St. Nino

Saint Nino
Icon of Saint Nino at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
Born	ca. 280 Colossae (Kolaste, Kolasa)
Died	ca. 332 Bodbe, Kakheti (Georgia)
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches
Major shrine	Bodbe Monastery
Feast	December 15 (Roman Catholic) January 14 (27) (Eastern Orthodox)
Patronage	Georgia

December 15 (Roman Catholic)

Saint Nino (Georgian: წმინდა ნინო, ts'minda nino; Armenian: Սուրբ Նունե, Surb Nune; Greek: Αγία Νίνα, Agía Nína; sometimes St. Nune or St. Ninny) Equal to the Apostles and the Enlightener of Georgia (c. 296 – c. 338 or 340) was a woman who preached Christianity in Georgia, that resulted from the Christianization of Iberia.

According to most widely traditional accounts, she belonged to a Greek-speaking Roman family from Kolastra, Cappadocia, was a relative of Saint George, and came to Georgia (ancient Iberia) from Constantinople. Other sources claim she was from Rome, Jerusalem or Gaul (modern France). According to legend, she performed miraculous healings and converted the Georgian queen, Nana, and eventually the pagan king Mirian III of Iberia, who, lost in darkness and blinded on a hunting trip, found his way only after he prayed to "Nino’s God". Mirian declared Christianity the official religion (c. 327) and Nino continued her missionary activities among Georgians until her death.

Her tomb is still shown at the Bodbe Monastery in Kakheti, eastern Georgia. St. Nino has become one of the most venerated saints of the Georgian Orthodox Church and her attribute, a grapevine cross, is a symbol of Georgian Christianity.