, May 19 (Gruz; Commemoration of Nina's Entry into Georgia)
Twelve years old, Saint Nina came to Jerusalem with her parents, who had an only daughter. By their mutual agreement and with the blessing of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Zebulun devoted his life to serving God in the deserts of the Jordan, Sosanna was appointed deaconess at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the upbringing of Saint Nina was entrusted to the pious old woman Nianfora. Saint Nina showed obedience and diligence, and two years later, with the help of the grace of God, she firmly learned to follow the rules of the faith and read the Holy Scriptures with zeal.
Once, when she, weeping, sympathized with the evangelist describing the crucifixion of Christ the Savior, her thought stopped at the fate of the Chiton of the Lord (John 19, 23-24). To the question of St. Nina, where is the Chiton of the Lord, the old woman Nianfora explained that the non-sewn Chiton of the Lord, according to legend, was taken by the Mtskheta rabbi Eleazar to Iberia (Georgia). Having learned from Elder Nianfora that Georgia had not yet been enlightened by the light of Christianity, Saint Nina prayed day and night to the Most Holy Theotokos, that she would make her see Georgia turned to the Lord, and that she would help her find the Chiton of the Lord.
Once the Most Pure Virgin appeared to her in a dream and, having handed over a cross woven from vine, said:
"Take this cross, it will be your shield and fence against all visible and invisible enemies. Go to the country of Iberia, preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ there, and you will find grace from Him: I will be your patroness".
Awakening, Saint Nina saw a cross in her hands, rejoiced in spirit and tied the cross with her braids. Then, coming to her uncle, the patriarch of Jerusalem, she told about the vision. The Patriarch of Jerusalem blessed the young maiden for the feat of apostolic service.
On the way to Georgia Saint Nina miraculously escaped martyrdom from the Armenian king Tiridates III, which was subjected to her companions - Princess Hripsimia, her mentor Gaiania and 35 virgins, who were converted by Saint Nina and fled from Rome to Armenia from the persecution of Emperor Diocletian (284-305). The Lord was preparing another fate for Saint Nino, so He inspired her to hide in rose bush. When the danger passed and the punishers dispersed, Saint Nino continued on her way.
At Lake Paravani, she met shepherds from Mtskheta, who told her about their land and said that they would soon return home. Having again received a blessing from the Lord to preach to the pagans, Nino asked permission from the shepherds to accompany them. Strengthened by visions of the Angel of the Lord, who appeared for the first time with a censer, and the second time with a scroll in his hand, having endured great difficulties on the way, Saint Nina finally reached Georgia in the year. She arrived in the city of Urbnisi and stayed there for some time. Soon she, along with the pagan Urbnis, who were going to worship the Armaz idol, arrived in Mtskheta, the capital of Georgia.
Her fame soon spread throughout the region, for her preaching was accompanied by many signs. On the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord, through the prayer of St. Nina, during a pagan sacrifice performed by priests in the presence of King Mirian and a large crowd, they were overthrown from high mountain idols - Armaz, Gatsi and Gaim. This phenomenon was accompanied by a strong storm and hail. The frightened crowd fled in fear in different directions.
Saint Nina found shelter in the family of a childless royal gardener, whose wife, Anastasia, through the prayers of Saint Nina, was resolved from infertility. Then the couple glorified Christ and became disciples of the holy virgin. Followers of the Christian faith reached out to Saint Nino, and soon she became so famous that many pagans began to turn to her for help and, having received it, believed in Christ. The saint moved to a solitary place at the northern edge of the city, where she settled in a hut in the bushes of blackberries (and where the monastery of Samtavro then arose), and from there she continued her preaching.
Saint Nina healed the Georgian queen Nana from a serious illness, who, having received holy baptism, from an idolater became a zealous Christian. But, despite the miraculous healing of his wife, Tsar Mirian (265-342), listening to the promptings of the pagans, was ready to subject Saint Nina to cruel torments. Once, during the royal hunt on Mount Thot, while he was plotting the execution of the holy righteous woman, the sun darkened and an impenetrable darkness covered the place where the king was. Mirian suddenly became blind, and the horrified retinue began to beg their pagan idols for the return of daylight. " But Armaz, Zaden, Gaim and Gatsi were deaf, and the darkness multiplied. Then the frightened unanimously appealed to God, Whom Nina preached. The darkness instantly dissipated, and the sun illuminated everything with its rays.". This event took place on May 6 of the year.
The chronicles tell that Saint Nina, through her prayers, was discovered where the Chiton of the Lord was hidden, and the first Christian church in Georgia was erected there - at first a wooden, and now a stone cathedral in the name of the 12 holy Apostles, Svetitskhoveli. By that time, with the help of the Byzantine emperor Constantine (306-337), who, at the request of Tsar Mirian, sent Bishop Eustathius of Antioch, two priests and three deacons to Georgia, Christianity finally took root in the country. However, the mountainous regions of Georgia remained unenlightened. Accompanied by Presbyter Jacob and one deacon, Saint Nina went to the headwaters of the Aragvi and Iori rivers, where she preached the Gospel to the pagan highlanders. Many of them believed in Christ and received holy baptism. From there, Saint Nina went to Kakheti and settled in the village of Bodbe, in a small tent on the side of a mountain. Here she led an ascetic life, being in constant prayer, turning the surrounding inhabitants to Christ. Among them was the Queen of Kakhetia Soja (Sofia), who was baptized along with her courtiers and many people.
Having completed her apostolic service in Georgia, Saint Nina was informed from above of her imminent death. In a letter to Tsar Mirian, she asked him to send Bishop John to prepare her for her last journey. Not only Bishop John, but the king himself, together with all the clergy, went to Bodbe, where, at the deathbed of St. Nina, they witnessed many healings. Instructing the people who came to bow to her, Saint Nina, at the request of her disciples, spoke about her origin and life. This story, recorded
On January 27, according to the old style, the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, the Enlightener of Georgia, reposed in the Lord.
It seems to me that a symbolic fact in the history of the Georgian people, which very well reveals their attitude towards Orthodoxy, which is deeply rooted in the heart of Georgians, is the conquest of Tbilisi by the Persians in the 17th century. By order of the Mohammedan Shah, the greatest spiritual relic of the Georgian people, the cross of St. Nina, was taken out of the cathedral. It was laid on a bridge across the Kura River. About a hundred thousand Tbilisians were gathered on the shore. Whoever wanted to live had to cross the bridge and step over the cross, whoever did not do this was immediately executed on the spot. Not a single person out of a hundred thousand dared to commit sacrilege. And Kura that day became red with blood ...
Many peoples tried to conquer Iveria: Roman pagans, fire-worshipping Persians, Medes, Parthians, Khazars, Muslim Turks, but Georgia, burned and drowning in blood, was resurrected every time. Reborn in Orthodoxy. Until today, despite the religious bloody genocides and the temptations of numerous pagan beliefs Yes, pseudo-Christian heresies, Georgia from ancient times remains the country-custodian of the purity of canonical Orthodoxy.
In many ways, this became possible thanks to a fragile young girl who undertook a deadly journey through the Caucasus mountains in order to bring the light of Christ's faith to Iberia and become an apostle for Georgians. Her name was Nina.
She came from a holy righteous and very noble Cappadocian family from the city of Kolastry (now eastern Turkey). There were quite a few Georgian settlements there. It is possible that the family of St. Nina Equal to the Apostles had some kind of kinship or close acquaintance with them, which influenced the later life of the saint. The future enlightener of Georgia was born around 280. Her father's name was Zebulun. He held the high position of military commander under the Roman emperor. As a Christian, Zebulun led many captive Gauls to the faith. They were baptized, and he became their godfather. Thanks to him, the captives confessed and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Zebulun stood up for them before the emperor. The latter pardoned the Gauls for his military merits. And their liberator, along with converts and priests, arrived in the Gallic country, where many people were also baptized. A relative of Zebulun was the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious. Nina's mother Susanna was brought up for a long time at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Her brother was the Most Holy Patriarch of Jerusalem (some sources call him Juvenaly).
When the girl was twelve years old, Zebulun and Susanna brought her to Jerusalem. Nina's parents craved monastic life. Therefore, by mutual agreement and with the blessing of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, they parted in order to carry out deeds in the name of Christ. Zebulun retired to the Jordanian desert, and Susanna became a deaconess (1) at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The upbringing of Nina was entrusted to the old woman Nianfora. Soon the maiden, thanks to her prayerfulness, diligence, obedience and love for the Lord, firmly assimilated the truths of the faith of Christ. So, for example, she read the Holy Gospel with great zeal.
Nianfora told Nina a lot about Cross Death Savior. The girl was interested in the story connected with the Chiton of the Lord.
Let us recall the verses of the Gospel: “The soldiers, when they crucified Jesus, took His clothes and divided them into four parts, each soldier in a part, and a tunic; the tunic was not sewn, but all woven from above. So they said to each other: Let us not tear him apart, but let us cast lots for him, whose will it be, so that what is said in the Scripture will come true: They divided My garments among themselves and cast lots for My garments. Thus did the soldiers” (John 19:23-24).
According to Church Tradition, she wove a chiton to the Son Holy Mother of God. And in Iveria (as Georgia was called in ancient times) there lived a lot of Jews who got there during the Babylonian dispersion (VI century BC), therefore it was called the country of the Jews, or Iberia. There, in the city of Mtskheta, lived a pious rabbi, Eleazar. He was practically the same age as our Lord Jesus Christ. On the Pascha of the Savior's Passion, he decided to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but his mother Eloise strictly ordered him not to take part in the execution of Christ. According to Church Tradition, the pious Eloise even felt in her heart the blows of the hammer with which the Most Pure Hands of the Savior were nailed to the Tree. Having announced the death of the Lord to her daughter Sidonia, she died. Sidonia, before this, begged brother Eleazar to bring her something from the things of Christ.
Eleazar arrived in Jerusalem when the Savior had already been crucified on the Cross. He bought the Chiton of the Lord from a Roman legionary who won it by throwing bones. The rabbi took the shrine to the Caucasus. Righteous Sidonia, having kissed the Chiton of the Lord, pressed him to her breast and immediately surrendered her holy soul to God. No one could open the hands of the righteous and take out the shrine. Eleazar buried his sister in the garden of Mtskheta. Later this case was almost forgotten. A huge cedar grew on the grave of the holy righteous Sidonia. People felt it Holy place, as the branches and leaves of the tree healed the afflicted from diseases. Many Caucasians went to the cedar and revered it as a great shrine.
At the suggestion of the Holy Spirit, Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, after almost three hundred years, at the beginning of the 4th century, decided to find the Chiton of the Lord. Her decision was blessed by God. Once, when the saint fell asleep after long prayers, the Most Pure Virgin appeared to her in a dream and handed over a cross woven from a vine with the words: “Take this cross, it will be your shield and fence against all visible and invisible enemies. Go to the country of Iberia, preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ there, and you will find grace with Him. I will be your protector."
Waking up, Nina saw two grape sticks in her hands. She cut off a lock of hair from her head and, rewinding the sticks with them, tied a cross. With him she went to Georgia. The Patriarch of Jerusalem blessed her for her apostolic service in Iberia.
Saint Nina's Cross
At the beginning of the journey, the maiden was not alone. Princess Hripsimia, her mentor Gaiania and 35 other virgins traveled with her, but they were all killed by the Armenian king Tiridates. Saint Nina miraculously escaped death. By a difficult, dangerous path, which even today not every man will overcome, she came to Georgia around the year 319. She settled in the vicinity of Mtskheta near a sprawling blackberry bush. When the saint appeared, a miraculous sign took place. The idols of the pagan deities Armaz, Gatsi and Gaim, who were worshiped by the ancient Georgian tribes, fell, broken into small pieces by an invisible force. This happened during a pagan sacrifice and was accompanied by a violent storm.
Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina treated all those who were suffering with her grape cross. So, the gardener's wife was healed of infertility by her. Later, from a serious illness, the saint cured the Georgian princess Nana, who was baptized, became a zealous Christian and is revered as a saint in Georgia.
Despite this, King Mirian, at the instigation of the priests, decided to betray Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina to severe torment. But by God's will, he was blind. In addition, the sun disappeared, and darkness fell on the city. Only after praying to our Lord Jesus Christ the darkness dissipated, the king recovered. Soon, in 324, Georgia finally adopted Christianity.
At the request of Tsar Mirian, the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine the Great sent a bishop, two priests, and three deacons to Iberia. Christianity has taken root in the country.
Thanks to St. Nina, another miracle happened in Georgia. The pious Mirian decided to build on the site where the righteous Sidonia was buried together with the Chiton of the Lord, Orthodox church. For this, the healing cedar was cut down over the burial place. They decided to use the tree trunk as a pillar in the temple, but no one could move it.
All night St. Nina prayed for Divine help, and visions were revealed to her, in which the historical destinies of Georgia were revealed.
At dawn, the Angel of the Lord approached the pillar and raised it into the air. The pillar, shone with a wonderful light, rose and fell in the air until it stopped above its base. Fragrant myrrh flowed from the stump of the cedar. So the Angel of the Lord pointed out the place where the Chiton of the Lord is hidden in the earth. This event, witnessed by many residents of Mtskheta, is depicted on the icon "Glorification of the Georgian Church". Subsequently, on the site of a wooden temple, the majestic stone cathedral of Sveti Tskhoveli was erected. The life-giving Pillar, at which many healings were performed, now has a stone quadrangular covering and is crowned with a light canopy that does not touch the arch of the cathedral.
The pillar is located in the Cathedral of Sveti Tskhoveli next to the model of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
In honor of the Chiton of the Lord and the Life-Giving Pillar Georgian Church a feast was established on October 1 (O.S.) - October 14 (N.S.) - on the day of the Intercession of the Mother of God.
The holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina herself peacefully departed to the Lord, partaking of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, on January 27 (NS) at the age of 67. She bequeathed that her holy relics be buried in the place of her last ascetic feat in the city of Bodbe. King Mirian and his servants at first wanted to transfer them to the Mtskheta Cathedral, but could not move the coffin of the ascetic from its place. Then, according to the will, the holy relics were buried in Bodbe, and a temple was erected over the tomb in the name of a relative of St. Nina, Great Martyr George the Victorious. Later formed here convent in honor of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, Enlightener of Georgia.
Mtskheta
Her grape cross is kept in the Tiflis Zion Cathedral near the northern gates of the altar in an icon case bound with silver. On the top cover of the icon case there are chased miniatures from the life of St. Nina.
So a young girl, who, perhaps, at the time of her trip to Georgia, was barely 16 years old, won with God help pagan idols, pacified the king and became an apostle for Iberia, bringing into her the light of the Christian faith. And we, dear brothers and sisters, should not doubt that the Lord is always with us. For His strength is perfected in our weakness. Therefore, let's not despair. It is better to take with God's help our body and our soul and bind, like St. Nina with hair, with our love for God from them a cross, and let's follow Christ. And the rest He is with us, as a merciful Father, will do Himself…
Priest Andrei Chizhenko
Note:
1. Deaconesses - clergymen ancient church. They were consecrated through a special ordination and were numbered among the clergy. Their duties included preparing women for baptism, assisting bishops and priests in administering the Sacrament of Baptism to women, fulfilling the bishops' instructions regarding the sick and poor, placing women in the church during worship, and keeping order. By the 11th century, the institute of deaconesses was practically abolished. Their place is taken by monastic women.
Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina (Georgian წმინდა ნინო) is the apostle of all Georgia, the blessed mother, as the Georgians call her with love. Her name is associated with the spread of the light of the Christian faith in Georgia, the final establishment of Christianity and its declaration as the dominant religion. In addition, through her holy prayers, such a great Christian shrine as the non-sewn Chiton of the Lord was found.
Saint Nina was born around 280 in the Asia Minor city of Kolastry, in Cappadocia, where there were many Georgian settlements. She was the only daughter of noble and pious parents: the Roman governor Zebulun, a relative of the holy Great Martyr George, and Susanna, the sister of the Patriarch of Jerusalem. At the age of twelve, Saint Nina came with her parents to the Holy City of Jerusalem. Here her father Zebulun, burning with love for God, left and hid in the Jordanian desert. For everyone, the place of his exploits remained unknown, as well as the place of death. The mother of St. Nina, Susanna, was ordained a deaconess at the holy church of the Holy Sepulcher, Nina was given to be brought up by one pious old woman, Nianfora, and after only two years, with the assistance of the grace of God, she understood and firmly assimilated the rules of faith and piety. The old woman said to Nina: “I see, my child, your strength, equal to the strength of a lioness, which is more terrible than all four-legged animals. Or you can be likened to an eagle soaring in the air. For her, the earth seems like a small pearl, but as soon as she notices her prey from a height, she immediately, like lightning, rushes at her and attacks. Your life will be exactly the same."
Reading the gospel narratives about the crucifixion of Christ the Savior and about everything that happened at His cross, St. Nina dwelled on the fate of the tunic of the Lord. From her mentor Nianfora, she learned that, according to legend, the unsewn Chiton of the Lord was taken by the Mtskheta rabbi Eleazar to Iveria (Georgia), called the Lot of the Mother of God, and that the inhabitants of this country still remain immersed in the darkness of pagan delusion and wickedness.
Saint Nina prayed day and night to the Most Holy Theotokos, that she would be able to see Georgia turned to the Lord, and that she would help her find the Chiton of the Lord. Cross, go to the country of Iberia, preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ there. I will be your patroness."
Waking up, Nina saw a cross in her hands. She kissed him passionately. Then she cut off part of her hair and tied a cross around it in the middle. At that time there was a custom: the owner cut off the hair of a slave and kept it to confirm that this person was his slave. Nina dedicated herself to the service of the Cross.
Taking a blessing from her uncle the Patriarch for the feat of evangelism, she went to Iberia. On her way to Georgia, Saint Nina miraculously escaped martyrdom at the hands of the Armenian king Tiridates, to which her companions, the princess Hripsimia, her mentor Gaiania, and the 53 virgins (Comm. 30 September), who fled to Armenia from Rome from the persecution of the emperor Diocletian, were subjected. Guided by an invisible hand, she hid in the bushes of a wild rose that had not yet blossomed. Shaken with fear at the sight of the fate of her friends, the saint saw a luminous angel addressing her with words of consolation: “Do not grieve, but wait a little, for you too will be taken into the Kingdom of the Lord of glory; this will be when the thorny and wild rose surrounding you is covered with fragrant flowers, like a rose planted and cultivated in a garden.
Fortified by this Divine vision and consolation, Saint Nina continued on her way with inspiration and new zeal. Having overcome hard work, hunger, thirst and fear of animals along the way, she reached the ancient Kartalinsky city of Urbnise in 319, where she remained for about a month, living in Jewish homes and studying the customs, customs and language of the people new to her. Her fame soon spread around Mtskheta, where she labored, for her preaching was accompanied by many signs.
Once a huge crowd of people headed by King Mirian and Queen Nana went to the mountain peak to make an offering there. pagan gods: Armaz - the main idol, forged from gilded copper, with a golden helmet and eyes made of yacht and emerald. To the right of Armaz stood another small golden idol of Katsi, to the left - a silver Gaim. Sacrificial blood poured out, trumpets and tympanums rattled, and then the heart of the holy virgin flared up with the zeal of the prophet Elijah. Through her prayers, a cloud with thunder and lightning burst over the place where the idol altar stood. The idols were smashed to dust, the torrents of rain threw them into the abyss, and the waters of the river carried them downstream. And again the luminous sun shone from the sky. It was on the day of the most glorious Transfiguration of the Lord, when the true light that shone on Tabor for the first time transformed the darkness of paganism into the light of Christ on the mountains of Iberia.
Entering Mtskheta, the ancient capital of Georgia, Saint Nina found shelter in the family of a childless royal gardener, whose wife, Anastasia, through the prayers of Saint Nina, was freed from infertility and believed in Christ.
One woman, crying loudly, carried her dying child through the streets of the city, calling on everyone for help. Saint Nina placed her cross of vines on the little one and returned him to his mother alive and well.
View of Mtskheta from Jvari. Mtskheta is a city in Georgia, at the confluence of the Aragvi River into the Kura River. Here is located Cathedral Svetitskhoveli.
The desire to find the tunic of the Lord did not leave Saint Nina. To this end, she often went to the Jewish quarter and hurried to reveal to them the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. And soon the Jewish high priest Abiathar and his daughter Sidonia believed in Christ. Abiathar told Saint Nina their family tradition, according to which his great-grandfather Elioz, who was present at the crucifixion of Christ, acquired the tunic of the Lord from a Roman soldier, who got it by lot, and brought it to Mtskheta. Elioz's sister Sidonia took him, began to kiss him with tears, pressed him to her breast, and immediately fell dead. And no human power could wrest the sacred garment from her hands. Some time later, Elioz secretly buried the body of his sister, and buried the tunic of Christ with her. Since then, no one knew the burial place of Sidonia. It was assumed that it was under the roots of a shady cedar, which grew by itself in the middle of the royal garden. Saint Nina began to come here at night and pray. The mysterious visions that she had at this place assured her that this place was holy and would be glorified in the future. Nina undoubtedly found the place where the chiton of the Lord was hidden.
From that time on, St. Nina began to openly and publicly preach the Gospel and call the Iberian pagans and Jews to repentance and faith in Christ. Iberia was then under the rule of the Romans, and Mirian's son Bakar was at that time a hostage in Rome; therefore, Mirian did not prevent Saint Nina from preaching Christ in her city. Only Mirian's wife, Queen Nana, a cruel and zealous idolater, who erected a statue of Venus in Iberia, harbored malice against Christians. However, the grace of God soon healed this woman who was sick in spirit. Soon she became terminally ill and had to turn to the saint for help. Taking her cross, Saint Nina placed it on the sick woman’s head, on her legs and on both shoulders, and thus made the sign of the cross on her, and the queen immediately got up from the healthy bed of illness. Having thanked the Lord Jesus Christ, the empress confessed before everyone that Christ is the true God and made Saint Nina her close friend and companion.
King Mirian himself (the son of the Persian king Khozroy and the ancestor of the Sassanid dynasty in Georgia), still hesitated to openly confess Christ as God, and once he even set out to exterminate the confessors of Christ and together with them Saint Nina. Overwhelmed by such hostile thoughts, the king went hunting and climbed to the top of the steep mountain Thoti. And suddenly, a bright day turned into impenetrable darkness, and a storm arose. The flash of lightning blinded the eyes of the king, and the thunder scattered all his companions. Feeling the punishing hand of the Living God above him, the king called out:
God Nina! dispel the darkness before my eyes, and I will confess and glorify your name!
And immediately everything became light and the storm subsided. Amazed by the power of the name of Christ alone, the king called out: “Blessed God! in this place I will erect the tree of the cross, so that for eternity the sign shown by You to me today will be remembered!
The appeal to Christ of King Mirian was resolute and unshakable; Mirian was for Georgia what Emperor Constantine the Great was at that time for Greece and Rome. Mirian immediately sent ambassadors to Greece to Tsar Constantine with a request to send him a bishop and priests to baptize the people, teach them the faith of Christ, plant and establish the holy Church of God in Iberia. The emperor sent Archbishop Eustathius of Antioch with two priests, three deacons, and everything necessary for worship. Upon their arrival, King Mirian, the queen and all their children immediately received holy baptism in the presence of everyone. The baptismal was built near the bridge on the Kura River, where the bishop baptized military leaders and royal nobles. Somewhat below this place, two priests were baptizing the people.
Jvari is a Georgian monastery and temple on the top of a mountain at the confluence of the Kura and Aragvi near Mtskheta - where the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina erected a cross. Jvari - in terms of the perfection of architectural forms, this is one of the masterpieces of architecture and the first monument in Georgia world heritage.
Even before the arrival of the priests, the king wished to build a temple of God and chose for this a place, according to the instructions of St. Nina, in his garden, exactly where the said great cedar stood. The cedar was cut down, and six pillars were hewn out of six branches, which they approved without any difficulty. But the seventh pillar, hewn from the very trunk of the cedar, could not be moved by any force. Saint Nina remained all night at the site of the construction, praying and shedding tears on the stump of a felled tree. In the morning, a wondrous young man appeared to her, girded with a fiery belt, and said three mysterious words in her ear, hearing which, she fell to the ground and bowed to him. The young man went up to the pillar and, embracing it, lifted it high into the air with him. The pillar shone like lightning and illuminated the entire city. Unsupported by anyone, it rose and then fell and touched the stump, and finally stopped and stood motionless in its place. A fragrant and healing myrrh began to flow from under the base of the pillar, and all those suffering from various diseases, who anointed themselves with it with faith, received healing. Since that time, this place has been honored not only by Christians, but also by pagans. Soon the construction of the first wooden temple in the Iberian country was completed. Svetitskhoveli (cargo. - life-giving pillar), which for a millennium was the main cathedral of all Georgia. The wooden temple has not been preserved. In its place, there is now an 11th-century temple in the name of the Twelve Apostles, which is listed among the World Heritage Sites and is currently considered one of the spiritual symbols of modern Georgia.
Svetitskhoveli (life-giving pillar) - the cathedral patriarchal temple of the Georgian Orthodox Church in Mtskheta, which for a millennium was the main cathedral of all Georgia.
Throughout its existence, the cathedral served as a place of coronation and a burial place for representatives of the royal family of Bagration. IN classical literature In Georgia, one of the brightest works is the novel "The Right Hand of the Great Master" by the classic of literature Konstantin Gamsakhurdia, which tells about the construction of the temple and the formation of Georgia connected with this event at the same time. The epic work describes in detail the process of building a temple, the formation of Christianity in Georgia and the Georgian state.
The presence of the tunic of the Lord under the root of the cedar, both during the life of St. Nina and after, was manifested by the outflow from the pillar and its root of a healing and fragrant world; this myrrh stopped flowing only in the 13th century, when, by the will of God, the chiton was dug out of the ground. During the years of the invasion of Genghis Khan, one pious man, foreseeing the death of Mtskheta and not wanting to leave the shrine for desecration to the barbarians, with a prayer opened the coffin of Sidonia, took out the most honorable chiton of the Lord from it and handed it over to the chief archpastor. Since then, the Lord's chiton was kept in the sacristy of the Catholicos, until the restoration of the Mtskheta temple, where it remained until the 17th century, until the Persian Shah Abbas, having conquered Iberia, took it and sent it as a priceless gift to His Holiness All-Russian Patriarch Filaret, father of Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, to enlist the favor of the Russian royal court. The tsar and the patriarch ordered to arrange a special room with precious decorations in the right corner of the western side of the Moscow Assumption Cathedral and put the clothes of Christ there. Since then, the feast of the laying of the robe has been established in the Russian Church, i.e. tunic of the Lord.
Inside the temple
Avoiding the glory and honors that both the tsar and the people bestowed upon her, burning with a desire to serve for even greater glorification of the name of Christ, Saint Nina left the crowded city for the mountains, for the waterless heights of the Aragva, and there began to prepare by prayer and fasting for new evangelistic labors in the neighboring countries. Kartalia areas. Finding a small cave hidden behind the branches of trees, she began to live in it.
Accompanied by Presbyter Jacob and one deacon, Saint Nina went to the headwaters of the Aragvi and Iori rivers, where she preached the Gospel to the pagan highlanders. Many of them believed in Christ and accepted holy baptism. From there, Saint Nina went to Kakheti (Eastern Georgia) and settled in the village of Bodbe, in a small tent on a mountainside. Here she led an ascetic life, being in constant prayer, turning the surrounding inhabitants to Christ. Among them was the Queen of Kakheti Soja (Sofia), who was baptized along with her courtiers and many people.
Cross of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina
Thus, having completed in Kakheti the last work of her apostolic service in the Iberian country, Saint Nina received a revelation from God about the approach of her death. In a letter to Tsar Mirian, she asked him to send Bishop John to prepare her for her last journey. Not only Bishop John, but the king himself, together with all the clergy, went to Bodbe, where, at the deathbed of St. Nina, they witnessed many healings. Instructing the people who came to bow to her, Saint Nina, at the request of her disciples, spoke about her origin and life. This story, written down by Solomiya Udzharma, served as the basis for the life of St. Nina.
Then she reverently took communion from the hands of the bishop of the saving Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ, bequeathed her body to be buried in Bodby, and peacefully reposed in the Lord in 335 (according to other sources, in 347, in the 67th year from birth, after 35 years of apostolic feats).
Bodbe monastery
Her body was buried in a wretched tent, as she wanted, in the village of Budi (Bodbi). The deeply saddened tsar and the bishop, and with them the whole people, set out to transfer the precious remains of the saint to the Mtskheta cathedral church and give them to burial at the life-giving pillar, but, in spite of all efforts, they could not move the coffin of St. Nina from the place of rest chosen by her.
Tomb of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina in Bodby
Tsar Mirian soon laid it on her grave, and his son, Tsar Bakur, completed and consecrated the temple, in the name of a relative of St. Nina, the Holy Great Martyr George.
Troparion, tone 4
The words of God to the servant, / in the apostleship of preaching to the First-Called Andrew and imitating the other apostles, / the enlightener Iberia / and the Holy Spirit tsevnitsa, / holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Nino, / pray to Christ God / be saved to our souls.
Kontakion, tone 2
Come today, all, / let us sing of the chosen from Christ / equal-to-the-apostles preacher of God's word, / the wise evangelist, / the people of Kartalinia who led to the path of life and truth, / the disciple of the Mother of God, / the zealous intercessor and unsleeping guardian of ours, / Nina the most praised.
Film from the cycle "Holy Things of Christendom": THE CROSS OF SAINT NINA
At the beginning of the fourth century, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared in a dream to one pious girl, Nina, and handed over a cross woven from a vine, blessed her on a journey to Iberia. Waking up, Nina was surprised to find two grape branches in her hands. She cut off a strand of beautiful hair, plaited it into braids and tied the branches with a Cross. Georgia was baptized with this cross.
The most revered saint in Georgia is Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina or Nino in Georgian. Her role in the adoption of Christianity in Georgia is undeniable, and her name is covered with legend. The Bodbe Monastery in Sighnaghi is directly connected with her name. And the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and the Samtavro Monastery in Mtskheta are indirectly connected.
You can get acquainted with Mtskheta during a tour in the vicinity of Tbilisi or as part of other excursion routes, more about routes .
Saint Nino
These events took place in the distant year 319.
Subsequently canonized as a saint, a girl named Nino made her way from Cappadocia to the city of Mtskheta, which was then the capital of Georgia's predecessor, Iberia.
She came from a noble family, but was sent to a convent.
Saint Nino set off on a long journey in search of the Chiton of the Lord, having learned that he was in a distant country of pagans in the outskirts of Byzantium.
Nino found shelter in the family of the royal gardener and lived in a small tent on the outskirts of the royal garden, and then under a blackberry bush, where the Samtavro convent is now located.
Cases of miraculous healing
The gardener's family was childless, but thanks to the prayers of St. Nina, his wife became pregnant and gave birth to a baby. This miraculous event and many other miracles became known throughout the city and beyond.
Once, the wife of the king himself, Nana, was brought to Nino, suffering from such a serious illness that she could not walk. Nino's prayers and the power of the grapevine cross that Nino brought with her to this country helped the queen recover and believe in Jesus Christ.
Her husband, Tsar Mirian, was an adherent of pagan beliefs and did not want to change his faith, but he was also tolerant of Christianity, therefore he did not interfere with his wife, the queen, to believe in Jesus Christ, as was the case throughout Byzantium.
Watching more and more people convert to Christianity in Georgia, the pagan priests became worried and began to put pressure on King Mirian.
It is not known how this influence would have ended if one day the king with his retinue during a hunt did not get into solar eclipse. Of course, he did not know that this was a rare occurrence and took it for a punishment from heaven.
No appeals to the pagan gods helped, and then he remembered Nina's prayer and the clouds parted and enlightenment came and the king regained his sight.
The miracle that happened convinced him of the power of the Christian faith, and he himself was baptized in the waters of the Mtkvari (Kura) River, and all his retinue did this, and all the inhabitants of Mtskheta.
In 326 christian religion was officially recognized in Georgia. The ruler of Byzantium, Constantine, responded to the request of the Georgian king and sent two clergymen, a bishop and a large number of relics: a nail with which the body of the Lord and objects for worship were chained.
Chiton of the Lord in Mtskheta
Saint Nino had another mission in Georgia, she was to find the Chiton of the Lord, in which he was dressed on the day of the crucifixion.
The first Jewish clergyman named Aviavir, who converted to Christianity, told Nino a story he heard from his mother and father, according to which his great-grandfather, while in Jerusalem, redeemed the Chiton of Jesus from a soldier who received it by lot (there was a custom to divide the property belonging to the executed among the soldiers ).
The great-grandfather was asked by a sister named Sedonia, who believed that Jesus Christ was the messiah, to bring something that belonged to him. Taking the Chiton of the Lord in her hands, Sedonia pressed it to her chest and died, clutching it in her hands. They buried her, and a little later a cedar grew in that place.
First Christian Church of Georgia
The first Christian king Mirian ordered to build the first christian church. The cedar was cut down and 7 pillars for building structures were prepared from it.
However, during the installation of the pillars, one of the columns suddenly hung in the air (according to another version, it could not be moved).
Queen Tamara is another legendary figure.
Many more interesting things can be found during our excursions. [email protected]
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