Saint Nino ( ka, წმინდა ნინო, tr; hy, Սուրբ Նունե, Surb Nune; el, Αγία Νίνα, Agía Nína; sometimes ''St. Nune'' or ''St. Ninny'') ''
Equal to the Apostles
Equal-to-apostles or equal-to-the-apostles (; la, aequalis apostolis; ar, معادل الرسل, ''muʿādil ar-rusul''; ka, მოციქულთასწორი, tr; ro, întocmai cu Apostolii; russian: равноапостольный, ...
and the Enlightener of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
'' (c. 296 – c. 338 or 340) was a woman who preached
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
in the territory of
Caucasian Iberia
In Greco-Roman geography, Iberia (Ancient Greek: ''Iberia''; la, Hiberia) was an exonym for the Georgian kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლი), known after its core province, which during Classical Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages ...
, of what is now part of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. It resulted in the Christianization of the royal house of Iberia, with the consequent
Christianization of Iberia
The Christianization of Iberia ( ka, ქართლის გაქრისტიანება, tr) refers to the spread of Christianity in the early 4th century by the sermon of Saint Nino in an ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli, known ...
.
According to most widely traditional accounts, she belonged to a
Greek-speaking Roman family from Kolastra,
Cappadocia
Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...
, was a relative of
Saint George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
, and came to Georgia (
ancient Iberia) from
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. Other sources claim she was from
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
or
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
(modern France). According to legend, she performed miraculous healings and converted the Georgian queen,
Nana
Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name
* Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname
* Nana ( ...
, and eventually the pagan king
Mirian III of Iberia
Mirian III ( ka, მირიან III) was a king of Iberia or Kartli (Georgia), contemporaneous to the Roman emperor Constantine the Great ( r. 306–337). He was the founder of the royal Chosroid dynasty.
According to the early medieval Ge ...
, who, lost in darkness and blinded on a hunting trip, found his way only after he prayed to "Nino's God". Mirian declared Christianity as the official religion of his kingdom (c. 327) and Nino continued her missionary activities among
Georgians
The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...
until her death.
Her tomb is still shown at the
Bodbe Monastery
The Monastery of St. Nino at Bodbe ( ka, ბოდბის წმინდა ნინოს მონასტერი, ''bodbis ts’minda Ninos monasteri'') is a Georgian Orthodox monastic complex and the seat of the Bishops of Bodbe locate ...
in
Kakheti
Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...
, eastern Georgia. St. Nino has become one of the most venerated saints of the
Georgian Orthodox Church
The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...
and her attribute, a
grapevine cross
The grapevine cross (Georgian: ჯვარი ვაზისა, ''Jvari Vazisa''), also known as the Georgian cross or Saint Nino's cross, is a major symbol of the Georgian Orthodox Church and apocryphally dates from the 4th century AD, when ...
, is a symbol of
Georgian Christianity.
Early life
Many sources agree that Nino was born in the small town of Colastri, in the
Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
of Cappadocia, although a smaller number of sources disagree with this. On her family and origin, the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
have different traditions.
According to the Eastern Orthodox Church tradition, she was the only child of a famous family. Her father was
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
general Zabulon and her mother Sosana (Susan). On her father's side, Nino was related to
St. George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
, and on her mother's, to the patriarch of Jerusalem, Houbnal I.
During her childhood, Nino was brought up by the nun Niofora-Sarah of
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
.
Nino's uncle, who was the
patriarch of Jerusalem, oversaw her traditional upbringing. Nino went to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
with the help of her uncle where she decided to preach the Christian gospel in Iberia, known to her as the resting place of Christ's tunic. According to the legend, Nino received a vision where the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
gave her a grapevine cross and said:
:"Go to Iberia and tell there the Good Tidings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and you will find favour before the Lord; and I will be for you a shield against all visible and invisible enemies. By the strength of this cross, you will erect in that land the saving banner of faith in My beloved Son and Lord."
She woke up from this vision with the cross in her hands, and she tied the cross together with her own hair. Shortly after, Saint Nino entered the Iberian Kingdom in
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
from the
Kingdom of Armenia, where she escaped persecution at the hands of the Armenian King
Tiridates III. She had belonged to a community of virgins numbering 35,
along with martyr
Hripsime
Hripsime ( hy, Հռիփսիմէ, died c. 290), also called Rhipsime, Ripsime, Ripsima, Ripsimia, Ripsimus, Arbsima or Arsema () was a martyr of Roman origin; she and her companions in martyrdom are venerated as some of the first Christian martyr ...
, under the leadership of
St. Gayane, who preached Christianity in the Armenian Kingdom. They were all, with the exception of Nino, tortured and beheaded by Tiridates. All 35 of the virgins were soon canonised by the
Armenian Apostolic Church
, native_name_lang = hy
, icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg
, icon_width = 100px
, icon_alt =
, image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, a ...
, including Nino (as St. Nune).
Contrasting with this, the Roman Catholic tradition, as narrated by
Rufinus of Aquileia
Tyrannius Rufinus, also called Rufinus of Aquileia (''Rufinus Aquileiensis'') or Rufinus of Concordia (344/345–411), anglicized as Tyrann Rufine, was a monk, historian, and theologian. He is best known as a translator of Greek patristic materi ...
, says Nino was brought to Iberia not by her own will, but as a slave, and that her family tree is obscure.
St Nino in Iberia
Nino reached the borders of the ancient Georgian
Kingdom of Iberia
In Greco-Roman geography, Iberia (Ancient Greek: ''Iberia''; la, Hiberia) was an exonym for the Georgians, Georgian kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლი), known after its Kartli, core province, which during Classical Antiquity and the E ...
from the south about 320. There she placed a Christian cross in the small town of
Akhalkalaki
Akhalkalaki ( ka, ახალქალაქი, tr; hy, Ախալքալաք / Նոր-Քաղաք, translit=Axalk’alak’ / Nor-K’aġak’) is a town in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe–Javakheti and the administrative centre of the Ak ...
and started preaching the Christian faith in
Urbnisi
Urbnisi ( ka, ურბნისი) is a village in Georgia’s Shida Kartli region, in the district of Kareli.
Situated on a high left bank of the Mtkvari river, it was an important city in ancient and early medieval Iberia as Georgia was know ...
, finally reaching
Mtskheta
Mtskheta ( ka, მცხეთა, tr ) is a city in Mtskheta-Mtianeti province of Georgia. It is one of the oldest cities in Georgia as well as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World. Itis located approximately north of T ...
(the capital of Iberia). The Iberian Kingdom had been influenced by the neighbouring
Persian Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...
which played an important role as the regional power in the Caucasus. The Iberian King Mirian III and his nation worshiped the syncretic gods
Armazi
Armazi ( ka, არმაზი) is a locale in Georgia, 4 km southwest of Mtskheta and 22 km northwest of Tbilisi. A part of historical Greater Mtskheta, it is a place where the ancient city of the same name and the original capital of the early ...
and
Zaden
Zaden (; ka, ზადენი, tr) was, according to the medieval Georgian chronicles, the god of fruitfulness in a pre-Christian pantheon of the ancient Georgians of Kartli (Iberia of the Classical sources). King Parnajom of Iberia (109– ...
. Soon after the arrival of Nino in Mtskheta, Nana, the Queen of Iberia requested an audience with the Cappadocian.
Queen Nana, who suffered from a severe illness, had some knowledge of Christianity but had not yet converted to it. Nino, restoring the Queen's health, won to herself disciples from the Queen's attendants, including a Jewish priest and his daughter,
Abiathar and Sidonia
Abiathar and Sidonia were a legendary Jewish priest of Mtskheta and his daughter. They were attendants to Queen Nana. Abiathar is said to have been the first person Saint Nino converted to Christianity. An apocryphal account of the life and miracl ...
. Nana also officially converted to Christianity and was baptized by Nino herself. Mirian, aware of his wife's religious conversion, was intolerant of her new faith, persecuting it and threatening to divorce his wife if she did not leave the faith. He secluded himself, however, from Nino and the growing Christian community in his kingdom. His isolation to Christianity did not last long because, according to the legend, while on a hunting trip, he was suddenly struck blind as total darkness emerged in the woods. In a desperate state, King Mirian uttered a prayer to the God of St Nino:
:If indeed that Christ whom the Captive had preached to his Wife was God, then let Him now deliver him from this darkness, that he too might forsake all other gods to worship Him.
As soon as he finished his prayer, light appeared and the king hastily returned to his palace in Mtskheta. As a result of this miracle, the King of Iberia renounced idolatry under the teaching of St Nino and was baptized as the first Christian King of Iberia. Soon, the whole of his household and the inhabitants of Mtskheta adopted Christianity. In 326 King Mirian made Christianity the state religion of his kingdom, making Iberia the second Christian state after Armenia.
After adopting Christianity, Mirian sent an ambassador to
Byzantium
Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
, asking Emperor
Constantine I
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
to have a bishop and priests sent to Iberia. Constantine, having learned of Iberia's conversion to Christianity, granted Mirian the new church land in Jerusalem and sent a delegation of bishops to the court of the Georgian King. Roman
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
Tyrannius Rufinus
Tyrannius Rufinus, also called Rufinus of Aquileia (''Rufinus Aquileiensis'') or Rufinus of Concordia (344/345–411), anglicized as Tyrann Rufine, was a monk, historian, and theologian. He is best known as a translator of Greek patristic materi ...
in ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' writes about Mirian's request to Constantine:
:''After the church had been built with due magnificence, the people were zealously yearning for God's faith. So an embassy is sent on behalf of the entire nation to the Emperor Constantine, in accordance with the captive woman's advice. The foregoing events are related to him, and a petition submitted, requesting that priests be sent to complete the work which God had begun. Sending them on their way amidst rejoicing and ceremony, the Emperor was far more glad at this news than if he had annexed to the Roman Empire peoples and realms unknown''.
In 334, Mirian commissioned the building of the first Christian church in Iberia which was finally completed in 379 on the spot where now stands the
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral ( ka, სვეტიცხოვლის საკათედრო ტაძარი, ''svet'icxovlis sak'atedro t'adzari''; literally the Cathedral of the Living Pillar) is an Orthodox Christian cathedral located ...
in Mtskheta.
Nino, having witnessed the conversion of Iberia to Christianity, withdrew to the mountain pass in Bodbe,
Kakheti
Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...
. St Nino died soon after; immediately after her death, King Mirian commenced with the building of monastery in
Bodbe, where her tomb can still be seen in the churchyard.
Nino and its variants remains the most popular name for women and girls in the
Republic of Georgia
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
. There are currently 88,441 women over age 16 by that name residing in the country, according to the
Georgian Ministry of Justice. It also continues to be a popular name for baby girls.
The Georgian name "Nino" is "Nune" or "Nuneh" in
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
, thus St. Nino is known as St. Nune in
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
. Her history as the only one of the 35 nuns of the company of Sts.
Gayane and
Hripsime
Hripsime ( hy, Հռիփսիմէ, died c. 290), also called Rhipsime, Ripsime, Ripsima, Ripsimia, Ripsimus, Arbsima or Arsema () was a martyr of Roman origin; she and her companions in martyrdom are venerated as some of the first Christian martyr ...
to escape the slaughter at the hands of the pagan Armenian King Tiradates III in 301 is recounted in the book ''The History of the Armenians'' by
Movses Khorenatzi (Moses of Khoren), which was written about the year 440.
Legacy
The Phoka Convent of St. Nino was established in rural Georgia by Abbess Elizabeth and two novices. They originally lived in a nearby house owned by Georgian Orthodox Church head
Patriarch Ilia II, then in 1992 moved to the site of an 11th-century church to restore it.
The Sacred Monastery of Saint Nina is the home of a monastic community of
Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Christian nuns in the Patriarchate of Georgia's North American Diocese. It is located in
Union Bridge, Maryland
Union Bridge is a town in Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The population was 936 at the 2020 census.
Much of the town was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Union Bridge Historic District in 1994.
Geography
Union ...
, USA, and was established in September 2012.
Sacred Monastery of Saint Nina in Union Bridge, Maryland
/ref>
See also
* Georgian Orthodox Church
The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...
* Saint Nino, patron saint archive
Notes
Further reading
*
*
External links
Biography from ''The St. Nina Quarterly''
St. Nino church opening event in NYC
The Church of St. Nina, Kandalaksha, Murmansk oblast, Russia. English summary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nino
296 births
4th-century deaths
4th-century Christian saints
Cappadocian Greeks
4th-century Roman women
3rd-century Roman women
Christian missionaries in Georgia (country)
Marian visionaries
Saints of Georgia (country)
Miracle workers
Cappadocia (Roman province)