On the territory of modern Turkey is Cappadocia. She is known for the fact that in the III century George the Victorious was born here, revered by the saint. And at the beginning of our era, this area, located in the eastern part of Asia Minor, became a refuge for Christians. Adherents of the new religion were persecuted and settled on this earth. Cave monasteries, which are under the protection of UNESCO, still remind of their presence. It was here that around 280 BC e. a girl was born by the name of Nino, thanks to which Christianity in Georgia will become the state religion. These events are the subject of discussion.
Early christianity
Back in the 1st century AD e. in Georgia lived the blessed Sidonia, who believed in the Savior during His lifetime. When her brother Rabbi Iliosis received news from Jerusalem of the trial of Jesus, he was urgently required to go to the place of those events at the direction of the High Priest. Sidonia asked her brother to bring her at least something that the Savior had touched. It so happened that Iliosis, having arrived in Jerusalem, managed only by the time of the execution of Christ, at which he was present. After the Roman legionaries removed the bodies of the executed, all the things of which (as usual) they had the right to take for themselves - Iliosis bought from the soldiers the tunic of the Lord.
Returning to Mtskheta (the ancient capital of Georgia), he handed it to his sister. Sidonia pressed him to his heart and left this world. She was buried with the tunic of the Savior. Today, on this site is the cathedral of the XI century, called the "Life-giving pillar".
This is one of the most visited holy places in Georgia and the greatest relic of the Georgian Orthodox Church. But before the advent of Christianity in Georgia, about 200 years remained.
The word of God in Iveria
There is a tradition according to which the Good News is brought to Iveria and the word of the Lord fell to the Virgin, but the Savior asked her to stay in Jerusalem. And the apostles Andrew the First-Called, Matthew and Simon Kananit came to Georgia. Together, they have been to these places twice. Apostle Andrew came to Iveria three times. Simon Kananit did a lot to spread the Good News in Abkhazia, and thanks to him, the custom of sacrificing babies was canceled in this country.
Nino's prophetic dream
Nino came from a noble family. Her father's name was Zebulun, and he was a warlord with Emperor Maximian. Her mother, Susanna, was the sister of the Jerusalem Patriarch Juvenal. Nino was their only child and was a relative of George the Victorious - a saint revered throughout the world. When she was 12 years old, her family moved to Jerusalem due to the official duty of her mother, who took the post of deaconess at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The father also dedicated his life to the Lord, while away from home.
The girl was entrusted with the cares of the old woman Nianfora, who knew Georgia well and told Nino a lot about the fabulous Iveria. Perhaps not a day has passed without another story. The girl dreamed of a trip to this distant country. Time passed, and then one day Nino saw a dream in which the Virgin Mary put a cross of vine in her hands and said that she should go to the distant land of Iveria to carry the word of God. The Virgin Mary promised Nino her protection and protection from visible and invisible enemies, as well as the grace of the Lord.
Having woken up, the girl found the same cross in her hands. Her joy was immense, and she hastened to report the vision to the patriarch of Jerusalem, who was her uncle. After listening to his niece, he blessed her for service, and Nino set off on her journey. Did she know that she would become the enlightener of Georgia, and Christianity would enter this country along with her cross? Today it is kept in the cathedral of Tbilisi.
Long road
The Gospel of Matthew says that the Savior handed Nino a scroll in which he was parting: "Go and teach all the nations that baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Having entrusted himself to His will, the girl set off on a long and dangerous road. The road to Georgia passed through Armenia, whose king Tiridat III declared Christianity the state religion around 301.
However, until that time, the ruler was one of the most cruel opponents of the new faith, which St. Gregory (the Enlightener) had been promoting since 279. The king threw him into prison with snakes and scorpions for 13 years, but under the influence of the persuasion of his wife and sister, who converted to Christianity, Gregory was released.
Dangers in Armenia
The path through Armenia could end for Nino's death, as she went along with Princess Ripsimia and her companions, who fled from the emperor of Rome. He wanted to make the princess his wife, but she decided to become the bride of Christ and refused him.
Tiridate III, at the direction of Diocletian (the Roman emperor), found Ripsimia and also wished to marry her. Having been refused, he fell into a rage and killed the princess and all her friends. Nino managed to escape, but she saw the torment of her companions, hiding in the undergrowth. Only the support of the Higher Power allowed the girl to overcome all obstacles and in 319 reach Georgia, in which Christianity was still in its infancy.
Meeting with the old gods
Nino first stopped in the city of Urbnis to study the mores and customs of the inhabitants. Until Georgia adopted Christianity, idolatry existed in the country. A month later, Nino found out that those wishing to bow to pagan gods, whose statues were located on a mountain near the city, were going to Mtskheta. The girl followed the inhabitants and on the way met King Mirian and Queen Nana, bound for the retinue and a crowd of people, bound for the temple. Priests were preparing for the ceremony and sacrifice to the pagan god Armaz.
When the ritual began, Nino could not stand it and offered a prayer to the Savior for the cessation of dark time and the onset of an era of true faith. She was heard: a rainstorm fell on the temple, putting out the fire, then a hurricane struck, destroying the idols, dropping them into the river. Nino managed to hide in a cave.
When it was over, people started talking about the fact that the god Armaz was defeated by a stronger god. Some suggested that this new god may be the one who forced the king of Armenia to accept his faith, but no one knew His name ... And it was not clear to the inhabitants that about seven years remained in Georgia before the adoption of Christianity.
Educational activities
Nino entered Mtskheta as a wanderer. Nobody knew her there, and she was not familiar with anyone. However, the wife of the royal gardener Anastasia came out to meet her, invited her into the house, offered a treat. The couple were childless and very happy with the guest, they asked Nino to stay in their house as much as she wanted. The saint asked the gardener to build a small hut in the garden where she could pray. Now at this place is the Samtavr nunnery. Nino spent all days in prayers before the cross, handed to her by the Virgin. By the power of her faith, the saint performed miracles of healing. Anastasia was the first to feel the effect of Nino's prayer. The gardener's wife was healed, and subsequently there were many children in this family.
The fame of the miracles performed by Nino spread throughout the city, and people began to come to her for advice and help. Many Jewish women adopted Christianity and preached the holy faith among the inhabitants of the city. The high priest of Christ was Aviathar, the high priest of the Kartalin Jews. He often spoke with Tsar Mirian about the new faith and the emperor listened favorably to him. Closer and closer were the times when Georgia adopted Christianity.
Ailment of the Queen
Queen Nana was a stubborn character and was a zealous admirer of the old gods. Therefore, rumors of miracles performed by the saint, she only annoyed. She had plans to expel Christians from the city. However, everything happened differently. Nana became very ill, and all the efforts of the doctors did not lead to anything, but rather only worsened the situation. Prayers to idols also had no effect: the queen died away.
Those around her began to advise her to turn to Nino. After hesitation, the queen ordered to bring the saint to her. Nino listened to the envoys from the palace and told them that the empress herself would come to her tent for healing. Nana did as she was told.
The saint laid the queen on the leaves in the hut, read a prayer above her and crossed her with the cross of the Virgin. Health returned to the empress, about which she immediately notified all those present, and then her husband. Since then, the queen has become the most zealous defender of Nino and the Christian faith, convincing Mirian of the Savior's strength.
The king’s wrath
There is disagreement over the year in which Georgia adopted Christianity. According to some reports, it was 324, and according to others - the 326th. But this was preceded by an event that turned the king of Georgia’s view of the teachings of Christ. Mirian knew about the miracles performed by Nino, and did not prevent her from preaching. After the incident with the queen, he calmly reacted to the growing number of supporters of the saint. In addition, the religion of the Roman Empire was Christianity, and the son of Mirian was in Rome as a hostage ...
Shortly before the year when Georgia converted to Christianity, Nino healed the fallen relative of the Persian king, who was visiting Mirian. The cure was the reason the prince adopted Christianity. The Georgian king was furious because he did not know what would be worse: to incur the wrath of the king of Persia due to a change of faith by his relative or to bring the sad news to the Persians about the prince's incurable disease.
Royal hunt
King Mirian was in a quandary, but was inclined to put to death all Christians along with Nino. However, before fulfilling his intention, he decided to reassure himself by hunting, during which his eyes suddenly ceased to be seen. In fear, Mirian turned to his gods, but nothing changed: the darkness still surrounded him. Then he offered a prayer to God Saint Nino, without even knowing Him by name. And immediately the darkness receded, and he received his sight.
This moment was a turning point, since the evidence of the Savior’s strength was obvious. And although it is not known exactly in which year Georgia adopted Christianity (324th or 326th), but this happened after the events described.
Returning from the hunt, the king immediately went to the tent of Nino to announce to her his intention to accept the Christian faith and baptize the people of Iberia.
Baptism of Georgia
About the century in which Georgia adopted Christianity, there is no disagreement among scholars - this is the 4th century. After his miraculous healing, Mirian sent ambassadors to Tsar Konstantin with a request to send priests to Iveria for the baptism of the people. And before the return of the embassy, the royal family and all interested persons studied the foundations of faith. In addition, Mirian wished to build a temple on the spot where the sacred cedar grew, under which, according to legend, Saint Sidonia was buried along with the tunic of the Savior. The first temple was wooden, and then a stone was built named after the 12 Holy Apostles, called Svetitskhoveli.
Meanwhile, ambassadors from Constantine returned, and with them arrived Archbishop Eustathius of Antioch with several priests and everything necessary for the rite of baptism. The king ordered all dignitaries and nobles to arrive in Mtskheta, where Georgia adopted Christianity in the 324th or 326th year.
After the long-awaited churching of Iveria, Saint Nino went to Kakheti, where Tsarina Sophia ruled. And soon this state also became Christian.
Having fulfilled his mission, the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Nino quietly left this world. She was notified of her death through a prophetic dream, and therefore prepared: accompanied by Bishop John and King Mirian, she went to the town of Bodbe, where she died and was buried. January 27 is the commemoration day of St. Nino.
Let us now turn to the question of what kind of Christianity is in Georgia. According to statistics, more than 90% of the population belongs to the Georgian Orthodox Church, about 2% are Russian Orthodox Christians, about 5% are adherents of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and slightly more than 1% are Catholics.
Christianity came to Georgia and Armenia almost simultaneously, and the events that preceded this in both states were associated with the miraculous healing of kings Miriam and Tiridat III.
It cannot be called anything other than God's providence.