Saint Moses of Carpathia
The Life of Our Venerable Father Moses of the Carpathians
Whose Memory the Holy Church Celebrates on July 26th
Our unclean enemy, the devil, wages war particularly upon the impure man who is beset by the passion of fornication, that the man who is thus benighted may not look to God in all his works; for only those who are pure of heart shall see God. This field of battle also saw the struggles of our venerable father Moses of the Carpathians, who utterly vanquished the power of the unclean foe, leaving us in his own life an example of such a victory.
The venerable Moses was a native of the Carpathian Mountains. He was greatly loved by the right-believing and holy passion-bearer, Prince Boris, whom he served in company with his brother, George, who was slain by the River Alta during the battle between Boris and Svyatopolk. The blessed Moses, who alone escaped this battle alive, went to the city of Kiev, to Predislava, the sister of Yaroslav, and there hid from Svyatopolk, praying earnestly to God, until that ungodly prince was vanquished by the pious Prince Yaroslav. When, having fled to the Polish land, Svyatopolk returned therefrom with Boleslav and, driving Yaroslav out, occupied the throne of Kiev, Boleslav, returning to his own land, took the two sisters of Yaroslav as hostages, as well as the venerable Moses of the Carpathians and certain noblemen. They dragged the blessed one along, he being weighted down with iron chains affixed to his arms and legs, and kept him under close guard, for he was hale of body and comely of countenance.
When a certain noblewoman of Poland, young and beautiful, possessed of riches and authority, beheld the venerable one, she was wounded by the desire of carnal lust for him, and urged him with false words, saying: “O man, why dost thou accept such tortures which, as one with intelligence, thou mightest avoid?” Moses answered: “Thus is it pleasing unto God.” The woman then said: “If thou wilt submit to me, I will deliver thee and make thee great in all of Poland, and thou shalt have control over all my property.” But the blessed one, perceiving her impure desire, said to her: “What man doth well in obeying a woman? When Adam heeded his wife, he was driven out of paradise; and Samson, who in strength was more powerful that all his foes, fell into the hands of the Philistines through the impure charms of a woman; and Herod, who had won many victories, was enslaved by a woman and, giving himself over to unclean passion, beheaded John the Forerunner. How can I obey a woman’s impure advice, which I have not known from the day of my birth?” But she replied to him: “I will deliver thee from death and make you glorious; and I will take thee to be my own husband, for I cannot bear to see thee perish.” Moses, however, answered forcefully: “Know thou that I will not fulfill thy desire, for I wish neither authority nor wealth, but seek purity of soul and body. I will not ruin my five-year labor. I will endure tortures now, that I may be delivered from eternal torments.” Then the woman, plotting evil, resorted to other means, saying to herself: “If I redeem him from captivity, he will have to submit to me whether he wisheth to or not.” She then sent to the officer in charge of the captives and purchased the blessed one from him for three thousand gold pieces. Having made Moses her slave, she ordered her servants to remove his ragged garments, to clothe him in costly raiment, and to feed him with sweet foods. And she began again to tempt him to commit fornication. But the blessed one, perceiving the madness of the woman, resorted rather to fasting and prayer, eating only dry bread and water. Then also he cast off the vesture he had been clothed with and, as Joseph once did, fled from sin. The woman, put to shame, fell into a rage and ordered the blessed one cast into prison, intending to starve him to death. But the Lord, Who gives food to every living creature, Who once fed Elijah in the wilderness and Paul of Thebes and many other of His servants who trusted in Him, did not abandon this blessed one too. For one of the servants of that woman, taking pity on Moses, secretly brought him food. Others among the servants sought to persuade the venerable one, saying: “Brother Moses, what hindereth thee from marrying? Thou art young, and this woman lived with her husband only one year; she is beautiful beyond all others, and possesseth great wealth and power. A prince would not spurn her, but thou, a captive and slave, dost not desire to become her lord. If thou fearest to break a commandment of the Lord, did not Christ say: ‘For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh’ [Mt. 19: 5]? And did not the Apostle also say: “The young widows refuse” [I Tim. 5: 11]? Thou hast not taken the vows of a monk, but art free; why then art thou giving thyself over to such great torments? For if thou die, what benefit is there in it? Even the righteous Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had wives. It would be better to submit thyself to this woman and be free and lord in this house.” But the blessed Moses answered them: “Yea, well do ye counsel me, my brethren and good friends, but I know that what ye propose to me now is worse than the counsel which the serpent gave Eve in paradise. Ye try to persuade me to submit to the woman, but I will not take your advice; and if it happen that I die amid these bonds and torments, I will not give in to her delusion. Even though many righteous men were saved while married, I, a sinner, cannot find salvation with her. I desire neither kingdom nor power in Poland, but seek the kingdom of heaven on high. For this reason, even if I am deprived of life, I will not obey the counsel of this woman, and shall remain unmarried; for Christ hath said in the Gospel: ‘Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life’ [Mt. 5: 29]. Should I heed Christ, or you? And the Apostle saith the same thing: ‘He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife’ [I Cor. 7: 32-33]. Therefore, I ask you: Whom ought one to serve more: the Lord, or a woman? This I know: ‘Servants, in all things obey your masters’ [Col. 3: 22], yet for good, not for evil. Know, therefore, that the beauty of woman will never deceive me and will not separate me from the love of Christ.”
When she heard this, the woman, with evil intent, ordered the blessed one set upon a horse and led by many servants through the city and villages, saying to him: “All this is thine! Do what thou wishest!” And she also said to the people: “This is your master and my husband.” And all made obeisance to the blessed one when they saw him. But, ashamed of the foolishness of the woman, he said: “Thou laborest in vain; for thou canst not seduce me with the corrupt things of this world, and thou cannot steal from me mine incorrupt spiritual riches. Accept this, and cease thy striving.” Then the woman said, enraged: “Dost thou not know that thou wast sold to me? Who is there to deliver thee from my hand? I will not let thee go alive, but after long tortures I will put thee to death!” But the blessed one answered her with boldness: “I fear no evil, for the Lord is with me. From this time forth I will serve Him in the monastic life.”
At that time, in accordance with God’s providence, there came to the blessed Moses a certain priestmonk from the Holy Mountain, who clothed him in the holy, angelic, monastic habit. Afterwards, having instructed him in purity of soul and body, and persuaded the blessed one not to give in to the enemy and not to fear that vile woman, he departed. And despite all attempts to arrest this monk, he was nowhere to be found. The woman then, having lost all hope of luring the monk Moses into sin, began to inflict upon him grievous wounds: they stretched him on the rack and beat him with an iron rod, so that the ground beneath him was covered with blood. And those who beat him said: “Submit to thy mistress and do her will. If thou wilt not obey, we will cut thy whole body into little pieces. Do not think that thou wilt avoid these tortures: for after many torments thou shalt be given over to death. Have pity on thyself, take off thy monastic rags, put on noble vesture of many colors, and deliver thyself from suffering.” But the venerable Moses manfully replied to them: “Brethren, do not hesitate to do what ye have been commanded. It is not possible for me to reject my monasticism and the love of God; and no imprisonment, no fire, sword or wounds can separate me from God and this great, angelic habit. I will not submit to this shameless woman, who hath manifestly shown forth her audacity for all to see in trying to compel me to defile myself and commit fornication, nor will I do her accursed will.”
In grief, and desiring to have revenge for her humiliation, the woman wrote a letter to Prince Boleslav, saying: “Thou thyself knowest, O prince, that my husband was slain in battle as he fought for thee, and thou hast given me permission to marry a husband of mine own choosing. I fell in love with a certain youth among thy captives; I paid a great deal of gold and silver for him and took him into my own house, desiring to have him for my husband. But he treated all this as nought. I have had him tortured greatly with starvation and wounds; he hath been six years in fetters: yet all of this hath not humbled him. And now he hath received the monastic tonsure. Wherefore, what dost thou desire that I do with him?” The prince ordered the woman to come to him and to bring Moses with her. When he saw Moses, he strove to force the venerable one to take that woman to wife, but the prince finally said to him: “Who is more senseless than thee, that thou refusest so many benefits and honor and givest thyself over to bitter torments? Know that life or death lieth before thee. If thou wilt fulfill the will of thy mistress, thou shalt receive great honor and authority; but if thou wilt not obey, thou shalt receive death.” Then the prince said to the woman: “The captive thou hast redeemed cannot be freed, but as his owner do thou what thou wilt to thy slave, that other slaves many not dare to disobey their masters.” Our venerable father Moses answered the prince, saying: “The Lord saith: ‘What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?’ [Mk. 8: 36-37]. Why dost thou promise me glory and honor when I myself will soon die, and this woman will be slain?” The prophecy of the venerable one was fulfilled in deed; but the saint was first tortured by the enraged woman, receiving one hundred lashes every day, so that he lay as one dead from loss of blood. Yet all of this did the venerable one bear, that he might receive a heavenly crown. Meanwhile, Prince Boleslav, desiring to please the woman, raised a great persecution against the monks and drove them all out of his realm. The Lord, however, soon avenged His servants. One night, Boleslav died suddenly, and a great rebellion arose in Poland: the people, rising up, slew their bishops and noblemen, and with them they also slew that shameless woman.
The venerable Moses, that good warrior of Christ lived amid suffering and his God-pleasing struggle. He was five years in fetters under him who had made him captive without a cause, showing therein the patience of Job; the sixth year he courageously suffered more than Joseph for his purity; and for ten years he abode in stillness, in a cave. By this ten-year sojourn in the cave he shone forth, like Moses of old did in the ten commandments, which were given to him by angels on Mount Sinai. For this reason, the venerable Moses was vouchsafed to be a true God-seer, and, as one worthy of the blessed state of those who are pure of heart, he departed to behold God face to face, on the 26th day of the month of July, while the venerable Anthony was still among the living. His relics even now lay incorrupt in the Cave of Saint Anthony, imparting unto all victory over the unclean passion of fornication.
PRAYER TO OUR VENERABLE FATHER MOSES OF THE CARPATHIANS
O all-wondrous and God-bearing father Moses, excellent favorite of Christ and great wonder- worker! we humbly fall down before thee and pray: Grant that we may share in thy love for God and neighbor; help us to do the will of the Lord in simplicity of heart and humility, that we may fulfill the commandments of the Lord without sinning; and look with compassion upon the souls of all who faithfully honor thee, seeking mercy and help from thee. Yea, O most good favorite of God: Hearken unto us who pray to thee, and disdain not those who are in need of thine aid, and who offer fitting hymnody unto thee. We bless thee, O father Moses, and we hymn thee, O lamp of purity, glorifying the merciful God Who is worshipped in the Holy Trinity Which is without beginning — the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit — now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Translated from Russian & Church Slavonic by Monk Joseph (Isaac Lambertsen).
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