A TALE

The fourteenth of January is a day of great solemnity throughout

Georgia. This is the fete of Saint Nina, who converted us to

Christianity. Nina's father, Zavonlon, was, according to tradition,

a relation of the great and holy martyr, George, who married Sossanna,

the sister of Yovenalii, patriarch of Jerusalem, whose family came from

Koloss. He and his sister became orphans in early childhood and went

to Jerusalem, where Yovenalii accepted an appointment as secretary,

while Sossanna entered the service of Sarah, a woman of Vifleem. In

the meantime Zavonlon travelled from Kappadokia to Rome to be presented

to the Emperor, and reached there just at the time when the Brandjis,

who had revolted, appeared in the valley of Patalania. Zavonlon did

not let them reach Rome, but turned them to flight, captured the Tsar

and leaders, and handed them over to the Emperor. When, however,

the monarch condemned them to death, they began to cry and implore

Zavonlon to convert them to Christianity.

"Lead us to the temple of thy God," they said, "before having us

killed. Thou didst capture us and having sacrificed us to God thou

wilt not be responsible for our death, magnanimous hero!"

Then Zavonlon went to the patriarch and informed him of all that had

taken place. Without saying a word to the Emperor, the patriarch,

with the help of Zavonlon, baptized them, let them partake of the

Holy Communion, and taught them the Christian faith. At sunrise on the

following day the Brandjis rose, attired themselves in funeral robes

and started for the place of execution. They prayed, thanked God,

who had saved them by baptism, and said:

"We are immortal even after death, because the Lord hath glorified

us by giving us permission to partake of the Holy Communion. Yes,

let His name now be glorified! now, henceforth, and evermore! Woe to

our fathers, who died in ignorance and remained in the dark, we shall

not taste the sorrowful, but the joyful fruit. Approach, executioner,

and cut off our heads!"

At these words they willingly stretched their necks under the

sword. But Zavonlon, who could no longer stand this spectacle, rushed

to the Emperor in order to implore his pardon for them.

"I give them to thee; do with them whatever thou wilt!" said the

sovereign. Zavonlon lost no time in returning to the spot of execution

and succeeded in saving those sentenced.

Thereupon they began to beg him to lead them home to their native land

in order to preach there about the Faith of Our Lord Jesus Christ,

and convert those desirous of leaving paganism. Zavonlon went to

the patriarch, got some priests, and with the Emperor's permission

departed, accompanied by the Brandjis. When they had but one more day

of travelling before them, a rumor spread in their country that the

Tsar was alive and meant to return with his courtiers. The sections

of Kkhozamo, Kkhosa, Goakchladja or Gardadja, Kkhonebag, Kkhjirag or

Kindtjag, Zadja, Zaza, Zarda, Zamra and Tkmoka hurried to meet them,

and were reached on the banks of a great and deep river; the water

was blessed and they entered it and came out at one special spot

where a priest laid his hand on them.

Zavonlon stayed with them till they were baptized and converted,

put everything in perfect order, left the priests and went away,

overwhelmed with gorgeous presents.

"I shall take these treasures for the decoration of the tomb of the

Lord," thought Zavonlon, and started for Jerusalem, where he gave

everything to the poor. At that time Yovenalii (in monkhood he had

taken the name of Zadass) was patriarch of Jerusalem, and made friends

with Zavonlon, while Sarah of Vavilon recognized him and learned to

cherish his capacities. Besides, she said to the patriarch: "Zavonlon

is the father of the Brandjis (original inhabitants of Barcelona)

whom he converted, and to whom he gave the Holy Baptism; he carried

out the commands of God, and thinking the matter over, I counsel thee

to let him marry thy sister Sossanna" (probably Susanna). Sarah's

counsel was carried out and the young couple left for Colossus,

Zavonlon's fatherland.

Soon the bride gave birth to a daughter, Nina. When she was twelve

years old her parents sold their whole property and settled in

Jerusalem. Here Zavonlon was made a monk by the Patriarch German

(because Sossanna's brother had already died), and became divorced

from his wife. Pressing his daughter to his breast and covering her

face with tears, he said:

"My dear and only child, I leave thee an orphan, and recommend thee

to our Heavenly Father, God, who nourishes all live beings, because

He is the father of orphans and the Judge of widows. Fear nothing,

my daughter, but try to imitate Mary Magdalen and the sisters of

Lazarus in their love to God. If thou lovest Him as much as they did,

He will also refuse nothing to thee." Having embraced her once more,

he crossed the Jordan and started to preach the teachings of God among

wild nations, where the only God, creator of all beings, knew that the

time was ripe. Sossanna, on the other hand, by order of the patriarch,

looked after the poor women, but was put in the service of Niapkhora,

an Armenian woman from Doroim.

She stayed two years at her house, learning the laws of God, because

at that time there was nobody in all Jerusalem so well acquainted with

the Old and New Confession and who had such a broad and enlightened

mind. Niapkhora was honorable and truthful and imitated Abraham in

hospitality. Her house was always open to all pilgrims coming to

pray at the Tomb of the Lord. More than once she happened to receive

Christians who had been Jews and had inhabited Georgia. From them

Nina heard a story how, at the time of the Babylonian captivity,

some Jews had settled down at Mtzkhet and how they yearly sent some

of their people to the Easter celebrations at Jerusalem. They also

told her that in the second year of Aderka's reign in Georgia, they

found out about the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ through these very

messengers. Within thirty years at Mtzkhet delegates arrived from

the preosviashtchennik (clerical title) Anna with the following news:

"He to whom the wise men brought presents is now grown up and teaches

us a new faith; thereupon we are sending word to the Jews in order to

find among them teachers of the law and to tell them: 'Come ye all,

who uphold the law of Moses and clear up our perplexity! Let all those

acquainted with law immediately leave the foreign lands and hasten

with all possible speed to the fatherland, in order to confirm and

guard the faith of our forefathers, carry out the laws of Moses,

save the common folk from being dazzled by the new teaching, and

furthermore, put the guilty one to death.' Elios, a man who was no

longer young, of the tribe of the Levites, decided to go to Jerusalem,

leaving his mother, a descendant of the high priest Ilia, to the care

of his sister Sidonia, because the old woman herself said:

"'Go, my beloved son, whither the Lord and his holy law call thee,

but mind my remarks: thou as a man well instructed in law shouldst

not allow them to have a godless intention. I beg thee--do not have

a hand in spilling the blood of this man. Thou knowest that this is

the carrying out of the ancient prophecies, believe this one with

all thy heart as I believe in him!'"

Together with Elios went a young Hebrew, Longinos, a warrior from

Karssan, and they reached Jerusalem just at the time of the crucifixion

of our Lord, as they arrived on a Friday.

When they drew lots, a Greek tunic fell to the share of Elios, but

Longinos received the garment of the Lord, which he carried back to

Kontais (this garment used to hang in the centre of the church in

a crystal vessel up to the time of Shah Abass, who sent it away to

Russia). When they began to crucify our Lord, by chance the sound of

the hammer and nails came to the mother of Elios, and she exclaimed:

"Good-bye, kingdom of Israel! Unhappy ones--you are lost

forevermore! By your craziness you kill your Vladyka and the

Saviour of the world, and thus you become the wilful murderers of

your Creator! Woe ye unhappy ones! There is no lamentation equal to

your distress! Woe to me, because my ears have heard these mournful

sounds!" and with these words she gave up her soul to God. When,

however, Elios returned to Mtzkhet bringing the robe, Sidonia came

out to meet him, and crying and weeping threw herself in his arms

to tell him of her mother's death; and lo! she came to glance at the

robe. She recognized it as having belonged to the Lord Jesus Christ,

and the thought that her brother had helped along his death filled

her heart with indescribable sorrow. Having placed on her breast the

invaluable holy relic, she died.

The news of her death spread all over Mtzkhet and reached the Tsar,

who wished to see the dead woman. Coming to her body he was struck by

the beauty of the robe, giving out a heavenly glow, and he wanted to

put it on, but no power under the sun could tear the relic out of the

arms of the deceased. Elios buried his sister together with the robe,

and thus saved it from further attempts of the unbelieving.

These tales made a strong impression on Nina's soul, she often and

long reflected how she might seek out the place where the robe was,

and tried to obtain information from her governess. "My child," said

Niapkhora, "I see that by thy strength thou are equal to a lioness,

whose roar hushes up the growling of all quadrupeds. Thy capacity

for penetration puts thee on a footing with the female eagle, who by

her flying exceeds the male eagles and with her little eyes sees all

creation; having beheld the booty she inspects it with her piercing

glances, just as the fire experiments with the gold, and makes for it

with spread-out wings. Such will be thy life. Thy voice will be heard

all over the world and thy booty is to enrich God. Now I will explain

it all to thee. Thou knowest that the immortal God had compassion for

the mortal inhabitants of this world and came to earth in order to

assemble around him the nations and save the whole world. His first

good deeds were applied to the Hebrews, among whom he made the dead

arise, made the blind see, and healed the sick. Astounded, they sent

out messengers all over the world in order that the Hebrews might

most rapidly assemble at a great council.

"'We are perishing,' exclaimed the messengers, 'hurry, gather ye all!'

"Then from all countries there came together people, educated in

the laws of Moses--they came together to openly oppose themselves to

the Holy Ghost and, namely, do what was necessary to the world. They

crucified the Lord Jesus and drew lots to get his robe. The robe was

handed over without quarreling to the Man of Mtzkhet. Thou knowest

also that upon the burial of our Lord they placed guards at his

tomb, but that he arose according to prediction, and in the tomb

there remained nothing but the shroud, which the Apostle Luke took,

but no one knows to whom he gave it. As to the vesture of the Lord,

which was not found in the tomb, many conclude that the Apostle

Peter took it without telling anything about its further fate. I in

my turn am more inclined to believe what we heard from the Hebrews

of Mtzkhet. The crosses are hidden here at Jerusalem, but this place

is unknown to everybody until the Lord doth open it in times to come

by his chosen messenger!"

Hearing these words, Nina raised herself and thanked God and asked:

"Well, where then is that land where the robe was discovered?"

"The town of Mtzkhet is in Georgia. This is a mountainous land, the

borderland of Armenia, and its inhabitants still continue to practise

idolatry. The Chaldean magis have a strong influence over the people,"

replied Niapkhora.

At that time there arrived from Ethesus a woman who had come to visit

and pay homage to the Holy Sepulchre and who stopped at Niapkhora's.

"Is the Empress Helen still in the shade of unbelief?" asked Niapkhora

of her.

"I am her servant," answered the newcomer, "and know all her wishes,

both open and hidden. She would like to become a Christian and be

baptized."

"Let me go to the sovereign," Nina began to ask of her mistress,

"perhaps our Lord Jesus Christ!"

"Let us first ask the blessing of our most holy Patriarch German,"

answered Niapkhora, and went to him.

Soon they called in Nina and placed her on the steps of the ambo;

thereupon German put his hands upon her shoulders and having

sighed from the depth of his soul, he said: "Vladyka, Immortal

God! To Thee I commit this orphan, the daughter of a sister of

one of Thy servants, and send her to preach Thy faith and announce

Thy resurrection everywhere where Thou desirest it to be carried

out! Heavenly Jesus! be Thou her companion during the journey, her

protector in danger, a refuge, a leader and a teacher as Thou hast

been from century to century to all those who feared Thy holy name!"

That very night the Virgin appeared to St. Nina in a dream, to whose

happy lot Iveria fell when she together with the apostles drew lots

to see who should go to preach the faith of Christ in Georgia. In

the hands of the Heavenly Queen there was a vineyard cross, which by

her command was tied with some of Nina's hair. The Most Holy Virgin

handed the cross to the sleeping girl and ordered her to go in her

stead to convert the Iverian people. The Saint awoke with the cross

in her hands and hastened to announce to her mother all that had

occurred. With happy emotion Sossanna listened to her, kissed her,

crossed herself, and blessing her, let her start out, commending Nina

to the care of God.

From her mother Nina went straight to the Ethesian woman, whom

she began to hurry up to start out, as her heart was burning with

impatience; and notwithstanding the uncertainty and length of the

journey, her readiness to do everything to serve God was so great that

she did not have the least fear; this ardor was not left unrewarded

by the Leader of Hearts. He Himself appeared to St. Nina, quieted

and strengthened her for the coming expedition.

Having reached Ethesus, the Saint, in the house of her companion,

found the Tsarevna Ripsime fleeing from the Diocletian torments

together with fifty friends. Soon they were joined by three hundred

maidens and Saint Gaiane, her nurse. Ripsime grew attached to Nina,

because the Ethesian woman told her the latter's story, and the

Saint took advantage of the kind feelings of the Tsarevna in order

to instruct her still more in the faith; and in the course of this

year she baptized the Queen, Gaiane, and seventy men of her suite.

They passed two years together at the monastery of Poss-Rhoss. Just at

that time Emperor Maximian sent his eunuchs everywhere to seek out the

beautiful and good girls and bring them to him--without distinction

of rank, extraction, or even religious belief.

The messengers arrived at the monastery of Poss-Rhoss, beheld Ripsime,

and struck by her unusual beauty, they did not yet decide to take her,

but began to enquire about her family. Having found out that she was

of royal rank, they considered her worthy of becoming Maximian's wife,

painted her portrait and went away. Hardly had Maximian glanced at

her portrait, when his heart flamed up with some strong passion. He

announced that in the whole world there was no equal perfection of

beauty, that Ripsime was worthy of becoming his wife, that their

marriage should be celebrated with unheard of till then solemnity,

and he immediately sent messengers to all parts of his immense

monarchy so that each subject might come to take part in the nuptial

festivities. In the meantime the saints trembled from fear because

they knew that this Tsar was like a vessel of anger, sly like a

snake in heaven, also not clean, and idolatrous. They imagined that

the Tsarevna's portrait would cause them to be very much grieved,

and having fasted a long time, they prayed to God and decided to

rely on His holy mercy and secretly run away from this place. And

thus the seventy sisters set out for Armenia, in the neighborhood

of Vagkarshapat, and reached a splendid town called New Dovin, where

the Tsar himself resided.

Here they took up their quarters in poor huts, which surrounded

the town from the north and west and were used for pressing out the

grapes. Here with laborious work they earned their own living. Having,

however, discovered that the Tsarevna Ripsime with her nurse and

companions had disappeared in some unknown place, Maximian became

perfectly furious and sent messengers to look everywhere for her.

His ambassadors arrived at the court of Trdat, Tsar of Armenia,

with the following letter: "The autocratic Emperor to his nearest

brother, friend and comrade Trdat--I salute thee. Thy friendship

is our most faithful ally; I inform thee above all that the sinful

Christian nature is very harmful to us, because it forces the nations

to disregard our mightiness and not respect our Majesty. Their religion

consists of the following points: they serve a dead and crucified man,

adore wood and consider it glorious to die for their Lord. Although

they fear not the Jews, they nevertheless fear Him, whom the Jews

killed and crucified. In their blindness they defame monarchs, scorn

the gods, attribute absolutely nothing to the powerful brightness of

the sun, moon, and stars--saying that these are the creations of the

crucified. They anger the whole world to such a degree that fathers and

mothers separate themselves one from another, not awaiting death. In

vain do our commands and terrible tortures exterminate them, for

they appear in still greater numbers! Having by chance seen a young

Christian maid, I wished to marry her, but she, instead of desiring

to be united with a Tsar, rebuked me like a dirty being and secretly

ran off into thy lands. Investigate this affair, my dear brother,

order a search to be made, and as soon as thou findest her with her

companions, put to death the latter, but send splendid Ripsime hither,

or if she pleases thee, take her, for thou wilt not find such a perfect

beauty in all Greece. I hope that thou art in good health--adieu,

serve the gods!"

Having read the letter, Trdat began the search, and soon found the

saints. Ripsime produced on him exactly the same impression as on

Maximian and he also made up his mind to have her become his wife. But

the Saint flatly refused him, and so he tortured her together with

thirteen companions on the fifth of October; and Saint Gaiane and

two others on the following day. The remaining succeeding in hiding

themselves; among them was also St. Nina, who by God's instructions hid

herself in the branches of a prickly rosebush, without flowers. Here

she beheld a bright star coming down from the clouds; it served

as a footstool to a deacon, in whose hands there was a censer;

out of the latter there came such an abundant perfume that the sky

really darkened. The deacon was accompanied by innumerable heavenly

beings. This was the instant when the martyrs breathed their last

breath, united themselves with the heavenly forces sent out after

their souls, and together with them rose to heaven.

"Lord Jesus!" exclaimed the Saint, "why dost thou abandon me with

aspics and snakes?"

In answer to this lamentation, a voice was heard from Heaven, saying:

"Arise and start for the North, where there is a great harvest,

but few workers!"

And thus the fourteen-year-old child went out to convert a whole

country. She guided herself by the voice of God and overcame all

difficulties: the length of the journey and physical exhaustion,

and the fear of wild animals and wicked people and the cold and

hunger and want! She went as the apostles went; without a staff, and

just like them, she conquered kings, converted whole nations, healed

the sick and glorified the name of that God who had called to her:

"Arise and go!" Without losing a moment's time she left for the North.

The dear one constantly reminded her of the following words: "There

is a great harvest but few workers!" and in this she seemed to think

there was an explanation of the fact that on her fell the godly

choice. Near Khertviss her strength began to fail. From continuous

walking she had become quite lame and was forced to stop and go into

winter quarters--enduring innumerable privations. In time her health

was so much restored that she started again on her expedition.

Having reached the frontier of Djavakhetta she stopped on the bank of

Lake Pkaravno, known also under the designations: Pkdrnav, Paraban,

Pkanavar, and Tanaravan; from this lake flows out a river called

the Mtkouar of Djavakhetta, from which are to be seen high mountains

covered with snow even during the summer months. They are the cause

of much cold weather in all the neighboring towns and villages. Fear

seized Saint Nina.

"O Lord!" she cried out, trembling, "accept my soul!" and she fell

to the ground. For two whole days she could not master her fright

nor continue her journey. At last hunger forced her to ask for food

of some poor fishermen trading on the lake and of the shepherds who

guarded their herds on the banks of the lake.

The latter often used to invoke their gods at night. These were called

Armaz and Zaden, and the heathen inhabitants of the lake districts

promised them rich sacrifices if they only guarded the herds from any

possible evil. Hearing that their prayers were spoken in Armenian,

to which Saint Nina was somewhat accustomed as she had served at

Niapkhora's, she dared to ask them whither they had come.

"I am an Akovanian from Elrbienik on the banks of the Lopatsh-Tskan"

(this is the left arm of the Alasana, Plinii calls the inhabitants of

this region Loubienis), said one of them.

"We are Kakhetines from Sapourtzle and Kindsar near Mouknar," murmured

two others.

"But I am a Touissian from Rabatt," added a third one.

"Here is one from the great city of Mtzkhet, where there lives a Tsar

and where we have temples of our gods; in summer we all drive our

herds to the banks of the Pkarnav, thus saving ourselves from the

unbearable heat of our countries. The reason that the lake has so

many names is that each of us pronounces its name according to his

own language. In the autumn we disperse to our many homes to escape

the cold of this district."

"Where is Mtzkhet?" asked Nina with a fainting heart.

"This river unites itself with another one which comes from Kola,

changes its name to Mtkonar and flows to Mtzkhet."

She looked at the sides of the river: it was an endless plain. She

became frightened upon beholding its boundless limits. Having sighed

over the great length of the coming journey, she put her head on a

stone near the source of the river and fell asleep.

In a dream there appeared to her a man of middle height with flying

hair, and handed her a written roll, which ran as follows: "Carry this

in all haste to the idolatrous Tsar of Mtzkhet!" Saint Nina cried

bitterly and began to implore and pray: "O Lord! I am a woman, an

adventurer, uneducated, I am unable to say much; now how in the world

am I to go into a strange land to heathen nations--to a mighty Tsar?"

Then the shining man unfolded the roll in which were written ten

commandments as on the tablets of Moses, and gave them to St. Nina

to read. She awoke with the roll in her hands. The following were

the contents of the roll:

I: Amen--I say unto ye, go on then, for this testament will be

proclaimed all over the world, will go from mouth to mouth, and hardly

will it be known when documents will appear to commemorate the event.

II: Make no difference between men or women. III: As thou goest,

instruct all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the

Son and the Holy Ghost. IV: The world is the language of enlightenment

and thy glory, O Israel! V: This good deed of heaven will be practised

the world over. VI: He who accepts you, accepts Me and he who accepts

Me accepts Him who glorified Me. VII: Mary loved the Lord exceedingly,

for she always obeyed his commandments. VIII: Not cutting off the

bodies of the murderers, the souls of those who are powerful shall

not linger. IX: The speech of Jesus to Mary Magdalen: "Go, O woman,

and announce my fraternity!" X: "Teach them to promptly and rigidly

observe all these commandments and then I shall be with you, in all

times and to the end of the world--Amen!"

Having read the roll, Saint Nina became convinced that this apparition

came directly from the Lord. She ardently prayed that the Lord might

soothe her, and committing herself to his will, she immediately

followed the course of the river. At first it flowed towards the West

through wild and sterile countries. The journey became still more

terrible through the number of wild animals filling these deserts

with their fearful roaring, but not one of them attempted to approach

and touch the protege of God. Only when the river turned to the East

did they begin little by little to disappear. Driven on by fear she

forgot exhaustion and went rapidly ahead, hardly stopping a minute to

catch breath. Soon after the turn of the river Saint Nina overtook

some travellers going to Ourbishi or Ouriat-Oubani (which means

"Street of the Hebrews"), and joyfully followed them, but at Ourbishi

a disappointment awaited her; instead of believers of the real God she

found people who bowed down and adored fire, wood, and stone; her heart

burned with indignation, but the Lord comforted her by instructing

some Jews to give her a hospitable reception, which she made use of

for about one month, when the following spectacle aroused her feelings:

She beheld a great crowd of people going towards Mtzkhet, and as

she heard from her host that there were Hebrews there, she followed

the people in the distance and thus happened to reach her point

of destination upon the fete of Armaz. Before reaching the bridge

near Mogontka this large crowd stopped like one man to bow down to

the fire, and Saint Nina cried bitterly at the loss of such a large,

large number of human souls, ransomed by the most precious blood of our

Lord Jesus Christ. On the sixth of August, 324 A. D., on the day of

the Transfiguration of the Lord, Saint Nina, according to tradition,

accomplished her first wonder. Upon that day appointed for the feting

of the idol Armaz, it was the duty of the Tsar and Tsaritsa to take

part in the ceremonies. From early in the morning numberless crowds of

people, like flowers in the field, filled the streets, shouting and

hurrying, each one trying to excel his neighbor in ornamenting their

respective houses with carpets, fine shawls and other such articles,

all along the road by which the royal cortege was to pass. First there

arrived the Tsaritsa Nana, surrounded by the wives and daughters of the

aristocracy. She was followed by the Tsar with a numerous suite. Songs

of praises and blessings were heard among the crowd of the nation. With

great pomp the procession ascended the mountain to adore their god,

who was cast of clean gold, while at his side there stood two inferior

gods of silver, who wore gold cuirasses and in their aquamarine eyes

had artificially made rolling emerald pupils. These last idols were of

human proportions and inside of them a mechanism was hidden, through

which their hands (in which there were sharp swords) cut down all

those who dared to approach the chief god without making a sacrifice,

or all those who adored other and foreign gods instead. On the Roman

bridge, Saint Nina joined the procession.

"What in the world does all this mean?" she asked of a Jewess.

"This is the god of gods--Armaz, who calls the people to do him

homage. No other idol can compare with him, because each of us puts

on his best garment to-day and holds a flag in his hand as a sign

of joyousness."

In the meantime the procession had reached its destination. The Tsar

bowed down to the ground, surrounded by whole clouds of incense. The

sacrificers offered their victims. The Tsaritsa, the nobility,

innumerable hordes of people followed the example of their ruler to

the greatest displeasure of the Saint, who with all her heart prayed

to Him, who had made her glorious and lo! a short-breathed West

wind came up, at first softly, then always stronger and stronger,

and finally turned into an oragan.

Losing their breath and feeling choked, the Tsar ran away and the

sacrificers and the nation too, but the orcano turned into a perfect

rain of stones--not allowing even half of those fleeing to seek

shelter. Stones of such a size poured down that not every grown up

man could raise them with both arms, and they continued to ransack

the temple and idols, until all had been turned to ashes and dust.

The heathens fled in terror; this mountain, such a short time before

so crowded with people, had now been totally cleared of men and

upon it sat only Nina, who was not at all terrified by the fearful

spectacle. She saw in this a new proof of the all mightiness of her

own God, and under his powerful protection she quietly lay down and

peacefully fell asleep on a huge block of stone.

The next day, by the order of the Tsar, one of the noblemen went to

inspect the scene of the disaster of the preceding day. He beheld

Saint Nina, concluded by her dress that she was a traveller from

some distant land, and with customary Georgian hospitality, invited

her to stop at his home. But his offer was by no means accepted by

the Saint. She continued her journey along the banks of the river

and finding on the road an eye of one of the gods, she took it along

with her. Upon reaching the junction of the Koura and Aragva, where

formerly there stood a town and a fortress, she resolved to take a

rest and pass the night at that point of the cape, where till then

there still remained the ruins of the church of Favora.

At that time beautiful, well-shaped, high birches grew there, with

magnificent shady branches. They were planted by Tsar Bartom, who

often rested in their shade; this custom was long observed by the

nobility and well-known men and almost every sunny day some one from

the aristocracy passed the day under the branches of the birches. On

one of these trees Saint Nina painted a cross and lived under it

in constant prayer till the twelfth of August. On that day came to

refresh herself with the coolness of the famous trees, the lady of

the royal court Krokhana with her servant, a Greek woman. The latter

by the order of her mistress asked the Saint who she was, what she

was undertaking, and whether she did not need something. The Saint

said that she was "Tevee," i. e., a prisoner of war (which does not

mean that she was a servant, as some writers out of pure ignorance

expressed themselves in describing her life) and did not tell of her

real extraction. Krokhana immediately invited her to follow her to

the palace, but the Saint refused even this invitation.

Within three days, i. e., on the day of the Assumption of the

Holy Virgin, she crossed the Mtkovar and entered the royal fruit

gardens. Near the place where now stands the church of the Katholikoss

(Patriarch) and a pillar erected by God, there lived in those times

a guardian, whose wife Anastasia hastened to come out to meet the

stranger. She embraced her like an old and dear friend, kissed her,

washed off her dusty feet, rubbed her exhausted body with strengthening

fragrant butter and having offered her bread and wine, asked her to

take a rest and to recover after the long, long journey. Here the

Saint remained nine months, frequently visiting Ourbishi, where some

Hebrews lived, in the hope of finding out something more about the

Lord's robe; and indeed the Lord blessed her attempts. She made the

acquaintance of Abiatkar, the descendant of Elios, whom she quickly

converted to Christianity together with all his family. "When she

arrived," said Abiatkar in his tale, remembered in Georgian History,

"I received a letter from Jewish priests in Antiochia, in which they

expressed themselves thus":

"The Lord divided the kingdom of Israel into three parts, which were

owned by the Romans, Armenians, and Barbarians. There will be no more

prophets; all that he told us through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost

was fulfilled, we are scattered all over the world and our fatherland

is occupied by the Romans. O Jews! let us now weep with our nation,

for we offended God, the Creator of all beings."

Looking over now the books in which Moses teaches us: "each one who on

earth calls himself God shall be put to death!" Why is it possible then

that we sinned in killing Jesus of Nazareth? We actually see that in

ancient times, when our forefathers sinned before God and forgot Him,

He lowered them to servitude and made them experience all the horrors

of captivity; but when they turned again to Him and invoked Him, He

saved them from need. From the scriptures we know that this happened

seven times in ancient history. Now, then, when our fathers put their

hands on the son of a poor woman, God deprived us of his mercifulness

and support and lo! our government fell to pieces, we were separated

from our temples and our nationality was forgotten. That was about

three hundred years ago. The Lord does not hear our prayers and does

not send us help, from which we conclude that perhaps this man was

sent by God. Thus did they write me several times and aroused doubts

in my soul, to explain which, I applied to Saint Nina. I asked her

who was Jesus and why the Son of God became a simple man.

Then Saint Nina opened her mouth and from it flowed out words of life

as abundantly as the waves in the depth of the sea. From her very

mouth I found out everything contained by the Christian books, and

she explained to me their profound meaning. I felt like a man aroused

from sleep, like a madman coming back to his senses. She filled my

heart with pity for our forefathers, made me convince myself in the

truths of the New Testament, and from her words I indeed recognized

in him Jesus Christ, the Son of God, crucified, resurrected, and

having come with glory; nay, I understood that He was the one who

had been promised to those believing. I saw many other wonders yet,

accomplished by Saint Nina at Mtzkhet in my time, and together with

my daughter Sidonia was converted and received the Holy Baptism,

being cleansed of all wickedness. I received that which the prophet

David had vainly wished: I heard a choir of voices glorifying the New

Testament, the object of his sighing; and we were favored with the

permission to partake of the Holy Communion, of the body and blood

of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb that perished for the sins of the

world, the best and most compound of victuals. O Lord, strengthen

this faith in my heart to my last breath! All that I shall after this

relate, I myself heard, with my own ears from my mother, my father,

or read in books, recording the words spoken by our ancestors."

After this follows the story already known to us about the robe. On the

tomb of Sidonia under a huge cedar grew up a fragrant bush loaded down

by a numberless quantity of flowers and leaves, and from its branches

a whole bush was formed, under which Saint Nina let herself down,

not knowing how near she was to the aim of her desires. All nights

she passed here in prayer, and lo! in one of these sleepless nights

of prayer a shining man appeared to her and, pointing to the fragrant

bush, ordered her to take up some earth under it to use for healing

the sick. The next morning as usual Anastasia came to her, offering

her wine, bread, fruits, and cheese. Having noticed that her eyes were

filled with tears, Nina asked her the cause, and so found out that both

she and her husband were deeply grieved by the fact that they had no

children and attributed this misfortune to Anastasia's illness. The

Saint immediately applied holy earth and Anastasia was cured.

Let us now return to Abiatkar's tale. During that period Saint Nina

saw one and the same dream three or four times in those few minutes

in which she used to rest. A horde of blackbirds bathed itself in the

river, came out of the water whiter than snow, and rushed towards

a peach tree actually growing near her bush. In the apparition it

appeared covered with wonderful buds and flowers. With great haste

the birds gathered and all rivalled one another in bringing them to

the Saint as to the owner of the garden; afterwards united around

her in a circle and sang most marvellously.

The Saint related all these events to my daughter Sidonia, who

exclaiming very loud, expressed herself thus: "O Prisoner; thou

that didst take off our chains! I know that thou art the reason of

all that hath now taken place, that by thee we are made to discover

and acknowledge the past spilling of the blood of the Heavenly Man,

for that deed the Hebrews and their kingdom perished, they were

deprived of their temples and a strange people took the place of

their greatness. Jerusalem, O Jerusalem! how thou dost spread thy

wings in order to protect under them nations from every part of the

world, thy children only remained without shelter and are scattered

one by one all over the earth! Now there comes to us here a woman,

born in a foreign land, who makes over our whole kingdom!"

Then addressing the Saint, she said: "That, which thou sawest,

clearly predicts to us that this place has been changed by thee into

religious gardens, in which thy pupils and followers whitened by thee

like birds will eternally gather heavenly fruits, singing praises

and glorifying God!"

The Saint openly preached the message of Christ, telling the people

that up till then they had been entirely misled. She pointed to the

grape cross which had already accomplished many wonderful cures

without applying any medicine, simply by holding it to the sick

people. She was joined in her converting expedition by seven Jewish

women whom she had baptized. Among them also my daughter Sidonia,

and I myself helped them with all my strength, trying to deserve the

glorious name of Paul, which the Saint had bestowed upon me upon my

baptism. Knowing well the Jewish law, and being instructed by the

Saint, it was easier for me to convert the unbelieving and some of

them becoming rebellious, wished to assault me with stones; but Tsar

Mirian sent out several of his attendants to deliver me from their

arms, because the news of the glory of the wonders accomplished in

Greece and Armenia came to him and so he did not prevent Saint Nina

and her pupils from preaching the truth, which he sympathized with.

But the devil, who had for a long time raged against the true

believers, won the heart of the Tsaritsa Nana, who kept her husband

from becoming a Christian. The fasts, vigilance, and prayers of the

Saint astounded the heathens and they frequently asked her the cause

of such actions.

Filled with joy, she naturally took advantage of such moments to

unceasingly preach to them the religion of Christ, and Anastasia

and her husband zealously assisted her in such a time. Once they

brought to the Saint a dying infant, whom all physicians considered

absolutely incurable. The mother of the baby was a fierce adorer

of idols and did not cease to injure the faith of Christ, and even

prevented others from accepting the teachings of Saint Nina. Only

the complete hopelessness forced her to apply to the wonderful girl.

"I am not educated in human science," said the Saint, "but the Lord

Jesus Christ, whom I serve is strong enough to heal him."

And with these words she placed him on her foliage couch, on which,

having knelt, she usually pronounced her long prayers and kept

her almighty vigilance, and having crossed him with the vineyard

crucifix, she sent him away, healthy and happy. But his mother, who

now fervently believed in the Christian faith, loudly glorified the

Lord Jesus Christ. A little later the Tsaritsa fell ill and they sent

for the marvellous doctor to the palace.

"I cannot go into a heathen house and therefore request the Queen

to come to me," was the answer of the Saint. Nana submitted. Her

son Revv and some ladies of the court were obliged to carry her in

their arms. Numerous crowds of people accompanied the procession

with visible curiosity and concealed their dissatisfaction; but this

dissatisfaction turned to excessive joy when she was cured and with

tremendous attention did the crowds of heathens listen to Sidonia,

who had educated the Tsaritsa in the true faith; after that she was

baptized by Abiatkar and returned to her husband, a fervent Christian.

Here it will be opportune to tell why Tsar Mirian once upon a time

was so much in favor of Christianity. Hardly any other monarch in the

world could boast of such great success in war as Mirian; he conquered

much and always had good luck, nowhere and never did he lose a single

battle, and he justly deserved the term "the invincible." But that

which seemed to all mere luck, was nothing less than the intention

of God, leading him this road to learn the truth.

In the year 312 the Persian Tsar Sapor sent a messenger to Mirian with

a proposal to unite their forces and jointly attack Greece. Mirian

consented, and soon their army, the number of which the contemporaries

compare with grass in the fields or the leaves of the trees, fell

upon the Emperor Constantine, who did not dare to oppose himself,

and with sorrow saw how they ravaged one Greek province after another.

The clergy encouraged its sovereign, assuring that the Lord would not

let the unbelievers possess a Christian kingdom. A dream convinced

Constantine still more in this idea. He hastened to become baptized

and led his army by a flag on which was represented a cross of stars,

surrounded, according to the apparition, with the words: "By this

I conquer!"

Soon the handful of Christians conquered the hordes of heathens at

Andriansora. Both tsars with the remainder of their troops were

turned to flight and pursued by Constantine who, following them

on their heels, invaded their dominions. The Persian Tsar, having

abandoned his ally, ingloriously fled, but Mirian defended the towns

and fortresses in Georgia until all his generals had perished; then

he sent an embassy to Constantine with peace proposals.

Constantine, who feared a second invasion of the Persians, consented

to peace only with the imperative condition that in case of a war

with the Persians, Mirian should assist him with an army, but to

make sure of the observance of this condition, he took Mirian's son

Bakour as a hostage. Mirian's failure in the war with Constantine,

the incomprehensible fear which had forced him to turn to flight,

him, Mirian, whom all considered fearless and invincible and who up

to this time had known no fear, gave him an exalted opinion of that

God whom Constantine worshipped, and he frequently thought about His

incomparable mightiness. The wars in which he was allied with Trdat,

had led him astray, although, after the war with Constantine and the

disaster at the fete of Armaz his faith in the religion of the false

gods was very much shaken, but the furious opposition of the Tsaritsa

Nana made also this second deep impression vanish.

Now, however, when the newly converted woman wished to bring him to

the light of truth, she was met with indifferent curiosity and cold

inquisitiveness, instead of the former hearty interest. Mirian had

already succeeded in forgetting that impression, which the victory

of Constantine and complete fall of Armaz had produced upon him, he

interrupted her fiery, persuasive speeches with the question how he

came to see her healthy once more. The Tsaritsa spoke the truth. Her

husband knew very well what a tremendous contrast there was between her

experience and all then known means of curing, and he would not believe

at all that the simple appliance of a cross could have as consequence

a complete restoration to health. The court ladies, witnesses of the

wonder, were then summoned to appear, and very naturally confirmed

the words of the Tsaritsa. But the Tsar was not yet convinced.

It was then ordered that any one of the eye-witnesses should be

called up, and lo! a whole crowd of people came to testify the truth

of what had taken place. Among others there was also Abiatkar, to

whose tale we shall now return: "The sovereign noticed me and began

to inquire about the Christian teachings. He knew much in the Old and

New Testament, and thus I had to explain rather than merely relate,

and so it was easier to converse with him than with the uneducated

heathens. After that time he often sent for me.

Once he told me that in the Book of Nebrotk the following version

was written: "During the construction of the tower of Kaskinie in the

city of Khagkan (Babylon), Nebrotk heard a heavenly voice, which said

to him: 'I am Michael, to whom the Lord confided the administration

of the East, go thou out of this town, for the Lord does not wish

that thou shouldst see that which He hid from human eyes. Leave

the building, for otherwise God will certainly destroy it. In the

future there will come a Heavenly King, whom thou dost want to see,

and although He will be hated by the cursed nation, the fear of His

name will cleanse the earth of all sins, kings will renounce their

thrones in order to live in poverty. He will look upon thee with

mercy in disastrous times and will save thee!'"

I did my best to convince the sovereign that this is the confirmation

of that which we have already read many a time in the Old and New

Testaments. He agreed with me, but continued to adore the idols and

the fire, notwithstanding the prayers of the Tsaritsa, who constantly

persuaded him to be baptized. The devil held him still another year

in his claws after Nana had been converted. On that account I could

not convert even a single heathen, while Saint Nina daily converted

dozens of people, untiringly preaching to the people the truth. She

continued to pretend that she was a prisoner of war, not telling anyone

whence she came and whither she intended to go. Much time went by,

the Tsar interfered with the Saint and remained deaf and dumb to the

prayers of the Queen; and the visits of Abiatkar did not lead to the

desired result. He conversed whole hours with him and every time let

him depart unpersuaded in the truth.

Once there arrived from Khorossan a courier of the Sossanid family,

with messages from the Shah of Persia who suddenly fell ill. The

Tsaritsa Nana sent for Saint Nina, who again refused to come to the

house of the idolatrous Tsar and requested the sick man to repair

to her house. King Mirian, who was not yet fully convinced of the

mightiness of the Christian God and had not entirely renounced his

former religion, wished himself to accompany his dying guest, whom

they bore in their arms.

"Through what power dost thou effect thy cures?" said the Tsar,

turning to the Saint. "Art thou not a daughter of Armaz, dost thou

not belong to the number of the descendants of Zaden, notwithstanding

that thou callest thyself a stranger? Dost thou not secretly bow down

before them and seek their moral support? And do they not give thee the

power of healing, which nourishes thee wherever thou art? I know that

thou didst convert people to the faith of a foreign God for the sole

sake of trying their fidelity afterwards. Glory to our gods, who have

disclosed the truth to me! I shall respect thee as I do the governess

of my children and cover thee with honors in this mighty city, where

thou didst hide thyself under the pretense of being a prisoner, but

display no more before me and do not speak about the Christian faith.

"Our great gods only are the actual healers of the world! The sun

shines because they illuminate it, they send down rain, give fertility

to the earth and nourish blessed Georgia. Armaz and Zaden know all

secrets. Gatz and Gaim, the ancient gods of our forefathers are worthy

of the confidence of all mortals! If thou wilt cure this mtvar I will

shower riches upon thee, make thee a citizen of Mtzkhet and a servant

(mere priest) of Armaz. Although they (the idols) were destroyed by

an unusual storm and hail of stones, yet the spot where we adored

them did not perish. Ytkrondjan--the Chaldean God and our Armaz

are constantly fighting. It is known that our god once directed the

sea against his enemies and that is the reason why they now revenge

themselves by letting this disaster occur just as the rulers of the

earth constantly do. Carry thou out then, my order!"

"O King!" answered Saint Nina, "as the representative of our Lord

Jesus Christ and the prayers of His All-holy Mother and all saints

existing, I am sent by God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Father

of all great and small beings, from man down to the last degrees of

insects, through His indescribable mercy, like a piece of coal out

of the stove of His goodness in order that thou shouldst learn to

believe in and reach heavenly heights, the sunny world, the depths

of the sea, earthly magnitude! Find out and acknowledge now thou,

O Tsar, Him who covers the sky with clouds, who fills the air with

the sound of thunder and shakes all creation, who lights up the sky

with lightning, makes the tops of mountains slip off or turns them

into volcanoes! Before His voice the foundations of earth tremble and

mountains disappear like sea-waves! Know thou all this and admit thou

the invisible God, living in heaven, who has sent His Son begotten of

Him, to earth in the form of a mortal man, who having accomplished

everything His Father wished Him to do, rose to Heaven in sublime

glory. Dost thou not see that this, the eternal, only and true God

looks after the needs of the humble and turns His face away from the

proud? O Tsar! the time is already approaching when even thou shalt

know and recognize God and verily shalt behold the wonder of light,

which there is in this town. I am speaking of the Lord's robe; and

the sheepskin of Illina, and many other treasures indeed, are hidden

here, which God will point out to thee. I shall cure thy archimage

just as I healed thy wife in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ and

by the strength of His honest cross. The Tsaritsa already informed

thee that she recovered from her illness only after she had sincerely

renounced the idol-worship. Now her mind has broadened out and with

ardor she does everything that is ordered in the Christian law--nay,

that other people may learn from her righteous way of living!"

Then, upon the command of the Saint, they placed the image facing the

East. The Tsaritsa fell down on her knees and began a prayer under

the cedar while the Saint raised the hands of the sick man towards

Heaven and ordered him to loudly repeat thrice:

"Renounce thou Satan! Bow thou down before my Lord Jesus Christ,

the Son of God!"

But from great weakness the sick man could not speak. Then the Saint

began to implore God to restore him to health, with tears and great

lamentations, and her pupils stood by her side.

One day and two nights she continued her prayers, and when at last

the invalid had repeated the holy words for the third time, the

badness of his soul suddenly abandoned him, he became a healthy man

and a Christian, together with his family and servants and glorified

the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost! Mirian began to fear the

wrath and revenge of the Persian Tsar and wanted to have the Saint

immediately executed--alone the desperate lamentations and tearful

supplications of his beloved wife could cut short his anger, and

dissatisfied, he decided to seek distraction in hunting. This is how

Sidonia, daughter to Abiatkar, and pupil to Nina, relates the event:

"On Saturday, July the twentieth, a royal hunt was appointed in the

direction of Mouknar. The devil disturbed the royal heart, awakening

in him the old love for idols and fire, and so he firmly resolved

to exterminate all Christians with the sword. Four of his nearest

councillors accompanied him upon the hunt, and to them he turned and

made the following speech:

"'We are worthy to be punished by our gods for forgetting their glory

and permitting Christian witches to preach their law and teachings

in our country. Through their witchcraft they accomplish wonders,

but not at all by the might of their God. I have now made up my mind

that all those who pay homage to and adore the Crucified shall perish

by the sword, and furthermore, I insist that an effort shall be made

to increase the love of serving the gods, the real rulers of Kartla

(the native word for Georgia). I shall propose to my wife to abandon

the faith of the Crucified, and if she doth not fulfil my order,

I shall forget her love for me and have her put to death with the

rest!'" With joyfulness the heathens listened--it seemed to them as

though the monarch's speech had come out of their own hearts. They had

long reflected about such an event, but did not dare to express their

thoughts, knowing the attachment of the sovereign for his wife. Now

they strongly supported his views and encouraged him in his actions.

In the meantime they had already passed Moukkvar and Mirian ascended

the high mountain Tekkhotk (in Armenian Tkakoutk) in order to look

at Kaspii and Ouplis Tzikke. When, however, he reached the tiptop,

although this was just at noon, the sun suddenly disappeared before

his eyes and day turned to night. An impenetrable fog covered all the

surroundings and the Tsar himself not noticing this, rode a long way

off from his followers. An unusual thought weighed upon him.

Surprised, he wished to ask whether all the rest were also in

the fog or whether he alone was dazzled, but nobody answered his

questions. In vain he rode over the mountains covered with bushes,

his horse constantly stumbled and fell, the trees scratched his

face and tore his clothes, the Tsar was involuntarily trembling,

while his exhausted and tortured horse at last succumbed to fatigue

and rose no more, thus depriving its reckless rider of any hope of

saving his life. Then he remembered his former doubts and understood

Whose hands were pushing him down.

"I called to the gods, but they did not help me!" he exclaimed. "Now I

shall turn to Him who was crucified on the cross, whom Nina preached

about and with whose help she succeeds in healing men. Is He not

strong enough to deliver me from this disaster? I am already fully

in the darkness of terrible sin and do not know whether this darkness

has come for all, or whether I alone am punished with blindness.

"If Thou wilt save me, God of Nina, then I pray to Thee, lighten

up darkness and show me where my palace stands! I will accept the

religion of Thy name, I will erect and glorify the wooden cross, I

will build a temple of prayer, following the teachings of Saint Nina,

and become a true Christian."

With hearty and sincere repentance in his heart, he swore to become

a Christian, and hardly had he succeeded in closing his lips when

his eyes opened. The sun shone for him with all its gloriousness,

he climbed off the fallen horse and stopping at the place where he

had had the vision, he raised his hands towards the East and exclaimed:

"Thou art the King of kings and the God of gods announced and

proclaimed by Saint Nina! Let Thy name be glorified by all people in

Heaven and on earth. Thou didst deliver me from peril and didst open

my eyes; now I found out that Thou wishest to save, comfort and draw

me towards Thee, according to the words of Thine arch-angel. Blessed

be the Lord! On this spot I shall erect a cross, yes, I will glorify

Thy holy name and let the remembrance of this marvellous event be kept

upright for centuries and centuries to come." Having taken precise

notice of the spot he went away, but in the meantime his attendants,

who had been everywhere vainly looking for him, came together to

discuss what was to be undertaken next.

"Yes, let all my nation glorify the God of Nina!" suddenly rang out

the Tsar's voice, "for He is the Eternal God and to Him alone is due

glory from century to century!"

They gave a fresh horse to the King and he rode home very happy,

and best of all--both mentally and physically cured!

In the meantime the Tsaritsa had already heard the report that

Mirian had disappeared and a little later she received news that he

was already returning. With great haste she rushed out to meet her

beloved husband and an innumerable crowd of people followed after

her. They arrived together at Kindsa, which lies in Gkartk.

As to Saint Nina, she was pronouncing her usual prayer in the rose

bush, and several of us were there with her. Gradually as the Tsar

approached the whole nation began to be greatly moved and excited,

because he shouted in a loud voice:

"Where is the stranger, who, from now on, will be my mother, because

her God saved me from death?"

Having found out already that she was praying, the Tsar branched off

on a side road and his suite followed him. Before reaching the rose

bush Mirian left his horse and coming up to the Saint, he humbly

bowed to her, saying:

"Now make me worthy of invoking thy God, who has indeed been my

saviour!"

Having taught him a little, Nina on the very spot ordered him to bow

down towards the East and adore the Lord Jesus Christ.

But the people, who did not understand the point of the whole affair,

began to be rebellious, seeing the Tsar and Tsaritsa humbly kneeling.

On the next day Mirian dispatched ambassadors to Rome to the Emperor

Constantine, with a request to speedily send some priests to baptize

the nation, and with a letter from Saint Nina to the Empress Helena,

informing her of the wonders which had been performed on Tsar Mirian

near Mtzkhet, through the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ. The

day the Tsar was converted the Saint sent to Saint Gregory Nansien

asking for instructions as to what she should do next. By his advice

she personally destroyed the new idol Armaz, which they had already

succeeded in placing on a mountain beyond the Koura, and to which

the people daily bowed at sunrise, climbing up to the roofs of their

houses and turning their faces towards the sun. In its place she

erected a cross on a hill near Mtzkhet, beyond the river Aragva. But

as this cross was roughly made, the people kept away from it until

the Lord had glorified it. While expecting the arrival of priests,

the Saint and her followers preached the word of God day and night,

untiringly preparing the nation before being baptized, and they went

from Klardjet to the land of the Alanes and from the Caspian gates

to the land of the Massajettians, while the remaining pupils of the

Saint spread all over Georgia.

The Tsar had already become an active and energetic Christian before

the return of the ambassadors. He said to the Saint: "I am burning

to construct a house of God, let us now choose the site!"

"Let thy mtavares (provincial governors) solve that question and have

it arranged so that thou and the nation will draw the utmost profit

out of it," replied Saint Nina.

"No!" said the King, "I love thy rose bush and wish to sacrifice

everything in order to erect a temple on that spot. I shall have

my vineyards, great cedars, fruit trees, and fragrant flowers cut

down. Dost thou not remember how in thy vision the black birds became

so white that it was blinding, and having perched themselves on the

vineyard trees, filled the air with heavenly songs? Now we will turn

this visible vineyard into an invisible one, giving us eternal life,

and let us build in it a house of worship and prayer before the

arrival of the Greek priests!"

Immediately they began to get the materials together. For the church

seven pillars were necessary. Thereupon a great cedar was cut down

which furnished six pillars, while the seventh was made out of a

large pine. When the wooden walls had been erected they fixed the

six pillars, each one in a place specially prepared for it, while

the seventh, which was unusually large and was meant for the cupola,

they could by no means lift from the ground. They hastened to report

this to the Tsar, who ordered all the people to make for the building,

and he himself went there too. In this affair all then known means of

raising weights were used, but neither the numberless arms, nor any

possible art could succeed in obtaining the desired result. And Tsar

and people asked each other with the greatest surprise: "What can this

mean?" And having labored till night they went back to their houses

in great sorrow. Saint Nina, however, with twelve of her followers,

remained by the pillar, washing it with her tears and praying and

groaning. About midnight a terrifying vision began; we saw how the

mountains of Armaz and Zaden were trembling as though somebody were

shaking them in order to block up the course of both rivers. Mtkouar

returned and inundated the town, by reason of which the air was filled

with cries, lamentations and groaning, while the Aragva flowed towards

the fortress and its waves dashing against the fortress walls, made

such a fearful noise that we ran away in terror, but the Saint shouted:

"Do not be afraid, sisters, the mountains still stand in their places

and the rivers have not altered their course, and the nation quietly

sleeps. Although that which you beheld did not happen in reality,

yet this was not a mere dream, for the mountains of unbelief were

thoroughly shaken up in Georgia, for the rivers of innocent children's

blood, which flowed in honor of the idols, dried up, for legions of

demons, chased out of this region by the mightiness of the Cross are

pitifully combatting, seeing how their waves of wrath cannot carry

out anything nor harm the fortress of Christ's faith. Come back and

let us pray!"

Then all these sounds quieted down and everywhere one could distinguish

silence once more. The Saint stood up with raised hands and prayed that

what had been begun by the Tsar should not be destroyed. But before

dawn the vision repeated itself, and this time more terrifying than

ever: it seemed as though an immense and terrible army had attacked

the city from three different sides.

Having forced the gates open it completely filled the

streets. Everywhere a fearful emotion had spread, shrieking and

murdering took place. Pools of blood flowed at every corner. In some

places the people threw themselves upon the enemy with arms in their

hands; some of them from terror and confusion turned against their

own countrymen. Here one was killing the other--there a second one was

expiring, a third one's heart was perfectly broken by the lamentations

of his family. Suddenly a loud, loud voice was heard:

"The Persian Tsar Kkhouara! The king of kings Kkhouaran Kkhouara has

ordered that the sharpness of the sword should spare the Jews!" Only

upon hearing this cry did I begin to come back to my senses, but

just like ten of my companions, I could not exactly remember how

affairs stood. We were still imagining warriors turning around us

with swords in their hands, who knocked down and killed everybody

and everything. And once more a cry was heard: "Tsar Mirian is taken!"

Then the brave worker of Christ's vineyard said: "I know that he

who is shouting is in great distress. Give thanks unto God, for the

enemy is overcome and Georgia saved, and this very place too!" She

cheered us up like an experienced doctor, like a sincere teacher,

like a great apostle! Afterwards fearlessly throwing herself upon

this regiment of robbers and destroyers, she angrily asked them:

"Where then is the Persian King Kkhoua and Kkhouaran-Kkhonafa? Only

yesterday you left the land of Sab and hurried hither with a terrible

and most numerous army in order to destroy the city and exterminate

the inhabitants. Ye Northern and Western winds, chase them away into

the dark mountains and bottomless precipices, for He arrived before

whom you turn to flight!"

With these words she raised her hand and made the sign of the cross.

Instantly all fell to pieces and were swept off, great silence set in

and we all began to congratulate her upon the glorious victory and

thank God for the happy and favorable end of such a terrible vision

and for His revealing to the Saint through this event the future

flourishing state of the country. When, however, it began to grow

light, the other women fell asleep, while I, Sidonia, could see how

the Saint continued praying, raising her hands to Heaven. Suddenly

there stood before her a youth, shining with indescribable brightness,

dressed in a fiery-blazing garment and said three words to her, from

which the Saint fell down with her face on the ground. The youth

stretched out his hands towards the pillar, raised it and put it in

the right place. In my astonishment I approached and asked: "Why,

mistress, what is this?"

"Bow down thy head!" she replied, and wept from fear. A little later

she rose, ordered me to get up too, and we left this place together.

In the meantime our sisters had waked up and actually saw that the

pillar, which had seemed to them enveloped in flames, was coming down

from Heaven and was approaching its destination. When it was within

twenty loktays of the ground it stopped. Hardly had daylight appeared

when the Tsar, tortured with impatience and anxiety, hastened to the

building which he was burning to see finished. From a distance it

seemed to him that the strokes of lightning were rising to Heaven. He

hurried on. In the end, unable to conquer his curiosity, he actually

ran. His whole suite and innumerable hordes of people rushed after

him, doing their best to speedily reach and help to put out the fire

in the burning edifice, and lo! a wonderful spectacle now presented

itself to the eyes of all present.

The extraordinary illumination was not caused by a fire as supposed:

it came from the pillar, blazing with light. Softly did it come down

from Heaven, supported by the arms of two angels, placed itself in the

right spot, and was firmly fixed without the help of human hands. O,

how great was the general delight! Happiness and emotion spread all

over Mtzkhet.

The Tsar, Tsaritsa, dignitaries, and people without distinction of

rank or class, shed tears of emotion, all glorified God and praised

Saint Nina, for great wonders were accomplished on that day. In the

first place a blind-born Hebrew, who approached the pillar, which

had been placed by God, began to see. Secondly, the sepetsouli (i.e.,

page) Kha Mazaepouki had been entirely paralyzed for eight years. His

mother took him in his bed and had it carried to the shining pillar,

afterwards turning to Saint Nina, she said in an imploring voice:

"Look, O mistress, at my dying baby, I know that He about whom thou

dost preach is the God of gods!"

Then the Saint moved up to the pillar and having put her hand on the

boy, said to him: "Thou dost believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God,

who hath come to save the world? Be healthy and from this very day

on glorify God, who hath cured thee!" And the boy got up in perfect

health, and Tsar and nation were seized with fear. All the sick

hastened to the spot and were healed, but as many could not stand

the wonderful light coming out of the pillar, the Tsar ordered to

have it covered with wood, which, nevertheless, of course did not

prevent the people from approaching the pillar and getting cured.

The work of completing the church was immediately taken in hand,

and it was arranged so that the pillar should be left in its above

mentioned place. In the meantime the ambassadors of Tsar Mirian had

already related to the Emperor Constantine and the Empress Helen, his

mother, about the conversion of their sovereign to the faith of the

true God, and this filled their hearts with joy, for Mirian offered

them his friendship and help in conquering and destroying the Persians.

They hastened to send Bishop John (upon the advice given by

the Antiochian patriarch Evstafii) and with him two priests and

three deacons. Upon this occasion Constantine wrote a letter of

congratulation to Mirian, filled with blessings and expressions of

thankfulness to God, and sent him some gorgeous presents, but above

all an invaluable gift--namely: the image of Rouiz with five hundred

pieces of holy relics. The Empress Helen also wrote a letter in which

she highly praised the resolution of Mirian and encouraged him. The

arrival of the bishop, priests, and deacons at Mtzkhet was a day of

general feasting, for Tsar as well as people were equally thirsting

to be baptized.

Immediately a proclamation was sent to all the kristavs, military

commanders, and dignitaries of the monarchy to gather around the Tsar,

and all started for Mtzkhet. Thereupon began the general baptizing:

Saint Nina baptized the Tsar and the priests the Tsaritsa and princes.

Bishop John on the other hand blessed the Mtkouar, and together

with the deacons having found a place near the bridge Mogoutka,

opposite the house of the priest Elios, he baptized in these waters

all dignitaries and courtiers; that is the reason why this spot is

called Mtkavartka-Sanatklavi, i.e., "the place where the Mtkavares

were baptized."

Farther down the river, both priests, the deacon and the bishop,

after having baptized the nobility and dignitaries, baptized the

people, who hurried towards them as much as possible--begging to

quickly receive the great favor. Just so the prophecies of St. Nina,

who was constantly and uninterruptedly repeating to them that he who

does not let himself be baptized, would never behold the real light,

awakening in them the greatest enthusiasm. Thus nearly all Georgians

and fifty Hebrew families from the house of Varrava were christened.

To the Hebrew-Christians the Tsar granted the suburb of Tsikhe

Dide. This was in the year 327.

Alone the mountain inhabitants and Mirian's brother-in-law, Pkeros,

who had received the province of Ran as a dowry from his bride,

beginning from Bard, did not pay attention to the Tsar's summons and

remained heathens, having respectfully remarked to the Tsar that his

power over them could not be extended to their form of religion. When,

through His great mercifulness, the Lord deigned to show to the holy

Tsaritsa His living cross, Tsar Mirian hastened to send to the Emperor

Constantine the Bishop John, asking him for a piece of the wood of

the holy living cross. To this request he joined the wish to have

many priests, in order to send them out not only into all provinces,

but also to each single city of his government to educate, enlighten,

and baptize the people all over Georgia.

At that time an invitation was also sent to architects, for it took a

great many to erect and establish churches throughout the kingdom. The

Emperor received the ambassador with great rejoicing and handed him

the pieces of the holy living wood on which had lain the holiest legs

of the Saviour of the world, and two nails from the Lord's hands. The

pieces of the holy living wood are called Nerkveli in Georgian. Emperor

Constantine handed great riches to Bishop John, ordering him to erect

a church with this money in the newly converted country, but to divide

up the remaining treasures among the other Georgian churches. He also

sent with him many priests and architects and having flattered and

complimented the envoy and bishop, allowed them to start for home.

Having reached the province of Eroushatk, they left there one architect

and a priest, ordering them to establish and erect a church, and giving

them the necessary sum for that undertaking. The priest besides was

given charge of the most holy nails, which were to be kept in this

temple. When they again arrived at Mangliss, they did the same thing,

leaving the holy Nerkvelis, and then soon reached Mtzkhet. But Mirian,

who had been awaiting their arrival with such impatience, was deeply

grieved by the fact that they had been staying out longer on the

way than he had expected them to do, and besides--had left in the

provinces both invaluable holy relics; but Saint Nina comforted him

by the following words: "Quiet down, O Tsar! It was necessary that

everywhere on their route they should proclaim and firmly establish

the name of the Lord--while thou in the grand capital art in possession

of quite as great a treasure, viz., the robe of the Lord!"

Then the Tsar sent for Abiatkar, and with him came quite a large number

of Jews. When, however, he asked them questions about the robe they

related how it was under the wonder-working pillar and added to this

the whole report of Sidonia, which we have already told.

"Blessed be Thou, O Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living

God!" exclaimed the Tsar, raising his hands toward Heaven, "merciful

and charitable in saving us from the devil and the land of darkness

and having built this church, nay, having brought Thy robe hither

from the most holy city of Jerusalem to spare it from the hands of the

Jews, who hath not acknowledged Thee and to hand it over to our care,

to a foreign and strange nation, honoring and fearing Thee with all

their heart!"

Immediately the church was begun, first commencing with the

court. "Let the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be blessed," said

then Saint Nina, "and of God the Father, who hath sent His son, who

leaving the all-shining heavenly regions, came down to earth, was

without doubt born of the seed of David, of the branch of Joachim,

of the most holy and most pure Virgin and her thou didst make the

cause of our salvation, earthly enlightenment and glory of Thy people

O Israel! Of her was born the God man, the light of all believing,

the image of God, baptized with water and with the Holy Ghost, was

crucified and interred, rose on the third day--going up to His Father,

whither he comes with glory, for He is worthy of all glory, honor,

and adoration, together with the Father and the Holy Ghost now,

henceforth and evermore! Amen."

When all were really and successfully baptized, the royal son Revv

reminded them about the famous tree, which grew in the court and had a

marvellous power to heal even the most desperate mortal wounds. It was

noticed more than once that even the snakes, when wounded by mortal

shots, if they ate the leaves of this tree or the buds falling from

it, immediately were healed.

Having found out about this, Bishop John said: "This land was really

and truly destined by God to have the holy faith introduced in it, and

by His godly attention this marvellous tree grew up and was preserved

to our days. Now, however, when the might of Christ had been spread

all over Georgia, it does seem advisable to make a cross out of it,

which will be an object of veneration for the whole country!"

And so, on Friday the twenty-fifth of March, three hundred and

thirty A. D., the Tsarevitch Revv, together with the bishop and

masses of people, set forth to cut down the tree, the branches of

which, notwithstanding that it was in the winter season, were quite

green. This tree was so beautiful that having cut it only slightly,

one hundred men took it up in their arms together with its branches

and leaves and carried it into the town, where they placed it near

the church.

To the general astonishment it really kept its freshness and beauty

during thirty-seven days, as though it had been replanted with a root

or been constantly refreshed by living water. When, however, all the

bushes were covered with leaves and the fruit trees with flowers, on

the first of May, a Saturday, Tsar and people entered the church and

with ardor and joyfulness made crosses out of it. The following day at

sunrise a cross of stars descended from Heaven, and having let itself

down to the church, seemed to have turned itself into a crown of stars

which remained visible to the whole nation until sunset. Then two stars

started forth from it: one flew towards the East and the other towards

the West, while the cross, keeping its heavenly glitter and beauty,

quietly directed itself to the spring which had been created by the

tears of Saint Nina, and having gone up by the river Aragva to a stony

plateau, rose to Heaven. As this vision repeated itself daily and was

seen by all the people, the Tsar asked the Saint to explain its reason.

"Send thou," she said, "into the highest mountains in the East and

West, to follow up and watch the direction which the stars take and,

there where they stop we shall each time erect a cross to glorify

our Lord Jesus Christ!"

The Tsar lost no time in ordering guards placed on the summits of the

mountains. This was on Friday, and Saturday, according to custom, at

sunrise the wonder again repeated itself. The next day arrived the men

who had been keeping guard on the Kvobtka-Tkavv, and said to the Tsar:

"The star stopped just above the mountain Tkkot and then went down

into the Caspian Sea and disappeared." But others who had also kept

guard on the Keretk, said:

"We beheld a star which came straight to us and stopped in the village

of Bode." Thereupon Saint Nina said:

"Take both these crosses and establish one on the mountain Tkkot as God

hath instructed ye, while the other ye shall give to the servant of

God--Salome, who will plant it in the town of Oudjarmo, because Bode

or Bondi is a simple hamlet with few inhabitants and thus should not

be put on a footing with a capital, which has a large population, and

so Bondi, too, will soon see that it is a place pleasing to God." The

words of the Saint were most punctually and correctly carried out on

the seventh of May.

In consequence of the marvellous heavenly apparition, a third cross,

taken up by men and preceded by Saint Nina, was solemnly carried to

the foot of the stony plateau.

There the Saint, the King, and the people passed a whole night praying

at the spring which had been created by the tears of Saint Nina. At

that spot many wonders and cases of healing took place too. The day

following they ascended the mountain to the top of the rocky plateau

(now known by the designation Djouar), the Saint gave the example and

after her Tsar and people, rich and poor, the prominent and religious

fell down with their face resting on the ground and prayed to God

with many tears and great lamentations, so that the mountains were

filled with the sounds of crowds praying. Then the Saint, having put

her hand upon the stone, said to the bishop:

"Come thou and make the sign of the cross on this stone."

As soon as the Saint's command had been executed, the holy cross

was well fastened to a rock by the hands of the Tsar and his

family. Innumerable crowds of people bowed down before the cross,

praising and blessing the Son of God and believing with all their

hearts and souls in Him and in the Holy Trinity. Even the most

distinguished Mtavares did not leave the holy church, the fiery

pillar and the holy cross, and were witnesses of the perfectly unusual

wonders and most marvellous cures.

The Sunday of the Easter Full-moon was chosen by Mirian for celebrating

the holy cross, and this custom was observed all over Georgia up to

the governor-generalship of Yermolow.

On the first Wednesday after the fete of the Holy Trinity, a new

wonder occurred. A fiery cross showed itself above the cross on Mount

Djuarr, while above it there seemed to be a crown, consisting of twelve

stars. Besides, the mountain gave out an indescribable fragrance. This

vision was seen by everybody, and many of the unbelieving were

baptized on that memorable day, while the faith of the Christians

was very much strengthened, and they loudly glorified God. At the

cross still another wonder took place. A light seven times brighter

than the sun was lowered from Heaven unto the cross and angels went

up and down this apparently fiery road--as the sparks fly from the

bursting crater. Even the very mountain was shaken as though a strong

earthquake were taking place during the wonderful apparition.

This wonder called forth general surprise, and all those present

praised God more and more, and as such wonders repeated themselves

daily before the eyes of the whole nation, people from every town and

village of the kingdom streamed in to bow to the cross. At that time

the Tsarevitch, a grandson of Mirian and the only son of the crown

prince Revv, was taken with a hopeless illness, but his father placed

him in front of the cross and with tears in his eyes, said:

"If thou, O holy cross, wilt heal my son, I will erect a shrine

for thee!"

And the child came back to life and was taken home by his

father--restored to perfect health. The Tsarevitch immediately returned

with the greatest joy in order to thank God and begin to carry out

his solemn promise. Soon a marble chapel was built, into which Revv

daily came to give thanks unto God, and used to bring rich gifts. Ever

since that moment a still greater number of the weak and sick were

attracted by the holy cross, and having been cured, they joyfully

glorified our Lord Jesus Christ and the strength of His honorable

cross. A blind youth who had fasted for fully seven days and had been

praying as long before the cross, got back his sight and glorified God.

A woman who had the misfortune of having the devil in her for eight

whole years, was deprived of the power of reasoning and here tore

her clothes to pieces and became idiotic--there became greatly

weakened. For twelve days they held her in front of the cross; in

the end the Lord healed her and she returned home, healthy in body

and soul, lauding God and honoring His holy cross. It happened that a

little baby fell from a certain height and was instantly killed. His

mother put the breathless corpse near the foot of the cross and from

morning till evening unceasingly prayed with tears constantly in

her eyes.

"Woman!" they said to her, "take him away and bury him, for he is dead,

and thy prayers will be of no use!"

But she continued praying and loudly lamenting without giving up hope

throughout the night, the next day and a third day, and lo! to the

seventh day.

On this seventh day, however, in the evening, the baby came back to

life and was carried off living and healthy by his mother, who did

not cease to praise and thank God. Such great wonders persuaded many

fruitless husbands to resort to the strength of the holy cross, and

having begged with real faith, they became the fathers of numerous

families and daily came to adore the cross and bring gorgeous

presents. Not only the sick who personally came to pray at the foot

of the cross were successfully cured, but also the warriors combatting

far, far away from Djouar, if they only implored the help of the cross,

became able to defeat their enemies and unharmed returned to Mtzkhet

to justly glorify God. Many infidels, when in great need, addressed

the cross with prayers and receiving salvation from destruction,

hastened to Djouar to give thanks unto God and be baptized. Besides

these already mentioned, masses of other suffering people were healed

and the unhappy comforted by invoking the holy cross, created by

the almightiness of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and

to them is due all glory, honor, and veneration, now, henceforth,

and evermore. Amen.

At that time Saint Nina, the Tsar, and the nation received a message

from the patriarch from Rome. Just then, too, arrived a deacon from

the land of the Brandjees in order to congratulate Saint Nina and

ask her to pray for them. He also brought a letter from his Tsar to

Saint Nina, whose father had baptized all Brandjees. At Jerusalem

and Constantinople a report was spread that the sun of truth was now

shining in Georgia and Jee--from all possible regions they sent letters

asking to give precise details of the wonders which had happened

at the pillar and the rose bush and of the extraordinary cases of

cures. Having carefully inquired about all this, the brandja-deacon

glorified God and went home with numerous letters containing the longed

for statements. Then the Tsar spoke thus to the Saint and the bishop:

"It is my wish with the power of the sword to force the mountain

inhabitants as well as my brother-in-law Pkheros to serve the Son of

God and to oblige them to venerate and respect the honest cross!"

"God doth not order thee to convert them with the sword!" was their

unanimous answer. It is thy duty to convert them after having pointed

out to them with the help of the New Testament and the cross--the road

of truth leading to life eternal and how to be thankful to the Lord,

who lightens up the terrible darkness of their souls.

Saint Nina, together with the bishop, left for the mountain regions,

and the Tsar ordered the kristav (most likely district governor)

to accompany them. Upon arriving at Tsorbanne, they called together

the mountaineers, inspected Dsrbin, Tchartal, Tkkhela, Tsilkammy, and

Gorangor. They assembled the Tchartalians, who were almost like wild

beasts, the Fkholians, the Gondamakavians, and to all these tribes

they preached about the holy cross of Christ. But they did not want

to listen, and so the royal kristav drew his sword and destroyed

their idols and subjected them.

From there they went into Yaletia (the present Mtaletka) and taught

the nations of Tionet and Ertso (in Armenian Erdzoitk), who received

them well and were baptized, but the Fkholis (nowadays the Pchaves),

settled over to Doushet. The remaining mountain inhabitants also

refused to become Christians, for which the Tsar doubled their taxes

and thus forced them to emigrate. It is true later on, Saint Avive,

bishop of Nekretsa, converted several of them to Christianity, while

the rest are even to this day infidels. Saint Nina started for Ranne

in order to enlighten Pkeros, but as she approached Kouket and reached

Bondi, she was obliged to make a longer stop. Kakhetians streamed

there in great number, questioned her and many became persuaded in the

correctness and truthfulness of her teachings. At Bondi, however, she

fell ill. Hardly had the news of this deplorable event reached Revv and

Salome, who lived at Oudjarmo, when they hastened to the Saint and also

informed the Tsar and Tsaritsa. The sovereign gave orders that Bishop

John should bring over the Saint, but she really preferred to remain

where she was, and so the Tsar set out for Bondi with a numerous suite.

The whole nation rushed to the invalid, whose glance was illuminated

with true heavenly brilliancy. With love and veneration did the true

believers cut off little bits of pieces from her garment and covered

their souvenir with kisses. The Tsaritsa and the princesses crowded

around her, showering blessings upon her, and with tears and sorrow

they looked forward to their separation from their teacher, protector,

and healer. The Princess Salome, Kherosh Avrizounelle (in Armenian

Perojavr Sounetsi), the kristaves and mtavares began to implore the

Saint to relate her life to them, saying:

"Who art thou? How didst thou come into our kingdom to save us? Who

was thy instructor? O mistress, do let us know the history of thy

life! Why shouldst thou speak of captivity--O thou happy, happy

Tsaritsa, who hast delivered us from the burdens of captivity? For

through thee we found out that the Son of God had been predicted

by prophets, that after Him the work of spreading the new faith was

carried out by twelve apostles, and as many as seventy-two pupils. But

of all this immense number, thou alone wert given and sent unto us

by God. Why in the world dost thou then call thyself a prisoner and

foreigner?" Then the Saint continued:

"Children of the Faith, Tsaritsa and princesses--all ye who are

surrounding me, I now see that you may be compared with the ancient

women in their faith and love to Christ. You desire to know the

biography of His insignificant servant. I consent, for I feel that my

end is approaching and I shall sleep the eternal sleep in which she

who gave birth to me is already resting. Take ye then the inkstand and

write up the history of my life, so that your children shall discover

how great your faith in God was, how constant and unchangeable your

love to me and what wonders you were allowed to be witnesses of."

Then the Princess Salomee and Kherosh Avrizounelle began to record

the events, while the Saint related to them all that we have here

undertaken to describe. She advised the Tsar to replace Bishop John by

the priest Jacob when the time should come. John held a final mass,

and Nina received from his hands the Holy Communion, after which she

gave up her most righteous soul to the Lord of Heaven and earth,

in the fifteenth year after her arrival in Georgia, in the year

of our Lord three hundred and thirty-nine. Her death caused great

sorrow and mourning in Mtzkhet and Oudjarmo. They buried her at Bondi

(the present Sidjack) in accordance with the sworn oath which she had

received from the Tsar. As this was at that period a little known and

unimportant village, the Saint had evidently chosen it from extreme

humility. The Tsar and his noblemen were deeply grieved by this choice,

but of course did not venture to oppose her last will.