Christianity in Georgia: history, interesting facts

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

On the territory of modern Turkey is Cappadocia. It is known for the fact that in the 3rd century George the Victorious, revered as a saint, was born here. And at the beginning of our era, this area, located in the eastern part of Asia Minor, became a refuge for Christians. Adherents of the new religion were persecuted and settled on this land. Their presence is still reminded by cave monasteries, which are under the protection of UNESCO. It was here in about 280 AD. e. a girl named Nino was born, thanks to whom Christianity in Georgia will become the state religion. These events are the subject of discussion.

Early Christianity

Even in the 1st century A. D. e. Blessed Sidonia lived in Georgia, who believed in the Savior during His lifetime. When her brother, Rabbi Ilioz, received news from Jerusalem about the trial of Jesus, he had to hastily leave for the scene of those events, as directed byHigh Priest. Sidonia asked her brother to bring her anything that the Savior had touched. It so happened that Ilioz, having arrived in Jerusalem, managed only by the time of the execution of Christ, at which he was present. After the Roman legionnaires removed the bodies of the executed, all the things of which (according to custom) they had the right to take for themselves - Ilioz redeemed the tunic of the Lord from the soldiers.

Returning to Mtskheta (the ancient capital of Georgia), he gave it to his sister. Sidonia pressed him to her heart and left this world. She was buried along with the chiton of the Savior. Today, this place is the cathedral of the XI century, called the "Life-Giving Pillar".

This is one of the most visited holy places in Georgia and the greatest relic of the Georgian Orthodox Church. But about 200 years remained before the advent of Christianity in Georgia.

The Word of God in Iberia

There is a legend according to which the Mother of God fell to Iberia to carry the Good News and the word of the Lord, but the Savior asked her to stay in Jerusalem. And the apostles Andrew the First-Called, Matthias and Simon the Zealot came to Georgia. All together they visited these places twice. The Apostle Andrew came to Iberia three times. Simon Kananit did a lot to spread the Good News in Abkhazia, and thanks to him, the custom of sacrificing babies was abolished in this country.

Nino's prophetic dream

Nino came from a noble family. Her father's name was Zebulun, and he was the military commander of the Emperor Maximian. Her mother Susanna was the sister of the Jerusalem Patriarch Juvenaly. Nino was theirsthe only child and was a relative of George the Victorious, a saint revered throughout the world. When she was 12 years old, her family moved to Jerusalem in connection with the duty of her mother, who accepted the post of deaconess at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The father also dedicated his life to the Lord while away from home.

The girl was entrusted to the care of old woman Nianfora, who knew Georgia well and told Nino a lot about fabulous Iveria. Not a day went by without another story. The girl dreamed of a trip to this distant country. Time passed, and one day Nino had a dream in which the Virgin Mary put a grapevine cross into her hands and said that she had to go to the distant country of Iberia to spread the word of God. The Mother of God promised Nino her patronage and protection from visible and invisible enemies, as well as the grace of the Lord.

Waking up, the girl found the same cross in her hands. Her joy was immeasurable, and she hastened to report the vision to the patriarch of Jerusalem, who was her uncle. After listening to his niece, he blessed her to serve, and Nino set off. Did she know that she would become the enlightener of Georgia, and that Christianity would enter this country along with her cross? It is still kept in the Tbilisi Cathedral.

Long road

The Gospel of Matthew says that the Savior handed Nino a scroll, in which there was a parting word: "Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Having handed herself over to His will, the girl set off on a long and dangerous journey. The road to Georgia passed through Armenia, whose king Tiridates III around 301 declared Christianity the state religion.

However, until that time, the ruler was one of the most cruel opponents of the new faith, which was promoted from 279 by St. Gregory (the Illuminator). The king threw him into prison with snakes and scorpions for 13 years, but under the influence of the persuasion of his wife and sister, who converted to Christianity, Gregory was released.

Dangers in Armenia

The path through Armenia could have ended in death for Nino, as she walked along with Princess Hripsimia and her companions, who fled from the emperor of Rome. He wanted to make the princess his wife, but she decided to become the bride of Christ and refused him.

Tiridates III, at the direction of Diocletian (Roman emperor), found Hripsimia and also wished to take her as his wife. Having been refused, he fell into anger and killed the princess and all her friends. Nino managed to escape, but she saw the torment of her companions, hiding in the wild rose bushes. Only the support of the Higher Power allowed the girl to overcome all obstacles and in 319 reach Georgia, where Christianity was still in its infancy.

Meet the Old Gods

Nino first stopped in the city of Urbnis to study the manners and customs of the inhabitants. Until the time when Georgia adopted Christianity, idolatry existed in the country. A month later, Nino learned that those wishing to worship the pagan gods, whose statues were located on a mountain near the city, were heading to Mtskheta. The girl followed the residents and along the roadI met King Mirian and Queen Nana on their way to the temple, surrounded by a retinue and a crowd of people. The priests were preparing to perform the ceremony and make sacrifices to the pagan god Armaz.

When the ritual began, Nino could not stand it and offered up a prayer to the Savior for the end of the dark time and the advent of the era of true faith. She was heard: a downpour fell on the temple, extinguishing the fire, then a hurricane swooped in, destroying the idols, throwing them into the river. Nino managed to hide in a cave.

When it was all over, people began to talk about how God Armaz had been defeated by a stronger god. Some suggested that this new god could be the one that forced the king of Armenia to accept his faith, but no one knew His name … And the inhabitants were unaware that there were about seven years left before the adoption of Christianity in Georgia.

Outreach activities

Nino entered Mtskheta as a wanderer. No one knew her there, and she knew no one. However, Anastasia, the wife of the royal gardener, came out to meet her, invited her into the house, and offered refreshments. The couple were childless and were very happy with the guest, they asked Nino to stay in their house as long as she wished. The saint asked the gardener to build a small shed in the garden where she could pray. Now this place is the Samtavr convent. Nino spent all her days in prayer before the cross given to her by the Mother of God. By the power of her faith, the saint worked miracles of healing. Anastasia was the first to feel the effect of Nino's prayer. The gardener's wife was healed, andlater this family had many children.

The fame of Nino's miracles spread throughout the city, and people began to come to her for advice and help. Many Jewish women converted to Christianity and preached the holy faith among the inhabitants of the city. The high priest of the Kartalian Jews Aviafar also became a zealous supporter of Christ. He often talked with Tsar Mirian about the new faith, and the sovereign listened favorably to him. The times when Georgia adopted Christianity were getting closer.

Illness of the Queen

Queen Nana was a stubborn character and a zealous worshiper of the old gods. Therefore, rumors about the miracles performed by the saint only irritated her. She hatched plans to expel Christians from the city. However, everything happened differently. Nana became very ill, and all the efforts of the doctors did not lead to anything, but rather only worsened the situation. Prayers to idols also had no effect: the queen was fading away.

The people close to her began to advise her to turn to Nino. After some hesitation, the empress ordered that the saint be brought to her. Nino listened to the messengers from the palace and told them that the empress herself should come to her tent for healing. Nana did as she was told.

The saint laid the queen on the leaves in a hut, read a prayer over her and crossed her with the cross of the Mother of God. He alth returned to the empress, about which she immediately informed all those present, and then her husband. Since then, the queen has become the most zealous defender of Nino and the Christian faith, convincing Mirian of the powerSavior.

Wrath of the King

There is disagreement about the year in which Georgia adopted Christianity. According to some sources, it was the year 324, and according to others - the 326th. But this was preceded by an event that turned the view of the king of Georgia on the teachings of Christ. Mirian knew about the miracles performed by Nino, and did not prevent her from preaching. After the incident with the queen, he calmly treated the growing number of supporters of the saint. In addition, the religion of the Roman Empire was Christianity, and the son of Mirian was in Rome as a hostage…

Shortly before the year when Georgia adopted Christianity, Nino healed a relative of the Persian king who fell into madness, who was visiting Mirian. The cure became the reason for the adoption of Christianity by the prince. The Georgian king flew into a rage because he did not know what would be worse: to incur the wrath of the king of Persia due to a change of faith by his relative, or to bring sad news to the Persians about the incurable illness of the prince.

Royal Hunt

King Mirian was in a difficult position, but he was inclined to execute all Christians along with Nino. However, before fulfilling his intention, he decided to calm himself with a hunt, during which his eyes suddenly stopped seeing. In fear, Mirian turned to his gods, but nothing changed: the darkness still surrounded him. Then he offered up a prayer to the God of Saint Nino, not even knowing Him by name. And immediately the darkness retreated, and he received his sight.

This moment was a turning point as the proof of the Savior's power was evident. And although it is not known exactly in what year Georgia adoptedChristianity (324th or 326th), but this happened after the events described.

Returning from the hunt, the king immediately went to Nino's tent to announce to her his intention to accept the Christian faith and baptize the people of Iberia.

Baptism of Georgia

There is no disagreement among researchers about the century in which Georgia adopted Christianity - this is the 4th century. After his miraculous healing, Mirian sent envoys to Tsar Constantine with a request to send priests to Iberia to baptize the people. And before the return of the embassy, the royal family and everyone who wished to study the foundations of faith. In addition, Mirian wished to build a temple on the site where the sacred cedar grew, under which, according to legend, Saint Sidonia was buried along with the tunic of the Savior. The first temple was wooden, and then a stone one was built named after the 12 holy Apostles, called Svetitskhoveli.

Meanwhile, the envoys from Constantine returned, and with them arrived the Archbishop of Antioch, Eustathius, with several priests and everything necessary for the rite of baptism. The king ordered all dignitaries and nobles to arrive in Mtskheta, where Georgia adopted Christianity in 324 or 326.

St. Nino, after the long-awaited churching of Iveria, went to Kakheti, where Queen Sophia ruled. And soon this state also became Christian.

Having completed her mission, Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Nino calmly left this world. She was informed of her death through a prophetic dream, and thereforeprepared: accompanied by Bishop John and King Mirian, she went to the town of Bodbe, where she died and was buried. January 27 - the day of remembrance of St. Nino.

Now let's turn to the question of what kind of Christianity is in Georgia. According to statistics, more than 90% of the population belongs to the Georgian Orthodox Church, about 2% are Russian Orthodox Christians, about 5% are adherents of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and a little over 1% are Catholics.

Christianity came to Georgia and Armenia almost simultaneously, and the events that preceded this were in both states associated with the miraculous healing of Kings Miriam and Tiridates III.

You can't call it anything other than God's providence.