Friday, August 28

Golden Age · c. 330 – 405

St Moses of Ethiopia

Repentant robber who became a desert father

Moses, an Ethiopian of great physical strength, was the slave of an Egyptian official who cast him out for violence, and he became the feared leader of a band of robbers in the Nile valley. Fleeing the law, he came among the monks of the desert, and their peace overwhelmed him; he repented and became a monk at Scetis under the guidance of St Isidore, warring for years against the passions of his old life with heroic labors and humility. Ordained priest in old age, he answered every honor with self-reproach. When summoned to judge an erring brother, he came carrying a leaking jug of sand: 'My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and I come today to judge another.' Warned of a barbarian raid, he refused to flee or resist, recalling that all who take the sword will perish by the sword, and was killed with seven companions around 405.

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