On August 8, the Russian Orthodox Church honors the memory of St. Moses the Hungarian of the Kiev Caves Monastery, those relics are in the Near Caves (c. 1043).
St. Moses was born in Hungary, so he is known as “Moses the Hungarian”. His brothers were Sts. George and Ephraim of Torzhok.1
All the three brothers were united, pious, and fervently believed in the Lord. When they reached adulthood, they came to Rostov and began to serve the holy Prince Boris the Passion-Bearer, a son of Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev—the Baptizer of Russia. Prince Boris made the brothers boyars for their faithful service and zeal. And the brothers loved and respected the prince.
When Prince Boris went on a campaign against the Pechenegs (a nomadic group that often raided Kievan Rus’), Moses and George were with him. The battle did not take place due to the retreat of the enemy, and the prince’s army turned back. On the way, Boris received news of his father’s death, and then news of Prince Svyatopolk the Accursed’s intention to kill him in order to seize power in Kiev. The assassins sneaked up to the tent of Prince Boris and began to pierce it with spears. George placed himself between the prince and the attackers to save his life, but died immediately. Prince Boris did not escape death either.
Ephraim did not take part in the expedition. When he heard about his brother George’s death, he came to the site of his martyrdom only to find his severed head. Ephraim was so shocked by the murderers’ treachery that he decided to dedicate his life to God from that day on. Near the town of Torzhok he opened a home for strangers, and later founded the Monastery of Sts. Boris and Gleb there on a hill. He served as the archimandrite of this monastery until his repose.
St. Moses, the third brother, managed to escape that fateful night. He reached Kiev, where Svyatopolk’s servants, from whom good people had hidden Moses, were already hunting for him. St. Moses lived in forced seclusion for three years.
In 1018, King Boleslav I of Poland siezed Kiev and took many boyars and common people captive. St. Moses was one of them. He spent six long years in captivity, but he did not despair, devoting all his free time to prayer. There he took the vow of celibacy.
One day, some noble Poles came to the prison to buy servants. Among them was the wealthy widow of a Polish pan (landowner). That woman was young and beautiful, arrogant and selfish, and she knew her own worth. But when she saw St. Moses, she was struck by his appearance. The young man was tall and slim, with regular features.
After her companions had left, she went up to St. Moses and told him without doubting that she would receive the young man’s consent:
“I like you very much, young man. You are handsome and strong. I am a widow and I want you to become my lover. In return, you will receive freedom, honors, and wealth, for I am very prosperous. We will enjoy life, feasting and indulging in all pleasures.”
St. Moses looked up at the woman and said calmly:
“Adam, Samson, Solomon and Herod suffered from women. And will I be free if I am enslaved to a woman? I need neither wealth, nor honors, nor blessings of this world! For me purity and chastity are above all things.”
The widow’s eyes flashed angrily, her beautiful face was distorted by a malicious grin, but the insidious woman did not abandon her plans. The next day she went to the prison again, taking money with her.
Appearing in the prisoner’s cell with the guard, the noble lady said to St. Moses:
“I’ve bought you, and now you’re my slave.”
Nothing could be done, so St. Moses humbly went with the lady to her house.
The widow brought St. Moses to her large house and ordered the maid to bring luxury clothes for the man she had bought. Then she ordered the saint:
“Follow the maid to your room, take off your old clothes and put on this beautiful and worthy attire.”
And again, St. Moses obeyed the woman without a murmur. When he reappeared before her, looking even more handsome in splendid garments, the wicked woman attempted to seduce the young man again. And then St. Moses threw off the elegant outer clothes given to him, turned his face away from the seductress and started praying loudly:
“Lord, strengthen me! Lord, save my soul from perdition! Lord, keep me from sinning!”
The relics of St. Moses the Hungarian in the Near Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra. Wilstar.orthodox.ru
Seeing all this, the temptress screamed wrathfully:
“Hey, servants! Take this man to the basement, to the dungeon! And don’t give him food.”
St. Moses was confined to a stuffy and dark dungeon, but he only thanked the Lord for having been freed from the impious woman.
A few days later the widow, thinking that her slave would be more complaisant this time, came to St. Moses again. Now she decided to act more cunningly in order to gain the young man’s favor:
“Come on, handsome young man! I’ll show you my rich houses, fertile lands, and ancient estates.”
Throughout the long day, St. Moses had to look at the rich woman’s vast estates. The widow drove him all day long in her carriage drawn by four horses.
“All this wealth and abundance will belong to you instantly if you agree to be mine. We will live together like in Paradise,” she uttered in a gentle voice.
But St. Moses was not seduced by either the wealth or the woman’s beauty. He said:
“Lady, do not force me to sin, since I have taken the vow of celibacy.”
The widow flew into a rage and yelled:
“For your refusal, I will subject you to terrible torments! You will beg for my mercy and the deliverance from torture. But I won’t let you out alive!”
St. Moses replied to her humbly:
“The Lord is my Protector, and with Him, I’m not afraid of anything.”
Prince Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles, St. Moses the Hungarian, and St. Arkady of Torzhok. Simon Ushakov, Tretyakov Gallery Outraged, the woman ordered the coachman to drive the horses home. Soon the carriage drove into the large courtyard, and while the widow was giving her servants orders, St. Moses stealthily went to the nearest church and quickly took monastic vows there.
On returning, St. Moses announced to the lady that he was now a monk. The wicked woman cried out:
“Punish him cruelly! Strike him immediately!”
And the widow’s servants began birching St. Moses mercilessly.
“More! Birch him more!” the widow shouted while roaring with laughter angrily, seeing the monk’s suffering.
St. Moses was silent and did not ask for mercy.
Finally, the torture ceased. St. Moses was disfigured and bleeding all over. His young body withstood these torments, St. Moses would suffer physically for the rest of his life.
After some time, the wicked woman was murdered during an uprising in Poland. And St. Moses was free again. He went to lead an ascetic life with St. Anthony at the Kiev Caves. He lived there for ten years in fasting and prayer, and around 1043 he peacefully reposed in the Lord. His holy relics rest there in the Near Caves.
All three brothers are venerated as saints: Moses and Ephraim with the title “venerable”, and George as a martyr.
