Saint Nino (Nina), Equal to the Apostles, Enlightener of Georgia

Life and calling

According to her Life, Nino came from Cappadocia and was raised in Jerusalem by an elderly Christian woman, Sara Niaphor. From her, Nino learned of Christ’s earthly life and suffering, and heard that Christ’s Robe had come to Georgia, then a land of pagans. She prayed earnestly to the Theotokos, hoping to travel there and venerate this holy relic. Church tradition tells that the Mother of God appeared to her in a dream, blessed her to preach the Gospel in Georgia, and gave her a cross made of grapevines. Nino bound it with strands of her hair. With the blessing of her uncle, Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem, she set out for Georgia.

Witness in Georgia

On her journey, Nino reached Rome and later escaped persecution in Armenia. She eventually arrived in Georgia near Lake Paravani, passed through Urbnisi, and came to Mtskheta. Her Life describes her grief at seeing people worship idols and her prayer that they might know the one true God. The destruction of pagan images during a storm is presented in Church tradition in connection with her prayer. Nino lived in the king’s garden and proclaimed Christ. The Life relates that the gardener’s wife and Queen Nana were healed through her prayers and confessed faith in Christ. Many people came to Christianity through Nino’s teaching.

Why she is venerated

The conversion of King Mirian is central to the account. Church tradition recounts that, while hunting, he was enveloped in darkness. He called upon “the God of Nino,” promising to accept the Christian faith if he were helped. Afterward, he told Nino of his decision. Her labors are linked with Georgia becoming firmly rooted in Christianity. Saint Nino reposed at Bodbe in eastern Georgia and, according to her wish, was buried where she died. The Life says that King Mirian later built a church honoring Great-martyr George over her grave. She is called Equal to the Apostles because her work of bringing the Gospel to a people is likened to apostolic preaching.

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