Living in Sibiu during this period, he worked both to improve the spiritual and educational foundations of the diocese and to secure additional rights for the province's Romanians.

Born in to an old priestly family in Sebeș, in the Principality of Transylvania,[1] he attended the local Lutheran gymnasium from 1786, followed by the Roman Catholic high schools in Alba Iulia and Cluj.

[1] Described by one contemporary as "an unremarkable man, unknown, speaks foreign languages, but is otherwise a lethargic, negligent and weak character", Moga had the backing of the powerful Governor of Transylvania, György Bánffy.

He was also supported by Greek-Catholic bishops Ioan Bob and Samuil Vulcan, who preferred a compliant Orthodox leader rather than his more fanatical rival Nicolae Hutovici, a cleric ready to oppose their efforts at attracting converts in southern Transylvania.

[2] During his 34 years as at the helm of the diocese, Moga confronted difficulties placed in his path by both the imperial and the Transylvanian authorities, by the local Saxons and the Greek-Catholic clergy.

The document specified that if Orthodox parishioners embraced Greek Catholicism, the church land would become the property of the latter denomination, while if an entire village took up Orthodoxy, the Greek-Catholic priest would retain control.

He purchased a house that became his official residence, as well as hosting the consistory and seminary, and built a separate wing for the teachers he hired and paid.

[2][4] Over the course of his episcopate, Moga pushed for the Romanians' recognition as the fourth nation in Transylvania (see Unio Trium Nationum) and for their political and social rights.

After 1830, the situation became more favorable: conflict between the government and the largely Protestant opposition nobility grew more acute, and both groups attempted to draw the Romanians onto their side.

Later the same year, he again joined with Lemeni to seek sanctions against the Hungarian and Székely members of the Diet for allegedly discriminating against the Romanian inhabitants of the Fundus regius.

[9] The initiative, in which the bishops reminded the privileged nations of the significant inequalities faced by their community, took place against a backdrop of conflict between Hungarians and Saxons regarding the principality's official language.

[10] Although Hungarian and Székely deputies showed some interest in embarrassing the Saxons, the petitions were unsuccessful, either relegated to the archives or sent to be forgotten in a study committee.

[12] While his eventual successor Andrei Șaguna has been the subject of ample historiographic study, Moga's life has generally been treated in cursory fashion, with the last biography appearing in 1938.