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Venerable (Monastic)13th century

Venerable Moses the Wonderworker of the Kiev Caves

13th century (Kiev Caves Monastery)

Also known as Moses of the Kiev Caves

A monk of the Kiev Caves given to psalmody, prostrations, and the wearing of chains, who was glorified with the gift of wonders.

July 28New Calendar
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August 10Old Calendar
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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Moses the Wonderworker of the Kiev Caves

Life

Venerable Moses the Wonderworker was a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery whose life, as preserved in the synaxarion, is remembered chiefly for its rigorous asceticism and for the gift of working wonders he received. The surviving account is brief, recording his manner of monastic struggle rather than the events of his career.

He is one of the venerable fathers whose relics repose in the Far (Theodosius) Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra, and he is commemorated on July 28. He should not be confused with Venerable Moses the Hungarian of the Kiev Near Caves, an earlier and distinct monk commemorated on July 26.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide
TroparionTone 8

By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile,
and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance.
By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe!
O our holy father Moses, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline2 momentsReadHide
  1. 13th centuryMonastic struggle at the Kiev CavesMoses lived as a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery, devoting himself to psalmody, prostrations, and the wearing of chains and a heavy copper cross, and was glorified with the gift of wonders.
  2. July 28CommemorationVenerable Moses the Wonderworker is commemorated on July 28; the synaxarion also records a commemoration on July 26. His relics repose in the Far (Theodosius) Caves.

Contributions & Legacy

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Monastic Life and Asceticism

Moses lived as a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery and was, in the words of the synaxarion, completely dedicated to God. His remembered ascetic discipline was severe: he wore chains and a heavy copper cross, and his continual and favored labor was psalmody together with the making of innumerable prostrations.

Through this life of unceasing prayer and bodily struggle he is said to have received the gift of working miracles, the source of the title "Wonderworker" by which he is known. No individual miracles are named in the surviving record.

Relics & Shrines

The relics of Moses repose in the Far Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra, also called the Caves of Saint Theodosius. He is numbered among the Synaxis of the Saints of the Kiev Caves whose relics rest in the Far Caves, an assembly commemorated together on August 28.

Related Saints1 saintShowHide

Saints connected to his life, mission, and place in Orthodox tradition.

Not to be confused with; an earlier and distinct monk of the Kiev Near Caves commemorated on July 26.
Venerable Mosesthe Hungarian of the Kiev Caves

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints