The Life of St. Moses the Black
Among the great Desert Fathers of Egypt, there was Moses. He is known by a few different bynames. Among the Copts, he is often called “the Strong,” because of his physical abilities. His criminal background leads others to refer to him as “the Robber.” It is agreed that Moses had a very dark complexion (in Ancient Greek, “Ethiopian” meant “burnt-faced”). He was likely a Nubian from the Upper Egypt/Northern Sudan region. Thus, we often call him, “St. Moses the Black.”
Moses was enslaved. It is said that he was so unruly that his owner freed him out in the desert, although Moses liked to boast that he had freed himself. When he came across a band of robbers, he joined himself to them. It was a familiar way to survive. Impressing them with his strength and imposing demeanor, he took charge as the leader of this gang. Some sources say he led about 70 men.
Moses built a reputation for murder, pillage, and theft. He was so fearsome that people fled at the very sight of him. Once, a shepherd had offended Moses. The brigand recognized him from across the Nile and swam across to exact revenge. Abandoning his flock, the shepherd hid by burying himself in the sand. When he failed to find him, Moses killed two of his sheep and swam with the carcasses back across the river. He prepared, cooked, and ate the best meats and sold the hides for wine.
For all his grievous faults—murder, theft, fornication, idolatry—Moses was still in search of the true God. He prayed to the sun in the sky to reveal if it was that God. One day, he heard a voice: “If you want to know the true God, go to the valley of Sketis,” (in the local language, “Shehit,” which means “the scale of the hearts”).
It was after this that Moses happened upon a particular monastery in the Egyptian desert, in that selfsame valley of Sketis. Seeking plunder within the thick walls or perhaps a change of life, he entered and was greeted by the abbot, Isidore, and other brethren. Instead of fear, the monastics showed him compassion. This was only possible because they pursued a holy life with no concern for material goods.
Seeing the contrast between his life and theirs, Moses repented of his sinfulness and refused to leave the monastery until they counted him as a brother. Abba Macarius the Great was his instructor and confessor. As he made his initial confession, there was a vision of a tablet listing all of Moses’s sins. As each sin was confessed, an angel erased it until the slate was completely clean. Abba Isidore and the other monks acknowledged his change of heart, and after four years of testing by Abba Macarius, Moses was made a monk.
Moses was accustomed to having his way through intimidation and violence. He had to learn patience as the pathway to becoming a worthy monastic. Abbot Isidore had Moses keep prayer vigil with him one night until they watched the sunrise over the desert. “Only over time does one grow to become a true contemplative,” taught the elder.
Once the leader of bandits, Abba Moses embraced monastic humility. He built his cell at a distance from the others in a place called Patara. This spot was further away from any water sources, yet he harnessed his God-given strength to haul water for older and ailing monks, as well as for his own needs.
Moses had formerly pursued his fleshly desires at will. As a monastic, he strove not only for physical purity but for mental as well. One night, the assault of lustful images in his mind seemed so uncontrollable that he fled to Abbot Isidore for help. The elder pointed to the left and asked him what he saw. “The lustful demons that torment me,” he replied. Then Isidore pointed to the right and asked what he saw. “A great number of angels and heavenly beings set out against the demons,” said Moses. “Always remember,” the abbot taught, “That God provides more allies than Satan can muster enemies.”
A band of four or five robbers encountered a cell in Patara and broke in. The black monk praying inside overpowered them, tying them up and carrying them to the monastery. He stopped by some of the brothers who were at prayer. “It wouldn’t be right for me to kill them. What should I do with them?” The robbers realized that this giant of a monk was the very Moses who had once led them in their crimes. The bound men repented of their sins and sought to be led by Moses in a new way of life.
Not just these, but other men eventually heard of this infamous criminal-turned-holy man. In time, some 500 monks requested that he be ordained as a priest and leader of a monastic community. The Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria tested the candidate for ordination, knowing that he had once been haughty and proud. Satisfied that he had the humility needed to be a shepherd of souls, he ordained him to the holy priesthood, presenting Moses to the congregation in his white liturgical robes. He declared to Moses that he was now radiant inside and out.
On another occasion, a guest cursed the dark-skinned man that was brought before him, not realizing it was Moses. Yet, the priest-monk said nothing. After the irate visitor left, the brothers asked him, “Didn’t you get angry?” “Yes, I was angry,” he replied. “But I refused to respond in rage.”
Despite his foreign ethnicity, Moses was greatly sought after in that age of the Egyptian Desert Fathers. Once, a group of guests came to visit when he had run low on water. He spoke with them for a few minutes, excused himself, and prayed to God for rain, and returned to the cell. After doing this several times, dark clouds came and delivered a downpour, filling his water pots. They glorified God for answering his prayers.
Another monk came from afar and was sent to Arsenius the Roman before going to Moses. Arsenius welcomed the brother in silence. Moses greeted him with food, water, and conversation. The guest was shown the meaning of these two different greetings in a dream. He saw one boat sailing to paradise with Arsenius sitting quietly in prayer and another with Moses eating choice meats. God welcomes brothers into His kingdom with diverse callings.
One of the elder brothers became ill and desired to stay in a nearby village until he regained his strength. He didn’t want his needs to distract brethren from their prayers. Moses forbade him to go, warning that lust might overtake him. The elder didn’t believe he was vulnerable to such a fall and left for town anyway. As the monk was recovering, he sinned with the maiden who was taking care of him. After a few years, he returned to visit the monastery carrying their son. Moses said to the brothers, “Look, the fruit of disobedience.”
A brother was accused of a sin for which he had to face judgement from the other brethren. They sent for Moses to sit on the council, but he refused. He was asked again and finally agreed to go after a third request. He came to the council carrying a large bag of sand, leaking out of the end. “The leaking sands are my sins that are behind me which I no longer see, and you want me to judge this man?” The council adjourned without judgement. The brother was forgiven, and they all went back to work on their own souls.
Despite the fame of his conversion and wisdom, Abba Moses did nothing for the sake of personal gain. An imperial official went to the monastery looking for him with a generous array of gifts. The brothers sent him off to the monk’s cell. Informed by his spiritual sense of the visitor’s approach, Moses met him on the road with a warning. “Don’t go near Moses!,” he said, “He speaks foolishly and causes trouble.” Returning to the monastery, the official told the brothers about the encounter. “What did the stranger look like?” asked one of them. “He was tall, black-skinned, with white hair,” the visitor answered. The brothers were relieved by his words and responded, “That was Moses!” The official went home edified by the monastic practice of humility.
Despite being advanced in years, Moses understood the ancient teaching: All who take up the sword will perish by the sword (Mt 26:52). Bandits, much like himself in years past, were raiding and murdering in the area. Rather than take up arms, Abba Moses and seven disciples remained in the monastery to meet them, while the other brothers hurried into the desert. One of the seven hid while Moses and the rest stood to greet the marauders. The former slave and bandit, turned priest-monk, and those with him were decapitated. The monk in hiding saw a light shine from heaven with seven crowns descending from the sky.
—compiled by Fr. Deacon John R. Gresham, Jr.
January 18, 2026
Sources:
Velimirovic, Saint Nikolai. The Prologue of Ohrid: Lives of Saints, Hymns, Reflections, and Homilies for Every Day of the Year. Translated and edited by Bishop Maxim et al. 3rd ed. Alhambra, CA: Sebastian Press, 2017.
Sanderson, Fr. Jerome. St. Moses the Ethiopian. Ash Grove, MO: CSB Publishing, 2002.
Hanna, William A., Ph.D. The Remembrance (Martyrdom) of “Anba Moussa Al-Assouad,” (St. Moses the Black). Saint Louis, MO, July 4, 2003.
Brianchaninov, Ignatius. The Arena: Guidelines for Spiritual and Monastic Life. Translated by Lazarus Moore. 2nd ed. Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Publications, 2012.
Huneycutt, Fr. Joseph. “Once I Was Black But Now I Am White.” Orthodixie Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio. Wednesday, March 9, 2022. https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/orthodixie/once_i_was_black_but_now_i_am_white/