishop, made many Christians from the Saracens. he converts the Saracens Their conversion is attributed to the miracles of Saint Moses by Theodoret in these words: "Finally, Moses, when he had received episcopal grace together with admirable faith, set out to those who had sought him, famous for miracles and partly by Apostolic teaching, partly by miracles, led them to the truth." How long he lived is not clear, nor is the city assigned to his episcopal see. Among his successors, Eustathius, Bishop of the Saracens, subscribed to the Synodal letter of the Bishops of Second Phoenicia, in favor of the Council of Chalcedon, addressed to the Emperor Leo, who was created in the year 457. But Socrates (book 5, chapter 1), Sozomenus (book 7, chapter 1), and Nicephorus (book 11, chapter 1) relate that Queen Mauvia, after the death of Valens, brought Saracenic forces to the aid of Constantinople when it was besieged by the barbarians.
Section III. The Memory of Saint Moses in the Sacred Calendars.
[12] Celebrated soon after his death The celebrated name of Saint Moses the Bishop and the fame of the conversion of the Saracens are indicated by the ancient writers, both Greek and Latin, whom we have thus far cited -- Socrates, Theodoret, Sozomenus, Rufinus -- all of them closest in time to the era of Saint Moses, so that they either grew up under his episcopate or at least seem to have been born during it. Indeed, the great consensus of these writers shows that there existed another history of the said wars, of the conversion of the Saracens, and of Saint Moses, from which each of them excerpted what he wrote.
[13] The feast of Saint Moses is celebrated in very many Martyrologies on February 7. In the ancient manuscripts of Liege (Saint Lambert) and Cologne (Saint Mary at the Steps): recorded in ancient Martyrologies "Of Saint Moses, the venerable Bishop." The manuscript of Centula (Saint Riquier) adds: "who converted the Saracen nation in great part." In the ancient Roman Martyrology edited by Rosweydus: "Of Saint Moses, who at the request of Mauvia, Queen of the Saracens, was made Bishop of that nation." Usuard: "Likewise, of Saint Moses, Bishop. He first led a solitary life in the desert and had become known for signs and virtues; afterward, he converted the Saracen nation, of which he had been made Bishop, in great part to the faith of Christ, and so, glorious in his merits, he rested in peace." Bede, in the printed version, at somewhat greater length: "And of Saint Moses, the venerable Bishop, who at first indeed, leading a solitary life in the desert, became magnificently known through his merits, virtues, and the signs that God worked through him; who afterward, at the request of Mauvia, Queen of the Saracens, was made Bishop of that nation, guarded the inviolate fellowship of the Catholic faith, and converted the nation over which he had been given as Bishop in great part to the faith of Christ, and so rested in peace." Ado and Notker have nearly the same. But in this copy the words "In Britain" are wrongly prefixed, which pertain to Saint Augulus, having been omitted by the carelessness of copyists. The remaining manuscripts agree with these, or with Usuard. The Roman Martyrology assigns him to Egypt in these words: "In Egypt, of Saint Moses, the venerable Bishop, who first led a solitary life in the desert; then, at the request of Mauvia, Queen of the Saracens, having been made Bishop, he converted that most fierce nation in great part to the faith, and glorious in his merits, rested in peace."
[14] There is another Saint Moses, the Ethiopian, converted from robbery, whom the Roman Martyrology celebrates with the Greeks on August 28. Peter de Natalibus (book 3, Catalogue of Saints, chapter 104) writes that he rested in peace in the desert of Scetis on the seventh day before the Ides of February, confused with Saint Moses the Ethiopian having left eighty disciples behind, and he compiles many things related about him in the Lives of the Fathers, supposing him to have been the same as the Bishop of the Saracens. Those two persons named Moses were confused by the same error by Francis Maurolycus and Peter Canisius in the German Martyrology, in these words: "Likewise of Moses the Ethiopian, Bishop, who, as a disciple of Abbot Isidore, became known in the desert for signs and virtues. Then, having converted the Saracens over whom he presided to the faith, he rested in peace." Galesinius, omitting the word "Ethiopian" and the statement that he was called a disciple of Abbot Isidore (which pertains to the same Ethiopian), establishes our Moses as Bishop of the Egyptians instead of the Saracens, in these words: "Likewise of Saint Moses, Bishop, who was first a monk distinguished for the praise of his virtues and the holiness of his life, and then, having been made Bishop of the Egyptians, converted them in great part to the faith of Christ, and so, crowned with the glory of his merits, went to heaven."
[15] Alegre (state 2 of the Paradise of Carmelite Beauty, age 5, chapter 89) assigns him to the Carmelites, but also confuses him with the Ethiopian: ascribed to the Carmelites "Moses," he says, "an Ethiopian by nation, Bishop of the Saracens, afterward captured by the Egyptians and made a slave, was cast out by his master on account of his crimes, and became a murderer and robber," etc.; and finally he adds: "Whether this was the same Moses of whom Cassian speaks in his Conferences, together with which two homilies of his have been published -- one on the festivity of the monk, the other on discretion, under the name of Moses the hermit or Abbot -- we are entirely doubtful." So much there. We shall shortly treat of that Moses, an Abbot in the solitude of Scetis. John Baptist de Laezana recounts the same in the Carmelite Annals at the year 372, number 7, where he observes that several Abbots of this name are mentioned: Moses dwelling on the summit of a mountain, Moses of Scetis, Moses the Abbot who lived at Petra, Moses the monk converted from robbery, Moses the Libyan, Moses of Antioch, and Moses the disciple of Polychronius (whom our Rosweydus catalogues in that order in the Index to the Lives of the Fathers), and finally he leaves it uncertain whether he coincides with any of these. We consider him entirely distinct.
ON SAINTS MOSES THE ABBOT AND SIX MONK-MARTYRS IN EGYPT
Beginning of the Fifth Century
HISTORICAL COMMENTARY
Moses, Abbot, Martyr in Egypt (Saint) Six companion Martyrs in Egypt
By the author G. H.
[1] Scetis, Scethe, Schitium, the Scithiac region, is reckoned a part of Libya, separated from Egypt properly so called by the marshes of Mareotis and Moeris, and by the mountains of Nitria and Pherme; in the solitude of Scetis in Libya in whose wilderness, extending all the way to Ethiopia, very many monks once lived, illustrious for the innocence and holiness of their lives. Among these, in book 5 of the Lives of the Fathers (translated into Latin by Pelagius), booklet 18, numbers 13 and 14, are recorded Moses the Abbot Saints Moses the Abbot, called the Libyan, and six monks slain by the barbarians; whose martyrdom is narrated there in these words. Abbot Moses said in Scetis: he insists on the commandments of God "If we keep the commandments of our Fathers, I, trusting in God, pledge to you that the barbarians shall not come here. But if we do not keep them, this place is destined to be laid waste."
[2] Once when the brethren were sitting with the same Abbot Moses, he said to them: "Behold, the barbarians will come to Scetis today; when the barbarians are rushing in but arise and flee." They said to him: "And will you not flee, Abba?" He said to them: "I have been waiting for this day for many years, that the word of my Lord Jesus Christ might be fulfilled, who said: 'All who take the sword shall perish by the sword.'" Matt. 26:52 But they said to him: "Neither shall we flee, but we shall die with you." And he said to them: "This is not my affair; remaining in his cell let each of you see how he sits." Now there were seven brethren with him, and they said to him: "Behold, the barbarians have drawn near the door." And immediately the barbarians entering killed them. [he is killed with six monks, as crowns were seen descending from heaven upon them] But one of them, terrified by carnal fear, fled and hid himself behind palm-fiber mats; and he saw seven crowns descending and crowning Abbot Moses and the six brethren who had been killed with him.
[3] So much there. The day of his death is not indicated. Peter de Natalibus, Bishop of Equilium, joins Saint Moses the Abbot in the desert of Scetis with the other Saint Moses -- the monk who became Bishop of the Saracens -- in book 3, Catalogue of Saints, chapter 103, recorded in the Martyrologies on February 7 and adds that his feast is celebrated on the seventh day before the Ides of February, on which day others also inscribed him in the Martyrologies. Galesinius: "At Scythopolis in Egypt, of Saint Moses the Abbot." Maurolycus: "In Egypt, in the wilderness of Scythopolis, of Moses the Abbot." Scythopolis is actually the metropolis of Second Palestine -- a name taken here for the solitude of Scetis, which Ferrarius aptly corrects in his Catalogue of Saints: "At Scetis in Egypt, of Saint Moses the Abbot." The same is found in the Salisbury Martyrology of Richard Whitford. But everywhere without his companions and the palm of martyrdom.
[4] he dispenses from fasting on account of hospitality We add certain more notable deeds and precepts of the same Saint Moses from the Lives of the Fathers. First, excerpted from the same book 5 (translated by Pelagius), of which the following is related in booklet 13, number 4: "It happened once in Scetis that a command was given to fast that week and observe a Pascha. But it happened that during that same week certain brethren came from Egypt to Abbot Moses, and he made for them a modest dish. When the neighbors saw the smoke, they said to the clergy of the church that was there: 'Behold, Moses has broken the command and has cooked a dish for himself.' But they said: 'When he comes, we shall speak to him about it.' When the Sabbath came, the clergy, seeing the great manner of life of Abbot Moses, said to him before all the people: 'O Abbot Moses, you have broken the commandment of men, but you have firmly bound the commandments of God.'" So much there, with the place of Scetis distinguished from Egypt.
[5] In the same, booklet 9, number 4: "A brother in Scetis was once found at fault; and the elders held an assembly and sent to Abbot Moses, asking him to come; he teaches that the sins of others are not to be judged but he would not come. The Presbyter then sent to him, saying: 'Come, for the assembly of brethren awaits you.' He rose and came. Taking with him a very old basket, he filled it with sand and carried it behind him. They came out to meet him, saying: 'What is this, Father?' The old man said to them: 'My sins are running behind me and I do not see them, and I have come today to judge the sins of another.' When they heard this, they said nothing to the brother, but forgave him." Peter de Natalibus relates the same incident, citing the Lives of the Fathers, but what he adds about him resting in the Lord -- either he considered him different from Saint Moses the Martyr, or certainly he did not read the rest in the Lives of the Fathers.
[6] In the same, booklet 8, number 10, these things are found: "Once the judge of the province heard about Abbot Moses and set out for Scetis to see him; and certain men informed the old man of his arrival, and he arose to flee into the marsh. he flees from honor The judge met him with his retinue and questioned him, saying: 'Tell us, old man, where is the cell of Abbot Moses?' He said to them: 'Why do you seek him? He is a foolish man and a heretic.' The judge came to the church and said to the clergy: 'Having heard about Abbot Moses, I came to see him; and behold, an old man on his way to Egypt met us, and we asked him where the cell of Abbot Moses was, and he said to us: Why do you seek him? He is foolish and a heretic.' When the clergy heard this, they were saddened, saying: 'What sort of old man was he who said these things about the holy man to you?' They said: 'An old man wearing the most ancient garment, tall and black.' And they said: 'That is Abbot Moses himself, distinct from Saint Moses the Ethiopian and because he did not wish to be seen by you, he said these things about himself.' And the judge departed greatly edified." Rufinus relates the same (book 3 of the Lives of the Fathers, number 119), where the judge is said to have wished to worship him and to be blessed by him. However, the fact that he was said to be black may perhaps be understood of Saint Moses the Ethiopian, converted from robbery, who also lived in the solitude of Scetis. He is venerated on August 28. What is related in booklet 15, number 29, and booklet 16, number 7, we omit, because there he is called the Ethiopian. The same things are applied to him by Peter de Natalibus, who supposed Moses the Ethiopian to be the Bishop of the Saracens, as we noted above.
[7] Booklet 10, number 64: "Abbot Pastor said that a brother questioned Abbot Moses, saying: 'How does a man mortify himself? A man from his neighbor?' he teaches true mortification He replied: 'Unless a man places it in his heart that he has been three years in the grave, he does not attain to this word.'" The same is found in book 7 (translated by Paschasius), chapter 26, where Moses answers a certain brother who is asking. In the same book, chapter 35, these things are found: "Abbot Moses was accustomed to deliver a discourse to the solitaries, saying: 'There are four principal observances of the regular life: that is, silence, keeping the commandments of God, humbling oneself, and the constraint of poverty. and other things to be observed by monks But a man possesses these three virtues with difficulty: that he should always mourn, always be mindful of his own sins, and at every hour set death before his eyes.'" In the same book, chapter 18, there is an account of Abbot Moses who had been converted from robbery, which suggests that in the other passages the discourse concerns a different Moses; the same things are related by Rufinus, book 3, number 196.
[8] In the same book 3, number 58, and book 7, chapter 1, number 6: "Abbot Moses said: and the causes of the passions of the flesh 'The passion of pollution is generated through these four things: through an abundance of food and drink, through a surfeit of sleep, through idleness and jesting, and through walking about in fine clothing.' Then, in number 7, is added in book 7: 'The same said: The bodily passions are many.' And the brother says to him: 'And what are they, Abba?' He replied: 'Because the Apostle Paul says: Let fornication and uncleanness and all covetousness not even be named among you, as befits saints; also, sight and boldness frequently come to battle.'" Eph. 5:3
[9] The seven chapters of sayings that Abbot Moses sent to Abbot Poemen are contained in book 6 (translated by John), and not to judge others booklet 4. I. The elder Moses said: "A man ought to be as dead to his companion -- that is, to die to his friend -- so as not to judge him in any matter." II. He said again: nor to injure "A man ought to mortify himself from every evil thing before he departs from the body, so as not to injure any person." III. He said again: "Unless a man has it in his heart that he is a sinner, God does not hear him." to consider oneself a sinner The brother said to him: "What does it mean to have it in one's heart that one is a sinner?" And the elder said: "If a man bears his own sins, he does not see the sins of his neighbor." IV. The elder said again: "Unless action agrees with prayer, a man labors in vain." to fulfill by deed what is asked in prayer And the brother said: "What is the agreement of action with prayer?" The elder replied: "That the things for which we pray, we no longer do. For when a man dismisses his own will, then God is reconciled to him and accepts his prayers." The brother asked: "In all of a man's labor, what is it that helps him?" The elder said to him: "God is the one who helps. For it is written: 'God is our refuge and strength, a helper in troubles that have found us exceedingly.'" Ps. 46:1
[10] to humble oneself by fasting and vigils V. The brother said: "Fasting and vigils, which a man practices -- what do they accomplish?" The elder said to him: "They are what cause the soul to be humbled. For it is written: 'Behold my humility and my labor, and forgive all my sins.'" Ps. 25:18 "If, therefore, the soul undertakes these labors, God will have mercy upon it on account of them." VI. The brother questioned the elder, saying: "What shall a man do when every temptation comes upon him, or every thought of the enemy?" in temptation, to call upon God The elder said to him: "He ought to weep in the sight of God's goodness, that it may help him, and he shall rest swiftly, if he asks with understanding. For it is written: 'The Lord is my helper, and I shall not fear; what shall man do to me?'" Ps. 118:6
[11] VII. The brother questioned him again, saying: "Behold, a man beats his servant on account of a sin that he has committed. What shall that servant say?" The elder said to him: "If he is a good servant, he will say: 'I have sinned; have mercy on me.'" The brother said to him: to implore his mercy "Nothing else?" The elder said to him: "No. For from the moment he has placed the blame upon himself and said, 'I have sinned,' immediately his lord has mercy on him. The end of all these things is not to judge one's neighbor. For when the hand of the Lord slew the firstborn in the land of Egypt, there was no house in which there was not a dead person." The brother said to him: "What does this saying mean?" The elder replied to him: "If we look at our own sins, we shall not see the sins of our neighbor. to weep for one's own sins It is foolishness for a man who has his own dead to leave him and go weep for the dead of his neighbor. To die to one's neighbor means this: to bear your own sins and to be without thought about every person -- and to die to one's neighbor in various ways 'this one is good' and 'that one is bad' -- and do no evil to any person; nor think evil of anyone; nor despise anyone who does evil; nor agree with anyone who does evil to his neighbor; and do not rejoice with him who does evil to his neighbor. And this is to die to one's neighbor. And do not speak against anyone, but say: 'God knows each one.' Therefore do not obey one who slanders, nor rejoice with him in his slander. Do not obey one who speaks against his neighbor, and this is: 'Judge not, and you shall not be judged.'" Matt. 7:1 "Have no enmity with any person, nor retain enmity in your heart, nor hate him who is hostile to his neighbor, nor consent to his hostility. Do not despise him who has enmity with his neighbor, and this is peace. Console yourself in these things: the labor is for a short time, and the rest is everlasting, by the grace of God the Word. Amen."
[12] John Cassian, in book 10 of the Institutes of the Monks, chapter 25, extols Moses as the greatest of all the Saints: "When, beginning to dwell in the desert," he says, "I had told Abbot Moses, the greatest of all the Saints, considered the greatest of the Saints that on the previous day I had been most grievously overcome by the weariness of acedia, and that I could not otherwise have been freed from it unless I had immediately run to Abbot Paul, he said: 'You did not free yourself from it, but rather you showed yourself given over and subject to it. For the adversary will attack you more severely hereafter, he teaches that acedia is overcome by resistance as a deserter and a fugitive, when he has seen that you fled immediately, overcome in the conflict -- unless, having henceforth engaged in the struggle, you choose to dissipate the surging waves of its heat for the moment not by deserting your cell or by the torpor of sleep, but rather learn to triumph by endurance and combat.' Whence it has been proved by experience that the assault of acedia is not to be escaped by avoidance, but overcome by resistance."
[13] Under his name, the same Cassian published the first and second Conferences, and he begins from him thus: "When in the desert of Scetis, where the most approved Fathers of the monks and the perfection of all the Saints dwelt, he excels in the active and contemplative life I had sought out Abbot Moses -- who among those distinguished flowers glowed more sweetly not only with practical but also with contemplative virtue -- desiring to be grounded by his instruction, together with the holy Abbot Germanus... and when we were together begging from the same Abbot a word of edification with copious tears -- for we knew most clearly this rigorous disposition of his mind, he does not transmit perfection except to those who thirst for it that he would by no means consent to open the door of perfection unless to those who faithfully desired it and sought it with all contrition of heart, lest, if he were to display it indiscriminately to those who were unwilling or tepidly thirsting for it, he should seem to incur the vice of boasting or the crime of betrayal by laying open things that are necessary and that ought to be known only to those desiring perfection, to the unworthy and those who receive them with distaste -- at length, worn out by our prayers, he began."
[14] From the teaching then given by him, we shall bring forth a single maxim which, excerpted from Conference 2, chapter 10, is read in book 5 of the Lives of the Fathers, booklet 5, number 3, in these words: "Abbot Cassian said that Abbot Moses told us: 'It is good not to hide one's thoughts, he commands that thoughts be revealed to discreet elders but to manifest them to spiritual elders who possess discretion -- not to those who are elders merely by time. For many, looking to age and confessing their thoughts to those who had no experience, instead of consolation arrived at the utmost despair.'" So much there. And finally, in booklet 18, his death is narrated, so that the same person seems to be treated of throughout.
[15] Alardus Gazaeus, in his commentaries on the cited chapter 25 of book 10 on the Institutes of the Monks, commemorates three anchorites named Moses, distinguished for sanctity: the Ethiopian converted from robbery, a second given as Bishop to the Saracens, and this third, whom he believes is called the Libyan by Palladius (book 8, chapter 88), where these things are related of him: "Moses the Libyan was a most gentle man, a most gentle man endowed with the greatest charity. He was deemed worthy of the gift of healings. He narrated this: 'I was in a monastery,' he said, 'very young, and I was digging a very large well, twenty feet wide. When eighty of us had dug it for three days in a well dug by himself and had passed beyond the customary vein that was visible by about a cubit, we did not find water. Greatly troubled, therefore, we were deliberating about abandoning the work. While we were deliberating about this, Pior came to us from the vast wilderness, at the very sixth hour of the heat, being an old man clothed in his sheepskin. by the prayers of Pior And when he had greeted us, he said to us after the greeting: Why have you lost heart, men of little faith? For I saw you already from yesterday having lost heart.' Having said this, he immediately lowered ladders into the pit of the well, and with them offered a prayer, and having taken a mattock and struck a third blow, he said: 'God of the holy Patriarchs, do not make the labor of your servants vain and useless, but send them the use of water.' And immediately the water came forth, he obtains water so that we were all sprinkled by it." And when he had prayed again, he departed, saying: "I was sent for this purpose, and it has been accomplished." When they pressed him to eat there, he could not bring himself to do it, saying: "That for which I was sent has been done."
[15] Sozomenus treats of this Moses in book 6, chapter 29: "Moses," he says, "is reported to have won great praise both for his gentleness and charity toward all, and for the healing of diseases, which he accomplished by prayers alone." he drives away diseases by prayers Nicephorus has the same (book 11, chapter 36). Finally, among the maxims of the Egyptian Fathers translated into Latin by Saint Martin, Bishop of Dumio, the following is found at number 49: "Abbot Moses came to the well to draw water and saw Brother Zacharias praying, and the Spirit of God resting upon him." he sees the Holy Spirit above another Hence in Pelagius, booklet 15, number 17: "Abbot Moses said to Brother Zacharias: 'Tell me, what shall I do?' He, hearing these things, threw himself prostrate on the ground at his feet, saying: 'Do you ask me, Father?' The elder said to him: 'Believe me, son Zacharias, for I saw the Holy Spirit descending upon you, and I am compelled to ask you.'" In the Notes to Usuard in the Carthusian monastery of Brussels, these words are found on February 7: "Likewise, of another Moses, elsewhere in the desert of Scetis, who delivered the first Conference." Whether, however, all the things we have recounted belong to one and the same person, we do not dare to affirm with certainty.