The monastic service, so glorified by the names of many saints who abandoned the temptations of the perishable world for the sake of acquiring eternal life, has its roots in ancient times. It originated in the early centuries of Christianity, and the first monastic communities appeared among the sultry sands of Egypt. One of those who praised the Lord in the feats of high asceticism in the 4th century was the Monk Moses Murin.
Black robber
History did not preserve the exact date of birth of the future saint, but it is known that he was born in Ethiopia in about 330 and, like all his countrymen, had a black skin color. He was baptized and called Moses. The nickname Murin, with which the reverend went down in the history of the church, is derived from the word "Moor", that is, a black inhabitant of North Africa.
As the scripture narrates, his path to the crown of holiness was long and thorny. Even as a child, deprived of Christian education, he was mired in vices and gradually fell to the point that in adulthood, being in the service of one worthy gentleman, he committed murder. Having hardly escaped proper punishment, he joined the robber gang, as he was related by anger and cruelty to these people.
Thunderstorm caravan routes
Very soon, Moses Murin took a dominant position among the robbers and became their chieftain. The reason for this was the natural strength of character and adamantness in achieving the goal, distinguishing it from the general mass. Under the leadership of Moses, the gang made many impudent robberies, and traces of its bloody crimes marked the majority of the trading cities in the Nile Delta.
The rumor about his “exploits” spread throughout the country, and the merchants, gathering on the road, prayed for God to protect their caravan routes from the ruthless robbers and their black ataman. Sometimes this helped, but more often they disappeared forever in the sultry haze of deserts, and only a hot wind covered the bloodied bodies thrown by the sand with sand.
Spiritual insight
For a long time the Lord allowed this lawlessness to happen, but once He opened Moses to his spiritual eyes, and he with horror saw the whole darkness into which he was defeated by his criminal life. In the blink of an eye, streams of shed blood appeared before him, and his ears filled with the moans and curses of innocent victims. The great sinner fell into the abyss of despair, and only by the grace of God found the strength in himself for further life, determined to devote its rest to repentance and atonement for his sins.
As already mentioned, Moses Murin possessed extraordinary fortitude and inflexibility, but in a former life these good qualities served low goals and were turned into evil. Now, overshadowed by the Grace of God, yesterday's sinner applied them to revive his defiled and desecrated soul.
The beginning of the penitent path
Forever breaking with a sinful and complete vice of life, the future saint Moses Murin shut himself off from the world in one of the distant monasteries, indulging in him fasting and prayers, interrupted only by tears of sincere and heartfelt repentance. Flouting his former pride, he practiced humility, fulfilling the obedience imposed on him by the abbot, and striving to be useful to the brethren in everything.
So over time, the dashing robber went into oblivion and appeared in the lands of the Egyptian monks of God Moses Murin. The life drawn up after his death tells of how beneficial the example of such a spiritual rebirth for the majority of former thieves turned out to be. Being likened to their leader, they also broke with the past, embarking on the path of repentance, and devoted themselves to the service of God.
Dominated by demonic temptations
But before rewarding His chosen ones with crowns of glory, the Lord often allows the evil one to subject them to temptations, even more tempering the strong and filtering out the weak in spirit. Such trials were destined to endure and Moses. The enemy of the human race sent him one of his most insidious servants - the prodigal demon. This wicked man began to confuse the monk's pure and immaculate thoughts with sinful dreams and to kindle his flesh with the infernal fire of lust.
Even the rare hours of sleep that fell to the monk, he overshadowed, sending him instead of pious visions images full of abominations and voluptuousness. The holy saints and the faces of the angels, who once filled his night dreams, gave way to lustful and unbridled virgins, inviting the monk with their shameless gestures. On top of his troubles, his sinful flesh completely refused to listen to the voice of reason and clearly indulged a crafty demon.
Instructions of the wise old man
And the pure monk’s soul would have disappeared, plunged into the stinking abyss of sin, but the Lord instructed him to go for advice to a distant monastery, where, in the deed of the strictest asceticism, one of the great pillars of the early Christian church presbyter Isidore. Having listened to everything that Moses Murin told him embarrassed, the wise old man reassured him, explaining that all newfound monks who had recently embarked on a monastic path go through such sufferings.
Demons overcome them, sending their godly visions, hoping to persuade them to sin. But they are powerless before those who oppose them with prayer and fasting. Therefore, without falling into despondency, you should return to your cell and continue serving God as much as possible, replacing the carnal food with spiritual one.
A repeat visit to presbyter Isidore
The servant of God Moses, exactly fulfilling the precept of the old man, shut himself again in his cell, restricting himself only to the stale crust of bread that he eats once a day after sunset. On fasting days, he did not eat food at all. However, the enemy redoubled his efforts. Having finally subjugated the flesh of the sufferer, even in the daytime he sent sinful obsessions into his consciousness.
And again he went for advice to the old man Moses Murin. The saint's life describes in detail this second meeting of them. Presbyter Isidore, having listened to the monk, put him on the roof of his cell and, turning his face to the west, pointed to the many demons that had strayed into the crowd and were preparing to fight with the sons of God. Then, turning to the east, he showed a myriad angelic army, ready to withstand them in the struggle for human souls.
By this he showed Moses the sign that the army sent by God is incomparably larger and stronger than the fiends of hell and will undoubtedly come to the rescue in his daily battle. The practical advice of the old man came down to the fact that, since the enemy sends his vile visions to the monk mainly during sleep, it is necessary to deprive him of this opportunity by devoting night hours to relentless vigil and prayer.
Night Vigils and Prayers
Returning from the old man, St. Moses Murin did exactly what he ordered him to do. Now, having tasted his meager food with the onset of darkness, he did not go to bed, but stood up for prayer, constantly bowing, overshadowing himself with a sign of the cross. In this way he spent all night long. This brought him unspeakable torment, since the natural nature lived according to its own laws and required sleep, although not for long, but for nightly hours.
So six years have passed. Over time, Moses became accustomed and, strengthened by the Grace of God, stood idle in prayer until the first rays of the sun. However, the demon was able to adapt to his new lifestyle. Inflamed from insomnia, the consciousness of an ascetic, he filled with even more persistence with vile dreams and voluptuous images.
A new weapon in the fight against the crafty
Not daring to disturb the old man Isidore again, pr. Moses Murin turned for help to the abbot of that monastery, in which he had worked all this time. After listening to him, the wise shepherd remembered his youth and his own struggle with the flesh. He recommended to the sufferer every time when an unclean spirit embarks on him, to torment his nature with overwork, whether in broad daylight or under cover of night.
From that time, Moses Murin began to go around the cells of the brethren nightly and, collecting water vessels placed near the doors, went with them to a source that was at a fair distance. It was hard work. All nights, Moses, bending under the weight of his burden, dragged water, making a prayer.
Victory over the wiles of the devil
This enemy of the human race could not bear. Shamed, he forever departed from the righteous. Leaving in complete impotence, the demon stabbed him in the back with a certain tree that turned up by the arm. Unable to get the monk's soul, he vented the grudge on his flesh, which also always treacherously indulged sin.
The life of St. Moses Murin has preserved for us a description of his last meeting with the old man Isidore. It occurred shortly after the holy monk finally got rid of demonic obsessions. Tempted in fights with the spirits of darkness, Father Isidore told him that this misfortune was allowed by God exclusively so that Moses, embarking on the path of monastic service, would not be proud of quick successes and would not imagine himself a righteous man, but in everything relied only on the help of the Most High.
The death of the holy righteous
After this, many good and charitable deeds were done by the Monk Moses Murin. More than once he showed the brethren an example of humility and meekness, combining this with the wisdom gained in reading the Holy Scriptures. But the days of his earthly life were steadily coming to an end.
Once, already being the head priest of the monastery, he gathered a brotherhood around him and told him that he would soon expect an attack of gangs of robbers on them. Knowing from experience how ruthless these people were, he ordered the monks to collect everything they needed on the road and leave the monastery.
However, when everything was ready and the brethren were already standing at the gate, he refused to follow them, referring to the fact that the words of Jesus Christ should be fulfilled on it: "All who take the sword will perish by the sword." He spent his youth with a sword in his hands, and it was time to pay for it. Soon, robbers burst into the monastery, he was killed.
All-Christian veneration of St. Moses Murin
So at the age of seventy-five years, Rev. Moses Murin ended his earthly life, the icon of which shows us the image of a black-haired old man with a gray-haired man holding a scroll - a symbol of wisdom.
Despite the fact that he is considered a saint of the Ethiopian church, his veneration has spread throughout the Christian world, and his memory is celebrated on August 28 according to the Julian calendar. In our churches, a prayer to St. Moses Murin is offered on September 10 in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. On the eve of this day, an akathist composed in his honor is read.
Prayer to Moses Murin from drunkenness
Believers know that the Lord gives His saints a special grace to help in what they themselves succeeded in the days of earthly life. From everything that made up the plot of our story, it is clear that for many years the main efforts of St. Moses were aimed at curbing the passions with which the enemy of the human race tried to entangle him, and in this he gained glory.
Therefore, in the fight against passions, he can help all who turn to him in their prayers. And it is not a question of which one is in question. It so happened that in Russia the evil one chose temptation to tempt people. This does not mean that the rest of the sins are alien to us, but this one was especially ingrained.
Not finding enough strength in themselves to fight the disease, many of those who are prone to it, but want to get rid of it, resort to the help of the Heavenly Protectors. It is in this case that the prayer to Moses Murin from drunkenness is extremely effective. It is only important that she be uttered with hope in God's mercy, and her sincere desire to be cured.
The same fully applies to other prayers that we offer. They can be heard only if the worshiper rejects the slightest shadow of doubt about the possibility of fulfilling the request. The Lord said: “By your faith it will be unto you,” therefore it is the strength of faith that makes our appeals to the saints gracious, and prayer to Moses Murin is no exception.