St. Nina Equal to Apostles icon
SKU: 33610783821

St. Nina Equal to Apostles icon

Sale price$18.00 Regular price$20.00
Save 10%

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 8 - Jul 13

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

St. Nina Equal to Apostles iconOrthodox icon of Saint Nina or Nino, Equal to Apostles. Commemorated January 14th. The virgin Nino of Cappadocia was a relative of Great martyr George and the only daughter of a widely respected and honorable couple. Her father was a Roman army chief by the name of Zabulon, and her mother, Sosana, was the sister of Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem. When Nino reached the age of twelve, her parents sold all their possessions and moved to Jerusalem. Soon

Orthodox icon of Saint Nina or Nino, Equal to Apostles.

Commemorated January 14th.

The virgin Nino of Cappadocia was a relative of Great-martyr George and the only daughter of a widely respected and honorable couple. Her father was a Roman army chief by the name of Zabulon, and her mother, Sosana, was the sister of Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem. When Nino reached the age of twelve, her parents sold all their possessions and moved to Jerusalem. Soon after, Nino's father was tonsured a monk. He bid farewell to his family and went to labor in the wilderness of the Jordan. After Sosana had been separated from her husband, Patriarch Juvenal ordained her a deaconess.

She left her daughter Nino in the care of an old woman, Sara Niaphor, who raised her in the Christian Faith and related to her the stories of Christ's life and His suffering on earth. It was from Sara that Nino learned how Christ's Robe had arrived in Georgia, a country of pagans. Soon Nino began to pray fervently to the Theotokos, asking for her blessing to travel to Georgia and be made worthy to venerate the Sacred Robe that she had woven for her beloved Son. The Most Holy Virgin heard her prayers and appeared to Nino in a dream, saying, Go to the country that was assigned to me by lot and preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will send down His grace upon you and I will be your protector.'

But the blessed Nino was overwhelmed at the thought of such a great responsibility and answered, 'How can I, a fragile woman, perform such a momentous task, and how can I believe that this vision is real?' In response, the Most Holy Theotokos presented her with a cross of grapevines and proclaimed, 'Receive this cross as a shield against visible and invisible enemies! When she awoke, Nino was holding the cross in her hands. She dampened it with tears of rejoicing and tied it securely with strands of her own hair. (According to another source, the Theotokos bound the grapevine cross with strands of her own hair.)

Nino related the vision to her uncle, Patriarch Juvenal, and revealed to him her desire to preach the Gospel in Georgia. Juvenal led her in front of the Royal Doors, laid his hands on her, and prayed, O Lord, God of Eternity, I beseech Thee on behalf of my orphaned niece: Grant that, according to Thy will, she may go to preach and proclaim Thy Holy Resurrection. O Christ God, be Thou to her a guide, a refuge, and a spiritual father. And as Thou didst enlighten the Apostles and all those who feared Thy name, do Thou also enlighten her with the wisdom to proclaim Thy glad tidings. When Nino arrived in Rome, she met and baptized the princess Rhipsimia and her nurse, Gaiana.

At that time the Roman emperor was Diocletian, a ruler infamous for persecuting Christians. Diocletian (284-305) fell in love with Rhipsimia and resolved to marry her, but St. Nino, Rhipsimia, Gaiana, and fifty other virgins escaped to Armenia. The furious Diocletian ordered his soldiers to follow them and sent a messenger to Tiridates, the Armenian king (286-344), to put him on guard. King Tiridates located the women and, following Diocletian's example, was charmed by Rhipsimia's beauty and resolved to marry her. But St. Rhipsimia would not consent to wed him, and in his rage the king had her tortured to death with Gaiana and the fifty other virgins. St. Nino, however, was being prepared for a different, greater task, and she succeeded in escaping King Tiridates persecutions by hiding among some rose bushes.

When she finally arrived in Georgia, St. Nino was greeted by a group of Mtskhetan shepherds near Lake Paravani, and she received a blessing from God to preach to the pagans of this region. With the help of her acquaintances St. Nino soon reached the city of Urbnisi. She remained there a month, then traveled to Mtskheta with a group of Georgians who were making a pilgrimage to venerate the pagan idol Armazi.

There she watched with great sadness as the Georgian people trembled before the idols. She was exceedingly sorrowful and prayed to the Lord, O Lord, send down Thy mercy upon this nation ...that all nations may glorify Thee alone, the One True God, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ. Suddenly a violent wind began to blow and hail fell from the sky, shattering the pagan statues. The terrified worshipers fled, scattering across the city. St. Nino made her home beneath a bramble bush in the garden of the king, with the family of the royal gardener.  

The gardener and his wife were childless, but through St. Nino's prayers God granted them a child. The couple rejoiced exceedingly, declared Christ to be the True God, and became disciples of St. Nino. Wherever St. Nino went, those who heard her preach converted to the Christian Faith in great numbers. St. Nino even healed the terminally ill Queen Nana after she declared Christ to be the True God. King Mirian, a pagan, was not at all pleased with the great impression St. Nino's preaching had made on the Georgian nation. One day while he was out hunting, he resolved to kill all those who followed Christ. According to his wicked scheme, even his wife, Queen Nana, would face death for failing to renounce the Christian Faith. But in the midst of the hunt, it suddenly became very dark.

All alone, King Mirian became greatly afraid and prayed in vain for the help of the pagan gods. When his prayers went unanswered, he finally lost hope and, miraculously, he turned to Christ: God of Nino, illumine this night for me and guide my footsteps, and I will declare Thy Holy Name. I will erect a cross and venerate it and I will construct for Thee a temple. I vow to be obedient to Nino and to the Faith of the Roman people! Suddenly the night was transfigured, the sun shone radiantly, and King Mirian gave great thanks to the Creator. When he returned to the city, he immediately informed St. Nino of his decision.

As a result of the unceasing labors of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nino, Georgia was established as a nation solidly rooted in the Christian Faith. St. Nino reposed in the village of Bodbe in eastern Georgia and, according to her will, she was buried in the place where she took her last breath. King Mirian later erected a church in honor of St. George over her grave.

Reference: O.C.A.

Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 33610783821

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.7 ★★★★★
Based on 2228 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
T
Verified Purchase
Tracy Y.
Dallas, US
★★★★★ 5
Parents of HS Students: READ THIS BOOK!
Format: Hardcover
A must-read book for parents navigating the "IVY OR BUST" aspirations of all top-performing high school students. Families simply can not afford the near-100K/year tuition for these institutions. It's unsustainable, and adding soul-crushing debt (before a career is even begun!) is not what parents want for our students. Enter Dream School: a guide to finding YOUR student's opportunity (and less expensive education) amid the noise and rah-rah of aggressive college recruiting. The book is a fast, comprehensive read which gives parents guidance and "permission" to consider schools with less name recognition/lower cost, but with high performance teaching and reasonable return on investment (ROI.) Remember the goal: a college degree for a happy, fulfilled student ready to enter the job market or grad school.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2025
T
Verified Purchase
traceyj1234
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
More than one way to a quality education
Format: Hardcover
As a high school counselor, I watch students and parents driving teens to the brink of exhaustion trying to get into the "right" school. I will not deny that there are some benefits to certain highly selective schools, but the issue is that very few do get in there, even if they are capable, and then what? Students think their future will not be as bright or that they will have fewer opportunities, and this book debunks that idea with research and sound principles. Finding a school that works with your strengths, your goals, and your budget is paramount today, and the very best way to create a future that brings fulfillment. Well-written and researched, this book should be reassurance for parents and students that there are many schools that can provide quality education and opportunities for our young people.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2025
D
Verified Purchase
DL
Natrona Heights, US
★★★★★ 5
Permission to Help My Child Find Joy
Format: Hardcover
As a parent starting the college search process, I've really come to appreciate Jeff's insights in his previous books, podcast and newsletter. So pleased to finally have this book at my disposal, and less than a month in, it's already dog-eared and marked up! Like most parents out there, I'm fighting my own internal inertia to align my child's accomplishments against the "metrics" (real or imagined) of admission, and gravitating towards the big names. If you are in that stage, I'll say from personal experience that now is a great time to pick up this book. It's a quick read (for someone who's not a "reader"), and it plants the right questions and data in your head to open your perspective. Its funny, every good parent I know just wants their kid to be happy, to find their joy in life. When it comes down to it, our only equating of big name to their happiness comes a derivation that success brings happiness, and big school brings success. As Jeff suggests, this book doesn't say DON'T seek the big name... It just gives permission to look more broadly, that the same success, and perhaps even greater happiness, can be found elsewhere. Now we just need need to make sure our kids see that too, and they are empowered to seek their joy with our full support. There is still data in here that confirms name schools do convey certain advantages. Whether those advantages align with a child's success and happiness is the question we can chase in this process. I, for one, really appreciate Jeff's efforts to make the case for the broader search and taking the time to do it with excellent, fresh analysis of the data in hand. Maybe this book and others generate the momentum to continuing these unique data streams to break the US News/Naviance overload of the process. Good luck to everyone in a similar boat, and I hope you find this as useful a reference as I did.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2025
U
Verified Purchase
Udo F
Bozeman, US
★★★★★ 4
Good Book!
Format: Hardcover
Pretty insightful book! I don't read college books too often but Selingo has very very good ideas that can easily transfer to college.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2026
L
Verified Purchase
Lauren Feltner
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
Great read to start on the college search journey
Format: Hardcover
Highly recommend for high school parents and students!
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2026

recommand products