St Nino

Nino is remembered as the maiden apostle of ancient Georgia, and the most trustworthy part of her story is already remarkable enough. The old account preserved through Rufinus speaks of a captive Christian woman in Iberia whose chastity, prayer, and miracles impressed those around her. She healed a child, then the queen, instructed the royal household, and helped bring the king himself to call on Christ in a moment of fear and darkness. Through that simple but powerful line she stands near the beginning of the kingdom's conversion.

The life becomes uncertain only when much later Georgian legend takes over and surrounds her with details that cannot be trusted as history. The right way to read this life is therefore to keep the early core clear and the later embroidery separate. Even after that caution, what remains is still strong: one holy woman, living plainly, praying deeply, and standing close to the Christian turning point of a whole people.