Anba Moses the Black
The feast of Anba Moses the Black is on the 24th of Paona, and this year it Agreeing falls on Friday, the first of July. This feast is celebrated in the Monastery of Al-Baramous, where this saint lived and was buried.
Saint Moses the Black represents a life of repentance. A man who was harsh and a killer, far from God—his appearance was terrifying when he arrived at the monastery… yet through it he was transformed into a holy monk, and even into a father of monks… and he became a priest among the few priests in the wilderness of Scetis.
Anba Moses the Black is among the beloved saints for Africans:
In ministry in Africa, they love the name Moses the Black, just as they love the name Takla Haymanot. His gifts and holiness rise above the level of racism. He was black in his color, and white in his heart.
Moses the Black gives hope in changing human nature.
For he was able to overcome the savage person within himself, and was transformed into a gentle man who loves strangers… One of the fathers saw him in a vision, with angels around him feeding him honeycomb.
The life of Moses the Black gives an idea about the importance of the father of confession:
The one who took charge of guiding Moses the Black was the great saint Anba Isidore, the priest of the Cells. He was very long-suffering, and Saint Isidore—through the power of the Spirit working in him—was able to transform Moses the killer into a saint.
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – Al-Keraza Magazine – Year Eight (Issue Twenty-Five), 24-6-1977
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