On March 5 of this year, a public lecture was held at the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary on the topic: “The Deeds of Saint Nino and Their Reflection in Georgian Iconography.” The speaker was the head of the icon-painting workshop at the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary, icon painter and Doctor of History Maka Chkhaidze.
“The history of Christianity knows many women equal to the apostles, but Saint Nino, as the enlightener and converter of an entire nation, has no equal in the world. The choice of a woman as the enlightener of Georgia is undoubtedly connected with Georgia’s being the lot entrusted to the Mother of God,” noted Dr. Maka Chkhaidze. Within the framework of her talk, she also presented noteworthy parallels and identical images between the lives of the Equal-to-the-Apostles virgin Saint Nino and the All-Holy Mother of God.
“Based on the analysis of the different versions of the Life of Saint Nino, as well as the material preserved in Georgian and foreign ecclesiastical literature, Saint Nino appears as a mother and queen for the Georgian nation in place of the Mother of God,” the speaker noted. “The 5th-century Greek historian Theodoret of Cyrrhus mentions Nino as a remarkable woman, ‘who was constantly devoted to prayer… and these labors granted her the grace of apostleship.’ The dedication of herself to God is symbolically expressed in Saint Nino’s cutting of her own hair and using it to bind the Grapevine Cross given to her by the Mother of God,” Ms. Maka noted. She also discussed several noteworthy events and prophetic blessings confirmed in Saint Nino’s life in order to better understand her mission—namely, the blessing given by her parents, the prophecy of Sara Niafori, and the divine revelations. Ms. Maka spoke in detail about the meaning of the symbolic images of Eklovani and Bivrili as attested in the various versions of “The Life of Saint Nino.” She also examined the theological meaning of the symbolic images of the lion and the eagle, as well as the question of their relation to Saint Nino’s apostolic mission.
The speaker discussed important aspects of Saint Nino’s activity that are reflected in her diverse iconography.
Students, professors and instructors of the Tbilisi Theological Academy and Seminary attended the lecture. The presentation aroused great interest among the audience. Several interesting questions were asked, which Ms. Maka answered comprehensively.
