Chapter 6

The Life of St. Nina, the Missionary of Georgia

January 14.

WE often see that God selects weak persons, such as are apparently incapable of accomplishing great and difficult works, for the purpose of fulfilling His will, and He makes them the agents who continue the work of the Saviour. And strengthened by the grace of God, they succeed in the labor and calling in which they are placed. No hardship should be considered too difficult in our good undertakings only, in the commencement of a work; we should ask ourselves: Is the undertaking worthy of the Lord’s blessing?

And, if it be so, then we must undergo the labor with a firm hope in God’s help, without which we may do nothing. It was a difficult task that the Lord committed to His disciples, when He commanded them to preach the Holy Gospel. Wise and learned men, nations, and kings arose up against the simple, untutored fishermen of Galilee, but the right hand of God upheld the Apostles, and the teaching of Christ spread rapidly, notwithstanding prohibitions and persecutions.

In the fourth century, to just such apostolical labor the Lord called a virgin; she was nothing more than a lonely, weak maiden, and her name was Nina. She was the niece of the patriarch of Jerusalem; in the holy city she obtained her education. From her young days she learned to love God with her whole heart. Understanding and feeling that the faith in an almighty and all-loving Heavenly Father was filled with grace that it comforts; man in sorrow; that it gives peace and a quiet firmness — Nina deeply felt for those who were still ignorant of the Holy Gospel.

At this time, there were many countries with much people who were not as yet enlightened by the true religion; among them were the people who inhabited Eberia (i.e. the country now known as Georgia). Nina often heard the Jews speak about this land, when they came from thence to worship, in Jerusalem, on the feast of the Passover.

Repeated stories told about Eberia created in Nina’s heart a strong desire to visit Georgia (situated around the Caucasian Mountains), and enlighten the people with the Gospel teaching. She became encouraged in this desire by wonderful visions also. In a dream, she once saw the Mother of God, who gave her a cross made of grape-vines; at another time the Saviour appeared to her, and gave her a scroll, upon which she read the words. Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19), the same as were addressed to the Apostles. Her desire was fulfilled. With a female acquaintance she went to Ephesus; here she found herself in the midst of the persecution which was carried on by the Emperor Diocletian. Compelled to flee, she found refuge in Armenia — in the abode of a certain Ripsimia. In the biography of St. Gregory, the great missionary of Armenia, we read, concerning this same Ripsimia, the following:

“Ripsimia, who offered herself to the service of God, fled from the persecutions of Diocletian, and concealed herself in Armenia. Tiridat, the King of Armenia, endeavored to obtain her consent to a marriage with himself; but as he could not succeed in having her willingly leave her virginal life, he condemned her to a horrible death, together with her thirty-seven sister followers.” By the mercy of God, Nina escaped the end of these Christian sisters. She fled to Eberia, the neighboring country. There is another tradition, which says that she was captured by some Eberian soldiers, who often made raids upon the surrounding country. However it may have been, still her arrival in Eberia served to evangelize that whole country. The Lord God did not cease to help her; He showed His wonders, creating miracles by her faithful word and hand, thereby bringing the whole race to the knowledge of Himself.

Soon after Nina’s arrival in Eberia, there took place a great celebration in honor of one of the chief gods. Following the crowd, Nina came to the place where the idol stood, before which incense was burned, and sacrifices offered. Miriam, the king, together with his queen, the militia, and a multitude of people, was present at the feast, and reverently worshiped before the idol. Nina, with sorrow, looked upon the heathen holiday, and fervently prayed that God might enlighten these people, who walked in the darkness of idol-worship. Suddenly, during a clear day, a mighty storm filled the air, and the idol fell, stricken by lightning. In fear, the crowd scattered, but Nina blessed the Lord, who answered her prayer by destroying the idol. This happened on the same day when Christians commemorate the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ.

After this, Nina went to live in the home of a woman who had her house in the king’s vineyards, and it was not a very long while before she became known in the neighborhood, as she offered a miraculous assistance to all the suffering. The sick came to her in large numbers; she healed their diseases by her prayers, and taught them the true religion of the one God, who created the heavens and the earth, and she told them of Jesus Christ, who died for the salvation of the human race. The words of the stranger, the miracles which she performed, her life, all given up to prayer and good actions, greatly influenced the surrounding population, and many of them believed in God. Some of the people who were healed by Nina offered her rich gifts, and invited her to live with them; but the gifts she refused, and as to the poor hut in which she dwelled, she did not wish to depart from it, because the spot was sacred to her, through a tradition she had heard while yet in Jerusalem, from the Jews, who came there from this place. It was said that the cloak of the Lord Jesus was hidden in this same vineyard, and that it was brought hither in the following manner:

In the ancient past, as far back as the Babylonian captivity, several of the Jewish families, which were scattered into different countries, settled in Eberia. Sacredly preserving the ancient customs, they annually sent their selected men to Jerusalem to keep the Passover. The Jews of Eberia learned from these men that Jesus Christ was preaching in Jerusalem. They heard of His teaching, and of His miracles; they learned also that the scribes and the Pharisees hated Him, and that they sought to kill Him. These conversations aroused deep sympathy in the family of an old woman, who implored her son, with tears, not to take part in the unrighteous council against Jesus Christ, when he, Elioza, the old woman’s son, was about to start on his journey to Jerusalem.

While Elioza was in Jerusalem, Jesus Christ was delivered up. Elioza witnessed the sufferings of the Saviour, and he bought His (i.e. Jesus’) cloak of the soldier who obtained it by the casting of lots. On his return home, the son did not find his mother among the living. Tradition tells, that at the same time when Christ the Saviour died on the cross, the old woman suddenly exclaimed:

“The kingdom of Israel is no more !” and, with these words, she fell dead. Elioza was met by his young sister, Sidonia. When she saw the Lord’s cloak in the hands of her brother, she quickly drew the sacred garment from him, and, pressing it to her breast, she died, then and there. They buried her in the king’s garden, together with the cloak, which they could not loose from her embrace. On the spot of her grave, says tradition, a great cedar-tree grew up. This cedar was in the vineyard where Nina now lived. Under its shade she often passed whole nights in prayer, beseeching God to bring the people of Eberia to the knowledge of Him. Wonderful visions strengthened her faith, revealing that she would be successful in this holy work. She saw, as it appeared to her, a flock of blackbirds flying from the king’s garden, and, after washing in the waters of the Aragva, they became as white as snow, and from the high branches of the cedar they filled the surrounding country with heavenly music. The wonders that were worked by Nina became heard of in all the land. It happened that the queen was taken sick; when she saw that the physicians could give her no assistance, she decided to send for the pious stranger, of whom she had heard so much. But Nina did not go to the royal palace; she invited the queen to come to her poor hut; and when she came, she recovered her health upon the prayer of Nina. “It is not I who heal thee, but Jesus Christ,” said the religious recluse to the queen, “the Son of God, the Creator of the universe.” The queen believed in the Lord. King Miriam, grateful for the healing of his consort, sent rich gifts to Nina; but she returned them, and sent word to the king that she had no desire for riches, only she hoped and wished that he would believe in the true God. A wonderful cure was also effected upon a relation of the king of Persia, who was a guest of Miriam’s; and he also believed. Upon that, Miriam, fearing the anger of the king of Persia for the conversion of his relation, became dissatisfied with Nina, and decided to banish her; but the Lord showed His power upon the king himself, and turned his heart. Once, while on a hunting tour, the king suddenly became enveloped by an impenetrable darkness; in fear, he called to his companions, but they, without interruption, continued the chase, not noticing anything, as the dark haze surrounded the king alone. At last, the king, in terror, thought of the words of Nina, and he called to God, whom Nina confessed. The darkness at once disappeared. Terrified by such a miracle, the king went to Nina; after obtaining instructions in the law of God, he believed with his whole heart, and decided to receive holy baptism. He sent to Constantinople with the intention of obtaining bishops and priests; he also commenced to build a church, upon the place where the sacred cedar stood, as Nina pointed out. The first timber put into the building was made out of the cedar-tree, and, likewise, four crosses were made out of it, which were sent to the different parts of the Iberian country. A number of wonders, which took place during the building of the new Christian temple, confirmed the faith in the Almighty God among the inhabitants. The Emperor Constantine, who was converted to the true religion not long before this, by a miraculous appearance of the cross, made haste to send the patriarch of Antioch to Eberia. The patriarch consecrated a bishop for the new Christians. The first temple was dedicated in honor of the holy Apostles, and the Church of Eberia appointed the celebration, in honor of the discovery of the cloak of the Redeemer, to be on the first day of October. Nina, who had no desire for honor and glory, went to live in a mountain; here, in seclusion, she offered her grateful praise to the Lord, who helped her to convert the idolaters. After some time, she left her seclusion, in order to continue her apostolical labors, and visited other parts of Eberia, where she converted to God, the queen of Kachetia, whose name was Sophia. In this way, St. Nina worked as an apostle for thirty-five years, when she felt that she would soon die; having sent for King Miriam and his wife, she blessed them, gave them her last instructions, and quietly gave up her soul to the Lord. In the place where she died, in Kachetia, Miriam built a church, which he dedicated in honor of the great martyr, St. George, who — according to tradition — was a relation to Nina, and he is considered to be the protector of Georgia.