Early Life
Many sources agree that Nino was born in the small town of Colastri, in the Roman province of Cappadocia, although a smaller number of sources disagree with this. On her family and origin, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have different traditions.
According to the Eastern Orthodox Church tradition, she was the only child of the famous family. Her father was Roman general Zabulon and mother Sosana (Susan). On her father's side, Nino was related to St. George, and on her mother's, to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Houbnal I.
During her childhood Nino was brought up by her relative and the nun named Sarah Bethlehemlianka. Nino’s uncle who served as the Patriarch of Jerusalem oversaw her traditional upbringing. Nino went to Rome with the help of her uncle where she decided to preach the Christian gospel in Iberia, known to her as the resting place of the Christ’s tunic. According to the legend, Nino received a vision where the Virgin Mary gave her a grapevine cross and said:
- "Go to Iberia and tell there the Good Tidings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and you will find favour before the Lord; and I will be for you a shield against all visible and invisible enemies. By the strength of this cross, you will erect in that land the saving banner of faith in My beloved Son and Lord."
Saint Nino entered into the Iberian Kingdom in Caucasus from the Kingdom of Armenia, where she escaped prosecution from the hands of the Armenian King Tiridates III. She belonged to a community of virgins along with martyr Hripsime, numbering 37 and under the leadership of St. Gayane, who preached Christianity in the Armenian Kingdom. All but she were persecuted and beheaded by the King Tiridates (Terdat) the 3rd. All the 37 virgins had been soon canonised by the Armenian Apostolic Church including St. Nune (St. Nino).
Contrasting with this, the Roman Catholic tradition says Nino was brought to Iberia not fully from her own intent, but as a slave, and that her family tree is obscure.Rufinus 1997 = The Church History of Rufinus of Aquileia, Books X and XI, transl. by Philip R. Amidon, New-York – Oxford.
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