When Malkhaz came up with the idea to donate an icon to the Church, we had a long discussion which icon it should be. We thought about Lord Savor Jesus Christ, Most Holy Mother of God, Saint George, Saint Nicholas - but then decided on Saint Nino, because she is the saint that is most associated with Georgia. We thought that having an icon of Saint Nino here in the Church would be a symbol of spiritual connection between Georgia and Korea. And this spiritual link will remain long after Malkhaz and I leave Korea. For both of us Korea is “home away from home”, but one day will come when we will need to say good-bye to this wonderful country, our beloved Church and this blessed community of great people: however, because prayer does not know physical limits or borders, the spiritual connection between us will remain eternal. And the icon of Saint Nino here in the Church will keep this spirit. I wanted to tell you a bit about the life of Saint Nino.
Many of you may already know that she is one of the most glorified saints in Georgia. She brought Orthodox Christianity to Georgia and, because of her, the Georgian people got to know the faith in which they have remained for many centuries.
Nino was born in Cappadocia, which was then one of the cradles of Christianity, to devoted faithful parents who raised her in the Christian faith. When Nino was still young, her parents went to live in monasteries in Palestine, leaving Nino to the Patriarch of Jerusalem to raise.
At one point, Nino heard the story of our Lord Jesus Christ’s chiton (robe), which was divided among the soldiers after the Crucifixion and was subsequently brought to and kept in Georgia. She developed a great desire to visit and venerate this holy relic. One night she had a vision where Most Holy Mother of God appeared to her, blessed her, and told her to go to Georgia to preach Christianity to its people, who at those times were pagan and worshiped idols. In the vision, Theotokos gave her a cross made of grapevine. The cross has a bit peculiar form – its horizontal arms are slightly drooping downwards (you can see this clearly on the icon). When Nino awoke from the vision, she was holding the cross in her hands. She then cut her hair, as a sign of devotion, and tightened the cross with it (you can see it on the icon as well).
The cross is currently preserved in the Georgian cathedral in Tbilisi, so if you are ever in Georgia do make sure to visit it.
Having been blessed by Theotokos, Nino embarked on her trip to Georgia. She covered more than 2,000 km from Jerusalem on her way to Georgia, full with hardships and adventures. The Most Holy Mother of God was with her, protecting and strengthening her all the time. After all, Nino was only 16 years old then! Can you imagine such young girl traveling these distances on foot, with a mission in her mind to preach completely new religion to savage pagan people who practiced brutal religious cults and never heard of the Christian faith before…
After reaching Georgia, Nino found a shelter in its capital, where she began preaching new faith. She became widely known for her devotion, sanctity, prayers and miracles, and many followed her and adopted Christ’s faith. Eventually, the King and the Queen themselves listened to Nino and believed in Christ.
Newly converted King asked Byzantine Emperor Constantine the Great to send a bishop and priests to start baptizing the Georgians. First bishop and priests arrived from Antioch and, since then, the illumination mission of the entire country started.
This is a true miracle as a young woman, a foreigner with no means or connections, stranger to the country’s culture and language, was able to radically change the fate of the nation who, from now on, unconditionally turned from paganism to Christ and followed the newly acquired faith through centuries.
Nino continued to travel around Georgia and to preach the Christian faith all her life until her death. Her tomb is in one of the monasteries in Eastern Georgia, which is another holy place so, if you are ever in Georgia, do visit it. Because of her tireless works and her mission, Nino was beatified as saint and is called “Equal of Apostles and Enlightener of Georgia”. She is recognized and venerated by faithful in all Orthodox churches.
This happened in the 4th century, and the year 326 AD is formally considered the year when the country became Christian.
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