Saint Nino, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Enlightener of Georgia

Nino came from Cappadocia, from a devout family — her father became a monk in the Jordan desert and her mother a deaconess in Jerusalem. Reading the Gospel, she wanted to know where Christ's tunic was kept, and according to tradition the Virgin Mary appeared to her in a vision, gave her a cross made of grapevine branches, and sent her to preach in Iberia (present-day Georgia).

There, tradition holds, she healed the sick and brought first Queen Nana and then King Mirian to Christianity, events that led the kingdom to adopt Christianity officially. She built a church in the royal garden, on the spot where, according to tradition, the tunic was kept, and died peacefully in Georgia, where she is honoured as its enlightener.