St Moses, Archbishop of Novgorod (+1362)

Saint Moses, Archbishop of Novgorod (in the world Mitrophan), ascended the hierarchical throne in 1325; but mutual enmity, unrest and other misfortunes weighed on his soul, and in 1330 he voluntarily resigned his episcopate. The saint spent more than twenty years in monastic labour, and in 1352, at the insistent demand of his flock, returned again to his see. Saint Moses proved a true shepherd to his diocese: he protected the oppressed, helped poor widows and strengthened the pious with his counsel; he gathered scribes and at his own expense had many books copied, and he built many churches in Novgorod and its surroundings.

In 1359 the sick and weakened hierarch again resigned his see, withdrew to the monastery of the Archangel Michael, which he himself had founded, and laboured there until his end (+25 January 1362). The saint’s body was buried with honour in the cathedral church.