Life of St Nino

tr. Wardrop, 1900

The Words of the Same Abiat’har the Priest Concerning the Tunic (shirt) of Our Lord Jesus…

I, Abiat’har, relate unto you that story which I have heard, and which I have learnt with mine ears from my parents, who learnt it from epistles, and from their parents and grandparents.

In those days when Herod ruled in Jerusalem, there was a rumour that the Persians had taken Jerusalem², and because of this there was grief and mourning among the Georgian Jews dwelling in Mtzkhet’ha, the priests of Bodi, the scribes of Codi’s stream, and the translators of the law in K’hobi³. These were all moved to go and help those in Jerusalem. But after a few days another messenger arrived with the consoling tidings that the Persians were not come to take Jerusalem; for instead of arms⁴ they carried royal⁵ gold, myrrh (a speedy healer of wounds), and sweet smelling incense⁶. They sought a certain child born of the seed of David, of a virgin, and they found the child born of a virgin, out of season, in an unseemly place, as is the custom for strangers(?). And they came to the Babe and worshipped Him, and offered Him their gifts, and they⁷ went away in peace⁸. And the Georgian Jews heard these tidings with great joy.

After this, thirty years passed by, and Anna⁹ the priest wrote from Jerusalem to my father Eliozi¹⁰ that He to whom the kings of Persia came bringing gifts was grown up and arrived at man’s estate¹¹, and that He called Himself the Son of God. ‘Come hither unto His death, which will fulfil the law of God and of Moses.’

Eliozi went thither; he was my father’s father, an aged man, and his mother was of the race of Eli the priest, and Eliozi had one sister. The mother of Eliozi entreated him, saying: ‘Go, my son, at the royal summons of the king, to fulfil that law, despite which they take counsel. Consort not with them, O my son, for He is the word of the prophets and the fable of the wise, and the secret hidden from the Jews, the light of the Gentiles and life everlasting.’ Eliozi of Mtzkhet’ha and Longinozi of Carsni went away, and saw the crucifixion of the Lord Christ.

Now when they nailed the Lord on the cross, and Hasanig¹² struck the nails with an iron hammer in Jerusalem, Eliozi’s mother, in Mtzkhet’ha, heard the blows, and suddenly cried out: ‘Farewell, kingdom of the Jews, for ye have slain your Saviour and Deliverer, and henceforth ye shall be accounted enemies and murderers of your Creator! Woe is me that I am not buried before His death, for mine ears shall no longer hear, and after this I am no longer worthy to look upon the light of the Gentiles and the peace of Israel.’ When she had uttered these words, she straightway entered into rest.

The Lord’s tunic fell by lot to the Jews of Mtzkhet’ha, and Eliozi took it to Mtzkhet’ha. His sister received him in tears, and embraced his neck; and taking the garment of Jesus, she pressed it to her bosom, and immediately her soul passed from her body. Threefold was the cause of her death: bitter grief at the slaying of Christ, sorrow for her mother’s death, and¹³ disappointment that she had not been present with her brother at the crucifixion. Then there was great wonder and turmoil in Mtzkhet’ha, which reached even unto King Aderci¹⁴; and all the people, and their princes, and King Aderci himself wished for the garment. But he was seized with horror and alarm when he found that he could not draw it from her hands; so firmly and eagerly did she clasp the garment to her breast, that her brother Eliozi buried it with her. The place where she was buried God only knows¹⁵, and none other can tell, save that it is near unto a cedar, brought from Lebanon, planted and reared in Mtzkhet’ha.

My father also told me that the mantle of Elijah, a double (?) garment, endued with divine power, is in that city, lying under the stone of the altar of strength, unfound¹⁶ until the appointed time.

St. Nino urged me to ask my father to tell me all in detail, to satisfy her longing to know the place where the tunic was. But he only said that the place of its burial was there where the tongues of men sing praises to God, the place where Jacob saw the ladder which mounted to heaven¹⁷.

¹⁸After many years the grandnephew of King Aderci, King Amzael¹⁹, sought the garment among the Jews, but he could neither find it nor learn anything of it, except what is mentioned above: that it was said to be buried near a cedar of Lebanon. But the family of the same Eliozi, who brought the tunic and buried it with his sister, knew that it was to the east of the city, by the bridge of the Magi.

In those days St. Nino saw three times²⁰, yea, four times, in sleep, a vision. She was on her knees, and, bent forward, had fallen into a light slumber. She saw birds with black wings fly down from heaven, and they entered into the river, and bathed, and became pure white, and they flew into the garden already spoken of, and gathered the fruits and pecked the flowers; and they came graciously and lovingly towards Nino as if she were the mistress of the garden, and gathered round her, singing sweetly²¹.

When St. Nino told this to her disciple Sidonia (Abiat’har’s daughter), she answered: ‘O stranger, of foreign birth! captive, according to thy words! I know that by thee these times will be renewed, and through thy means will hear the story of what our fathers did; how they spilled the innocent blood of the Divine One, for which deed the Jews have become a shame, scattered to the ends of the earth, their kingdom destroyed, and their holy temple taken from them, their glory given unto a strange people. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! thy wings are stretched forth²², and thou gatherest under thy wings every nation from the ends of the heavens. Behold now this woman is come, by whom will be changed all the law of this land.’ Then she turned to Nino and said: ‘This thy vision announces and declares, that this place will be spiritually changed by thee into a garden of Paradise, yielding heavenly fruits for evermore.’

²³Now when King Mirian returned from Greece, put to flight by King Constantine, he heard how St. Nino preached the gospel of Christ; for he heard it openly said that ‘the dwellers in the north were found in error,’ and he was told of the vine-stem cross, and of the great miracles done by her. Without medicine she cured those who had incurable diseases by the application of the cross. Her disciples also preached: those who had been secretly converted, to the number of seven women of the Jewish race: Sidonia, the daughter of Abiat’har, and six others, and the couple who kept the king’s garden, and Abiat’har the priest, that new Paul, who preached the law of Christ fearlessly and unceasingly. He was skilled in the old law, the new law he learned from Nino; and even more than Nino he convinced all men and taught the law of truth.

The Jews were moved to stone Abiat’har, but King Mirian sent servants and hindered the Jews from killing him, for King Mirian wished for the law of Christ, having heard of many miracles done by it in Greece and Armenia, and he did not hinder the preaching of Nino and her disciples. But the devil, the enemy of all true believers, warred against him; and Queen Nana²⁴ was more cruel than the king, and a despiser of the preaching of the true gospel of Christ.

St. Nino prayed unceasingly in her dwelling in the bramble bush, and the heathen were surprised at her prayer and watching, and it seemed strange unto them, and they began to question her. And she made known to them the old and new books, making the foolish wise, and putting into their hearts the love of Christ.

Three years did she preach thus, converting many. Now there was a young boy of noble birth who was very sick, and his mother took him from door to door, to see if perchance she might find some skilled in healing, and helpful in his trouble. They all diligently inquired into his sickness, but none could cure the child, and the physicians told the woman that her boy could never be healed. The woman was a bitter heathen, hating the Christian faith, and hindering others from going to consult Nino; but, being in despair, she came and fell down before Nino, entreating her to heal the lad. St. Nino said: ‘That healing art which is of man I know not; but my God whom I serve, Christ, can cure this child, though all think his case hopeless.’ She placed the sick boy on the cloth²⁵ whereon she always prayed, and began to entreat the Lord; and the child was cured. She gave the astonished and joyful boy to his mother, who confessed Christ, saying: ‘There is no God save Christ, whom Nino preaches.’ And she became St. Nino’s disciple, and went her way glorifying God.

Queen Nana fell sick of a sore and grievous illness which none was able to cure. All the skilled physicians exhausted their medicines, and yet could do nothing; they were powerless and despairing. Then Queen Nana was told how the Roman captive woman, who was called Nino, had, by her prayers, healed many sick folk. She commanded her servants to bring Nino. They went and found her sitting in the bower under the bramble, praying, and it was the sixth hour. They told her the queen’s command. (She answered:) ‘We are not commanded to go out of our humble tent; but let the queen come hither to my abode, and verily she shall be cured by the power of Christ.’ The servants related to the queen what Nino had said, and she eagerly bade them prepare her couch and take her; and her servants bore her on her couch, and her son, Rev, and many people went with her. When they came to St. Nino’s dwelling, and placed the queen on the cloth, St. Nino began to pray and entreat God for a long time; then she took her cross, and with it touched the queen’s head, her feet, and her shoulders, making the sign of the cross; and straightway she was cured, and arose restored; and she believed in Christ, and said: ‘There is no other God save Christ, whom this captive woman preaches.’ From that time she became the friend of Nino, and always inquired and sought to know the faith of Christ; and St. Nino, and Abiat’har (the new Paul), and his daughter Sidonia taught her. And the queen became a believer, and knew the true God.

The king inquired of her how she was so suddenly cured, and she told him all: how, without medicine, by the touch of a cross, she was healed; and multitudes who had seen it confirmed the queen’s words. King Mirian was filled with wonder, and he began to seek the faith of Christ. Often he inquired of the Jew, Abiat’har, of the old and new books, and he was instructed in everything. In the Book of Nebrot’hi²⁶, which King Mirian had, he found what was written about the building of the tower²⁷. How there was a voice from heaven to Nebrot’hi, saying: ‘I am Mikael, appointed by God to be ruler of the east. Depart from that town, for God protects it; but in the last days will come a Lord from heaven who will be despised among a despised people. The fear of Him will bring to nought the charms of the world; kings shall forsake their kingdoms and seek poverty. He will look upon thee in thy grief and deliver thee.’

Then Mirian perceived that what the old and new books testified was affirmed by the Book of Nebrot’hi, and he became eager for the faith of Christ. But the invisible enemy warred against him, hindering the confession of Christ, strengthening in his heart the hope in idols and fire. The queen ceased not to entreat him to confess Christ; but for a year from the time of the queen’s conversion the king was undecided. St. Nino taught the people unceasingly, and to none did she say who she was nor whence she came, but she called herself a captive.

After this, there was a magician (fire-worshipper), a Persian prince named Khwarai²⁸; he was sick in mind, and beside himself, and nigh unto death. Now this prince was a kinsman of King Mirian²⁹, and the king and queen begged St. Nino’s help, and the king looked to her, being still undecided. He said to St. Nino: ‘By what god’s power dost thou perform these cures? Art thou a daughter of Armaz, or a child of Zaden? Thou art come hither from a strange land, and the graciousness of the gods is fallen upon thee; they have endowed thee with the power of healing, with which thou mayest bring life to a strange land and be renowned for ever. Be as a nurse to our children in this worshipful city³⁰, but speak not these strange words of the false faith of the Romans—say nothing of it. For, behold, the great conquering gods of the world³¹, enlighteners and teachers of the Kart’hlians, Armaz and Zaden, searchers out of every hidden thing, with the ancient gods of our fathers, Gatzi and Gaim³², are to be trusted in by men. Now if thou wilt cure this prince, I shall enrich thee, and make thee a citizen of Mtzkhet’ha, as a servant of Armaz. Though by the winds and hail that beat upon him he was broken, nevertheless that place is immovable. This Armaz and the god of the Chaldeans, It’hrujan³³, have ever been enemies; our god caused the sea to flow over the other, who has now done this. Thus is the custom of the conquerors of the world. Now be thou content with this my command.’

St. Nino replied: ‘O king, in the name of Christ, by the intercession of His Mother and all His Saints, may the God of heaven and earth, the Creator, send down upon thee His glory and greatness, and may He pour out upon thee from the countless store of His mercies, as from a furnace, one spark of His grace, that thou mayest know and perceive the height³⁴ of the heavens, the light of the sun, the depth of the sea, the breadth of the earth and its foundation. And mayest thou know, O king, who clothes the heaven with clouds, with winds, and with the voice of thunder, who shakes the earth with His violence, and casts forth the lightning³⁵, and sets the mountains on fire with His divine wrath, who causes all the earth to tremble (the great serpent in the seas trembles), even unto the destruction of all the earth, mountains and solid rocks. Know thou all these things; for the unseen God in the heavens, He is Lord of all created things, except His Son, who proceeded from Him into the world, appearing in the form of a man; He fulfilled all for which He came, and ascended into the heights to His Father. The everlasting God is high, and looks down upon the humble, and He knows the proud from afar. O king, His presence is near unto thee; for in this city is a marvel, the garment of the Son of God; and they say the mantle of Elijah is also here, and many miracles have been revealed; and I will cure this thy prince only in the name of my Christ and by the cross of His sufferings, as it also cured Queen Nana of her great sickness.’

And they brought that prince to her, and Queen Nana came also into the garden, and they put him under the cedar. Nino raised her hands to the eastward, and said thrice: ‘O devil, I conjure thee to leave him, that Christ, the Son of God, may come in.’ And Nino wept, sighing from her soul, and besought the help of God for that man. Her disciples also were there for one day and two nights³⁶, and suddenly the evil spirit went forth. The prince, and his family, and his people³⁷ were converted by Nino, and they glorified the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, now, always, and for evermore. Amen.

Notes

In A.V. this chapter is headed: ‘Chapter VII, written down by the Hebrew woman called Sidonia, daughter of Abiat’har the priest.’ It begins: ‘And it came to pass that the Lord looked down with mercy on this forgotten northern land of the Caucasians, on the mountaineers of Somkhit’hi, on which mountains was spread a mist, and in the plains a vapour of error and ignorance. And the land was shadowed from the sight and knowledge of the sun of righteousness, the Son of God; its name in truth is land of the shadow (cf. note 1 on p. 20). . . . There passed until the birth of Christ 5100 years; from His birth to His crucifixion 33 years; from the crucifixion until the conversion of King Constantine of Greece 311 years; fourteen years later our queen Nino was sent with the message of truth to the mountains of darkness, and the dawn arose, and then shone forth the great monarch of day. Such was our history, O Georgians. For we were turned from the light, and were inheritors of darkness. We rejoiced gaily and amassed treasure, but when we mourned there was no consoler; we served things created, and not the Creator. Our fathers (i.e. the Jews) worshipped Gebal and Garizin, seated on cherubim, and beside was no God, nor Moses, nor a sign of them, but idols of soulless stone. And in this land of Kart’hli were two mountains, and on them two idols, Armaz and Zaden, who stink with the ill odour of a thousand souls of first-born youths, whom parents sacrificed until now. And there were other royal idols, Gatzi and Ga, and they sacrificed to them a prince, whom they burned with fire, and the ashes were scattered about the head of the idol.’
A.V. ‘that twelve kings had come to take the land.’
The Hebrew settlements mentioned in the text seem to have been the following: Bodi, Budi or Bodbe, in Cakhet’hi, near Signakh, the place of Nino’s death and burial: her nunnery there still exists. Codis tsqaro, in Kart’hli, a small stream running into the salt Lake Cumisi, not far from the Kura, below Tiflis. Coda village is on this stream. K’hobi (in A.V. Sobi, but? misprint)—K’hoba is a small town in Samtzkhe, near the town and old fortress of T’hmogvi, district of Akhaltzikhe.
A.V. ‘and provisions.’
A.V. ‘yellow.’
A.V. ‘the kings themselves bare burdens.’
A.V. ‘crossed the mountains and.’
A.V. ‘Now fear not, O Jews; I, Herod, sought and found not that child, nor its mother. But now I have raised the sword against all children of two years and less, and have destroyed him with them.’
A.V. ‘Ana.’
A.V. ‘father’s father Oziai.’
A.V. ‘and was arrived with John the son of Zakaria at the river Jordan. There went forth all the people of Jerusalem, and with them was thy father’s mother’s brother Elios (? Vthos). And behold the sky thundered, and the earth trembled, the mountains shook, the hills sang, the sea stood still, the waters arose—the son of Zakaria fled, and we were all seized with fear and trembling; and because of the multitude of the people we were silent concerning this matter.’
A.V. ‘Pasanic’; Q. Mariam’s MS. ‘Pasang’; Shio Mghv. MS. and Nat’hl. Mtz. ‘Pasanig’; Kart’hl. Tzkh. and other variants, ‘Hasinig.’ All these are probably corruptions of the word pasenaki, i.e. royal officer for executing justice, executioner.
A.V. ‘longing for the tunic.’
A.V. ‘Amazaer,’ but in all other variants Aderci is said to have been king of Kart’hli at Christ’s death.
A.V. ‘and my mother Nino knows, but she does not tell, for it is not yet time to declare it. Let this suffice for disciples of Nino and believers in Christ, to know that it is near the place where a cedar brought from Lebanon was planted in Mtzkhet’ha.’
A.V. ‘incorruptible.’
? The altar of the church at Mtzkhet’ha thus described metaphorically.
A.V. omits this paragraph.
A.D. 88.
A.V. ‘twice and three times.’
A.V. does not say that the birds were black, nor that they became white.
A.V. ‘thy children are scattered.’
A.V. from this point to the incident of Khwarai (p. 33) is very brief, saying little about the miracles.
Sabinin says that Nana was the daughter of the Pontian general Nikator, and that she raised a statue of Venus in Georgia. Others say she was the daughter of Uliotori of Pontus.
cilici, i.e. cilicium.
Nimrod. Mr. J. Rendel Harris says that in the Convent of Sinai, Cod. Arab. No. 456, there is a piece entitled ‘The History of Nebrod Son of Canaan,’ α΄ Ἱστορία Νεβρὼδ υἱοῦ Χαναάν.
Or rather ‘column.’ The Book of Nimrod is mentioned in Vakhtang Gorgaslan’s life.
A.V. ‘Khuarasneuli (i.e. a native of Khorasan), Nana’s mother’s brother.’ (Sneuli means sick.)
A.V. now agrees in the main with the text followed.
A.V. ‘Be as one of the nurses in this honourable land.’
A.V. ‘the givers of fruits, of sun, and of rain.’
A.V. ‘Ga.’
A.V. ‘It’hrushana.’
‘simaghle,’ but A.V. has ‘simart’hle,’ i.e. justice.
A.V. ‘on its path, and sends forth the fires of his wrath.’
A.V. ‘one day.’
A.V. omits ‘and his people.’