Jack Voelkel
Nino, Apostle to the Georgians (Died about 340 AD)
“Nino is a strange woman!” exclaimed her Georgian captors. Yet they were intrigued and curious about her amazing devotion. She seemed to pray every free moment and lived a life of “faith, sobriety, and virtue.” When they asked her about her religious life and practices, she replied that this was her way of worshipping Christ her God.
Nino knew Jesus. To help her witness to the people, she fashioned a cross out of vines, and having no other material, tied its arms with strands from her own hair. She used this cross to explain to her curious neighbors how Christ, God’s Son, had offered himself up for her salvation. This was a totally new concept to her pagan listeners and they could but wonder at her strange faith, so different from their own.
One day Nino observed a very sad woman carrying a child. Asking her neighbors what she was doing, they replied that it was their custom that when a small child was ill the mother would go from house to house to seek advice from anyone she thought could help. When she came to Nino, the captive admitted that she knew of no human remedy, but assured her that her God Christ, whom she worshipped, could heal the sick and dying.. She placed him on her cloak and prayed for God’s intervention in his life. The people were astounded to see the dying child restored to health.
Word of the miraculous healing resonated throughout the Georgian nation. When the news reached the Queen, who herself was suffering from an untreatable malady, she immediately sent for Nino. However, Nino explained, “I am a slave. My place is not in the palace.” Not to be deterred from her only hope for healing, the Queen had men carry her to the home where Nino served and asked her to pray for her healing as well.
Once again, the Lord answered the prayer of His precious child. When the Queen generously expressed her gratitude, Nino emphasized it was not she who had brought the healing but Christ, the Son of God Almighty. She encouraged the Queen to respond to the Gospel and acknowledge the true God to be the source of her life and health. She added, “For it is He who distributes kingdoms to Kings and life to mortal men.”
The gallant response of King Mirian to his wife’s healing was that presents should be sent to Nino in gratitude. However, the Queen, having come to know and appreciate the character of her benefactor, replied that she probably wouldn’t have interest in these things. She suggested, rather, “The only way we can reward her is by worshipping that God Christ who cured me according to her prayer.”
Though impacted by the miracle, the King was soon distracted by his other duties and interests. One day, however, while hunting in a wood with his retainers late in the afternoon, a fog drifted in as night came on, and he found himself not only alone but completely lost, not knowing where to turn. Then he remembered again the experience of his wife, and he thought: “If indeed that Christ whom the Captive preached to my Wife is God, then let Him now deliver me from this darkness that I too might forsake all other gods to worship Him.” At that moment, the darkness cleared enough for him to discover where he was and he returned safely to the city.
That experience changed his life. He shared it with the Queen and then called for Nino, asking her to instruct him in the ways of God. He declared that from then on he would worship no other god but Christ. She taught him the basic truths of Christianity, urged him to build a church, and to send to Emperor Constantine for Christian priests.
Meanwhile, the King began to tell his subjects about his new found faith. Although there had been Christians in his country for many years, his enthusiasm and example sparked a people movement. His son, who succeeded him as King, was even more zealous in promoting the faith. In 330 Georgia was declared to be a Christian nation, ten years before Nino died. The Church became not only the center of religious faith but of the national life itself.
Three years ago I had the privilege of visiting Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. In the Sioni Cathedral, I saw a replica of the cross made of vine branches that Nino had tied with her own hair. Within the doors of the ancient cathedral women were selling small models of this cross and icons of Nino herself. I have these on my desk as I write, reminders of the powerful faith of a captive woman whose love for Jesus not only brought healing to a child and a Queen, but was used by God to reveal His glory to a whole nation.
Dear brothers and sisters, when I first came to you I didn’t use lofty words and brilliant ideas to tell you God’s message. For I decided to concentrate only on Jesus Christ and his death on the cross…I did this so that you might trust the power of God rather than human wisdom (1 Cor 2:1-5, New Living New Testament).
Sources: All direct quotations are from Tyrannius Rifinus. Historia Ecclesiastica. David Marshall Lang (ed and trans from the original texts) Lives and Legends of the Georgian Saints, placed on the internet by Besiki Sisauri (http://www.angelfire.com/pa/besiki/lives1.html). K.S. Latourette. A History of Christianity. Harper. Frederick W. Norris. “Nino.” In A Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions.
Jack Voelkel
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Tucson, Arizona
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