Mosestheblack

[jkotinek]

+Christ is in our midst!+

I noticed that on the Cross thread you said that St. Moses the Black is your name saint. I have been interested in St. Moses since my mom sent me a book, An Unbroken Circle: Linking Ancient African Christianity to the African American Experience by Fr. Paisius Altschul. From that book I also learned about Fr. Moses Berry, the Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black, and Fr. Berry's museum.

Last time my wife and I drove through Missouri, we tried to stop by but had timing issues...

oaahm.org/index.html

 

[The Prokeimenon!]

+He is and ever shall be!+

That link is very cool. I had never heard of Fr. Moses Berry before, but from the brief peek I took at the website, I'd like to learn more about him.

When I was preparing for Chrismation, I looked around for who I should pick for a Patron Saint. I read that St. Moses is the Patron of alcoholics. I read more about him and his struggle- how after years of repentence he still had terrible thoughts and tortuous temptations, yet he never gave up on his struggle, and eventually overcame them. His story spoke to me in a very meaningful way. I tend to believe that we don't pick our Patron Saints, they pick us.

Here's a link to St. Moses' life:

http://goarch.org/en/chapel/saints.asp?contentid=181

 

[Mary of Bethany]

That's a very cool website and article about Fr. Moses Berry. I had heard of him from an article his Matushka Magdalena wrote for "Our Hearts' True Home" by Conciliar Press (women converts' stories) that I have. She came from a non-religious Jewish family, and had quite a journey to Orthodoxy.