Isapostolos Nina: Jesus, Bible and Mission

Nina was born in Cappadocia and, according to her sacred sequence, she was “From a pious root that has risen”. Her father, Zebulon, was a soldier of the Roman Empire and a relative of St. George, and her mother, Susanna, was a sister of St. Julian, Patriarch of Jerusalem. Zebulun, having a holy zeal and with the consent of his wife, left the worldly world, became a monk and entrusted the survival of his family to the providence of God the Father. After Zebulun’s decision, Susanna was ordained a deaconess in Jerusalem and young Nina was handed over to an elderly woman named Niafora. ” Daily, praying with her heart and studying the words of the Holy Scriptures, her heart was more and more inspired by her love for Christ, who for the salvation of man endured torture and death on the cross. Studying with tears the Gospel accounts of the Crucifixion of Christ the Saviour and all that happened on the Cross, she became interested in the fate of the Lord’s Chiton: Where might this handmade purple of the Son of God be today? She asked her teacher, wondering: “It is impossible that this holy relic could have been lost on earth. “¹ The answer to her question was given to her by her elder, who informed her that the Chiton of Jesus was located in the city of Mtskheta, in the country of Georgia. St. Nina wasted no time, she turned her holy desire into a prayer. She wanted, by the grace of God, first to find the harp tunic and then to evangelize the pagans there. And Heaven answered; “The Virgin heard the prayer of Her servant, appeared to her in her sleep and said to her: ‘Go to the land of Georgia, preach there the Gospel of Christ, and you shall bless His mercy, and I will be your protector. But how can I, asked the humble daughter, be the instrument of such a great ministry, being a weak woman? The Virgin Mary, having given Nina a cross made of vines, said to her: Take this Cross, it will be your protector and guardian against all visible and invisible enemies; by its power you will erect there the saving banner of the faith of my beloved Son and God, who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”² Admiring the event, the hymn writer exclaims: “Callis Agia, in mystical apparition, of the Mother of Saviour, willingly watched and the divine Cross, from her tanked, alien and paradoxical through her, and the mystery of Christ’s resurrection, the mystery glorified; and now of the glory of him, I have shattered, invoked without fail, for our souls”. Thus, with the cross of the Virgin Mary in her hand and the blessing of the Church, through the Patriarch of Jerusalem, St. Juvenal of Jerusalem, the journey to the desired destination began. Along the way she was imprisoned and, as a prisoner, she passed into the country of Georgia³ Miraculously, she escaped and headed for the city of Mtskheta. He entered it on the occasion of the worship of the pagan god Armaz by all the men of the city and by the King of Georgia himself, Mirian and Queen Nana. When they arrived at the place of sacrifice and prayer where the idol was located, the saint prayed and like another prophet Elijah, she defeated the idols. Her prayer brought about a great disaster and as a result the idols were destroyed and the king began to believe that there was a more powerful God than the one he had previously believed in. After this shocking incident, the saint settled in the town of Mtskheta, hosted by a blessed couple who became the first Christians of Georgia. During her stay in that home, the extraordinary effects of the saint’s prayer began to manifest themselves. Like another Apostle, with her teaching and simultaneous confirmation of amazing signs, the isapostolic saint was miraculously preaching, preaching and healing. The fruit of her zeal was multitudes of people believing and being indoctrinated. Even the high priest Abiathar himself embraced her preaching and converted to Christianity. But there were two key events that contributed to the evangelization of the land of Iberia – the healing of Queen Nana by St. Nina and the conversion of King Miriam. The queen became gravely ill to the point of death.

When the doctors gave up hope, they urged her to seek help from the foreign Christian Nina. Although she was a fanatical pagan and harbored great hatred against Christians, she obeyed and called her. The saint prayed, crucified the queen with her cross and she rose from the deathbed healthy⁴ From then on, Nina became Nana’s inseparable friend and spiritual guide. The second event was the healing that was granted to King Miriam himself through his invocation of Nina’s God. More specifically, the demons harbored by the pagan temples opposed the missionary activity and life in Christ of the saint. Fearing their threats, the king decided to kill both the saint and those who had converted to Christianity, including his wife, if she did not convert, in order to restore his country to its pre-Christian state. But, by divine appointment, a similar calamity occurred on the mountain where he was, similar to the one that had caused the destruction of the idol of Armaz, and he was blinded. Frightened by the terrible turn of events, he invoked the god of Nina and healing followed immediately. The king went to the hut of the saint and with a crush asked her to teach him faith in the true God. From then on, he never ceased to urge his subjects to do the same. The evangelization of the heart of the king of Georgia took place in the year of salvation for that people, A.D. 319. ⁵

The next step was not long in coming. King Mirian sent an embassy to the Byzantine Empire asking Constantine the Great to grant him bishops and other clergy for the purpose of baptizing himself and the inhabitants of Georgia, as well as organizing their Church, “believing sincerely in Christ.” ⁶. Constantine responded immediately to the request and sent the Archbishop of Antioch, Eustatius, and a few other priests with liturgical vessels. Eustatius with his entourage baptized the family of King Mirian, as well as a number of lords and people in the river KouraBios⁷ The first bishop of Iviron was the Greek John (326-332⁸ After the Christianization of Georgia, St. Nina, avoiding the glory she had acquired and with the desire for missionary work alive in her breasts, moved away from the city and headed for the high mountains of Aravgo, in the region of Kartali. After practicing there for some time, she continued her apostolic course, evangelizing the regions of the Caucasus as well. St. Nina foresaw her death, received the communion of the Blessed Sacrament from Bishop John, bade farewell to the kings and the crowds of people who came to worship her, and was peacefully laid to rest in 335 AD in the region of Cachetia. Her memory is commemorated on 14 January each year.

Jesus, Bible and Mission

Focusing on just one of the instructive incidents in the life of St. Nina, we will attempt, with God’s grace, to explore the relationship of the Bible to mission. Going back to her stirring life, we notice that from a young age, in the first steps of her life in Christ and her preparation for missionary work, she studied the Bible. What she gained from this divine indoctrination later served as a springboard, support and source of missionary activity. But let us take things from the beginning. When we talk about mission, what do we imagine? What do we believe? What do we mean? The revelation, the revelation of the person of Jesus and the work of his divine economy to those who do not know it. The person of Jesus Christ is inextricably linked to the Bible. The Word of God, before He became flesh, was unmistakable, untranslatable and unwritten. But by the incarnation he became, according to his human nature, circumscribed, visible and written. Scripture affirms precisely the visible and historical aspect, i.e., the historicity and truth of the incarnation! Like the person of Jesus Christ, the Bible has two “natures,” the human, historical and the divine, spiritual. The written form of Scripture corresponds to the human and its spiritual meaning to the divine nature of the Lord”⁹ Therefore, in order to understand, experience and communicate the incarnation of the Saviour, you must first meet Him and know Him in the Bible.

By studying the Bible you get to know Him, you are fascinated by Him, you fall in love with Him to the end, even to death, as many saints have done. You do every foolish thing in the world to attract His Grace and when that happens, you change, you are changed, you are enlightened and they change and enlighten everyone around you, you make peace and spread peace, you love and are loved, you live Paradise and lead others there…

It is the Bible that teaches us, prepares us and pushes us towards the great task of our personal missionary work and mission to other people, helping us to get rid of our passions by imitating its models. Basil the Great states: “The study of the divine Scriptures is the greatest way of finding the duty… Anyone who finds a remedy for the sick person from a common dispensary will find the best medicine… The lover of prudence will find Joseph, the lover of courage will find Job, the lover of virtue will find David and Moses¹⁰ “”In the same context,¹¹ Chrysostom notes: ‘For this reason we interpret the Scriptures, not only to learn the Scriptures, but also to correct your morals. If this is not done, we are unnecessarily reinterpreted”¹²: “The Bible is a medicine for all passions. It is food for the spirit and nerves the mind and works the soul with power, and is eunuch and philosopher”. And more: “As long as he studies these things, he will be able to see the hidden treasure”¹³. Finally, for all those who want to live a spiritual life, let alone for those who long to work or are already working in the God-giving and theodidactic work of the mission, he underlines: “Let him rent you richly, not merely, but after much of the property. Buy books of medicine for the soul. “If you have desired nothing else, you have received the New Testament. This is the cause of all evil, not seeing the Scriptures. Without arms we go to war”¹⁴. Our Brotherhood is aware of the importance of the existence of the Bible in every language of the people where missionary work is carried out. This work is carried out in cooperation with the local churches and the people in charge there, either bishops or priests. In this way, it finances publications and sends them out with the certainty that the Word of God and the reading of the Scriptures “heaven is opening”¹⁵ in the hearts of our catechized or newly converted brothers and sisters.

References

1. Life and state of Saint Isapostolou Nini, Illuminator of Georgia”, published by “I.M. St. George”, Ilia Edipsos Evia 2002.
2. .”I.M. St. George”, Ilia Edipsos Evia 2002.
3. .
4. .
5. Life and state of St. Nini, the Apostle of Georgia, published by “St. George’s Church”, Ilia Edipsos, Evia, Evia 2002.
6. Socrates, Ecclesiastical History, PG. 67, 129,132,133
7. and the state of Saint Isapostolou Nini, Illuminator of Georgia, published by “I.M. St. George”, Ilia Edipsos Evia 2002.
8. ), Anastasiou Giannoulatos, until the end of the earth, published by Apostolic Deaconry, Athens 2009, p. 101.
9. , John Panagopoulos, The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church of the Fathers, published by Athos, vol.1, Athens 2010, pp.49-50.
10. .
11. St
12. , Benedictus Ieromonachos, Chrysostomic Treasury, published by “Synodia Spyridonos Ieromonachos”, Mount Athos 2002, p. 64
13. Benedictus Ieromonachos, Chrysostomic Treasury, published by the Escort of Spyridon Ieromonachos, Mount Athos 2002, pp. 64-65
14. , Venedictus Ieromonachos, Goldsmith’s Fund, published by the “Escort of Spyridon Ieromonachos”, Mount Athos 2002, p. 71
15. , Benedict Ieromonachos, Chrysostomic Fund, published by the “Synod of Spyridon Ieromonachos”, Mount Athos 2002, p. 67,