St. Nina, Enlightener of Georgia

Nina was born in Cappadocia and raised in Jerusalem. In a vision the Theotokos gave her a cross made of vine branches and sent her to Georgia, and Nina bound the cross together with strands of her own hair. In Mtskheta she healed a sick child and then Queen Nana by prayer. King Mirian held out until, lost in a sudden darkness while hunting, he called on Nina’s God and the light returned. He and his people were baptized in the 320s or 330s, and Georgia became one of the first Christian kingdoms. Nina reposed at Bodbe, where a convent stands over her tomb.

• Feast: January 14 (New Calendar)
• Lived: died c. 335
• Place: Mtskheta, Georgia