The Nicene Age · AD 313–400

Moses the Saracen

fl. c. AD 378 (death unrecorded) · Arab hermit · First bishop of the Tanukhid Saracens · the desert of Arabia → the Tanukhid federation

The Nicene Age

Who Moses the Saracen was

An Arab by birth who lived as a hermit in the desert and was demanded as bishop by Queen Mavia as the price of peace with Rome. Brought to Alexandria for consecration, he refused to receive it from the Arian Lucius — telling him to his face that his hands were not clean — and was ordained instead by orthodox bishops in exile. He then went to Mavia’s people and, on Socrates’ account, kept the peace between them and the empire for the rest of his life. Distinct from Moses the Black of Scetis.

Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees and desert fathers & mothers.

Common questions

When was Moses active?

Moses the Saracen is dated fl. c. AD 378 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Moses in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.

Which early sources mention Moses?

Moses the Saracen is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Socrates Scholasticus and Sozomen. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Moses from?

The archive associates Moses the Saracen with the desert of Arabia, the Tanukhid federation. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.

Who were Moses’ contemporaries?

The archive links Moses the Saracen to 1 other figure, including Mavia. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.

Primary-source mentions (2)

Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Ecclesiastical History IV.36

c. AD 439
[A Saracen by birth, who led a monastic life in the desert, and became exceedingly eminent for his piety, faith and miracles.]
Socrates Scholasticus · Ecclesiastical History IV.36 · source text

Ecclesiastical History VI.38

c. AD 445
[Refusing ordination at the hands of Lucius, he was consecrated by the bishops then in banishment.]
Sozomen · Ecclesiastical History VI.38 · source text

Connected in the archive

People

Named alongside Moses in the sources

These figures are placed with Moses by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Moses naming them in return.

Events in this lifetime

Place