Having found companions who were leaving Jerusalem for Armenia, Nina set out with them. In Armenia, her companions stopped, but she continued on alone, finally reaching the borders of Iberia. At this time, the inhabitants of the country were gathering for a celebration in honor of their pagan god, Armaz. The idol of Armaz stood on a mountain not far from Mtskheta. The Iberian King Miriam, Queen Nona, and a multitude of people arrived there. Saint Nina, arriving there with others, stood to one side in a narrow spot from which she could easily observe the entire pagan celebration. Outraged by the pagan rituals, she turned with fervent prayer to God, asking Him to disperse the idols and convert the blinded people to true knowledge of God. At that very moment, a black cloud appeared from the west and, with thunder and lightning, erupted into a terrible hailstorm over the idol's sanctuary. The king and the people fled in terror. The idols were crushed to dust, the temple walls crumbled, and, along with the shattered idols, were carried away by a torrent of rain into the Kura River, leaving no trace of the idol temple. The next day, the king and the people searched in vain for their gods, and, unable to find them, they spoke among themselves in horror that some great god, greater than their great god Armaz, must have perpetrated such destruction.
Meanwhile, St. Nina entered the city of Mtskheta as a wanderer, and, calling herself a captive, approached the royal garden. There she met the gardener's wife, Anastasia, who invited her in and offered to live with her, as she was childless and lived alone with her husband. The gardener built a special small hut for the stranger in a corner of the garden. Having placed in this hut a cross made of grape branches given to her by the Mother of God, St. Nina settled there and spent her time in constant prayer. Here she also performed several miracles. For example, the gardener's wife, long barren, was delivered of her infertility through St. Nina's prayers and subsequently became the mother of a large family. Then, one mother's child fell ill and was near death. Distraught with grief, the mother, taking the child in her arms, walked the streets of the city, asking everyone for help. Then St. Nina took the child to her hut, laid him on her bed made of leaves and placed a cross made of grape branches on the sick man, and the child instantly recovered.
From that time on, St. Nina began openly preaching the Gospel, calling the Iberian pagans and Jews to repentance and faith in Christ. The gardener and his wife who sheltered Nina were the first in Georgia to believe in Christ. St. Nina's pious, righteous, and chaste life attracted the hearts of all who knew her. Many, especially Jewish women, came to her to hear her new teachings about the Kingdom of God and eternal salvation and secretly came to believe in Christ. Among those who came to believe were Sidonia, the daughter of the Jewish high priest Abiophar, and six other women, and some time later, Abiophar himself. Frequently conversing with the preacher of Christ about the events of the Lord's earthly life, Abiophar related to her about the Savior's tunic what he had heard from his parents and what had been passed down in their family from one generation to the next. Aviofar's great-grandfather, Elioz, who lived in Mtskheta during the final days of Christ's earthly life, was in Jerusalem and was present at the Lord's crucifixion. Elioz's pious mother, on the eve of the Jewish Passover, suddenly felt in her heart the blows of a hammer driving nails, and, crying out in a loud voice that the Savior and Deliverer of the people of Israel was now being put to death, she died immediately. Meanwhile, Elioz, who had been present at Christ's suffering on the cross, acquired His tunic from a Roman soldier who had won it by lot and then brought it home. Upon his return, his sister, Sidonia, recounted their mother's sudden death and her dying words. When Elioz, confirming his mother's premonition of Christ's crucifixion, showed his sister the Lord's tunic, Sinodia took the tunic in her hands, pressed it to her bosom, and instantly fell dead. All efforts to remove the tunic from the dead woman's hands were in vain. A few days later, Elioz buried his sister's body along with the Lord's tunic, and did so secretly, so that no one could later discover the location of Synodia's burial place. Some only speculated that she was buried in the royal garden, where an unplanted cedar tree, especially revered by the people, grew. After hearing this story, Nina began to pray at night near this cedar. The miraculous visions Saint Nina had there assured her that the place was truly holy .
At the same time, St. Nina continued to preach the word of God. Her disciples, especially Sidonia and her father, Aviophar, labored with her in this work. It happened at that time that Queen Nona fell ill, and no matter how much the doctors treated her, the illness only worsened. Then the queen was told about Nina and that she healed all manner of illnesses, and she immediately sent for her. St. Nina, wishing to test the queen's humility, replied to the messengers that if the queen desired to be healed, she should come to her hut herself, where, by the power of Christ, she would receive healing. The queen obeyed and ordered them to carry her to Nina's hut. There, in the presence of a multitude of people, St. Nina... Nina ordered the sick woman to be placed on her bed and, with fervent prayer to the Lord, placed her cross on the queen's head, feet, and both shoulders, thus making the sign of the cross on her. Immediately, Nona arose completely healthy; she believed in Christ, and brought St. Nina closer to her, making her her constant companion.
Despite such favorable circumstances, the Christian faith could not yet spread unhindered in Georgia. The Iberian king Miriam was the son of the Persian king and, having close ties to the Persian court, feared that accepting Christianity would antagonize Persia. At this time, a man from Persia, a close relative of the Persian king, arrived to visit Miriam. This guest, while staying with Miriam, became gravely ill with demonic possession. Then, fearing the wrath of the Persian king if his guest died, Miriam begged St. Nina to heal the sick man. When, through Nina's prayers, he recovered, he believed in Christ and returned to his country a Christian. King Miriam feared this even more than the death of his relative, for the Persian king was a fire-worshipper and might be enraged by his relative's conversion to Christianity. Driven by such fear, Miriam conceived the plan to kill St. Nina and exterminate all Christians in his land. One day, he went hunting in the forest, 20 miles from the city. On the way, he began telling his companions that he intended to exterminate all who professed Christ, since by allowing Christians to preach their faith, he would bring the terrible wrath of the gods upon the entire land. As the king spoke, the clear day suddenly turned to impenetrable darkness, and a terrible storm arose, similar to the one that destroyed the idol Armaz. Flashes of lightning blinded the king's eyes, and a terrible thunderstorm scattered his companions.
In despair, the king cried out to his gods, but, receiving no help, he finally felt the punishing hand of the true God upon him. "O God of Nina!" he cried, "dispel the darkness from my eyes, and I will confess and glorify Your name!" Immediately he regained his sight, and the storm subsided. This wondrous power of the single name of Christ converted the king to the path of truth and salvation. Straight from the hunt, he went to St. Nina. Falling at her feet with a contrite heart, he tearfully begged her to teach him and all the Iberian people the Christian faith.
After this, St. Nina began to teach the Iberian people the Gospel of Christ, preparing them for holy baptism. At the same time, Miriam sent envoys to Constantine the Great , then emperor, asking him to send bishops and priests to the Iberian land to baptize the people. The king planned to build a church to God before the priests arrived. St. Nina pointed out a spot in his garden where a cedar tree stood. The tree was cut down, and from its branches, six pillars were fashioned for the church. These pillars were placed in their designated places; however, when they began to raise the seventh pillar, made from the cedar's trunk itself, they were unable to lift it. The king, deeply distressed, left the site. But when night fell, an angel appeared and placed the pillar in its designated place, and from the pillar emanated a radiance that illuminated the entire city. Fragrant myrrh flowed from the base of the pillar, anointing the sick and healing them. Meanwhile, the messengers to Emperor Constantine returned. With them came the Archbishop of Antioch, two priests, and three deacons, along with all the necessary church utensils for worship. Miriam then sent a command to all the regional rulers, ordering all the people to gather in the city of Mtskheta. When this royal command was fulfilled, the baptism of the Iberian land began. First, Miriam, his wife, and their children were baptized. Then, in one place in the Kura River, the Archbishop baptized the royal commanders and nobles, while in another, two priests baptized the entire Iberian people. After this, the priests traveled to the surrounding towns and villages, baptizing the people everywhere. Thus, the entire Kartli land accepted holy baptism, except for the Caucasian highlanders and the Jews, of whom only Aviofar with his entire household and the other 50 families, who, according to legend, were descendants of the robber Barabbas, were baptized.
After this, Saint Nina, shunning human glory and honor, withdrew from the city of Mtskheta to a mountain in the unknown heights of the Aragva River. There, through prayer and fasting, she prepared herself for new labors of evangelization in the lands adjacent to Kartli. Finding a cave in the mountain, she settled there. Through her prayer, she brought forth water from the cave's rock. This spring still flows in drops, resembling tears, which is why it is popularly called the "tearful" spring. After living in the cave for some time, Nina, accompanied by the priest Jacob and a deacon, set out to preach the teachings of Christ to the upper reaches of the Aragva and Iora Rivers. The wild mountaineers, humbled by the divine power of the Gospel and the miraculous signs manifested through Saint Nina's prayers, accepted the faith of Christ, destroyed their idols, and were baptized by Jacob. From there, the holy preacher set out for Kakheti, converting the pagans living along the way to Christ. Here, near the village of Bodbi, she built herself a new hut. Praying day and night before the holy cross, Nina attracted the attention of the local residents. They began coming to her daily and listening to her instructions on the Christian faith. The Queen of Kakheti, Sophia, who lived in Bodbi at the time, also came to listen to the holy preacher, and when she heard the Gospel teaching, she no longer wanted to return to her home. Soon, the queen was baptized by the priest Jacob, along with all her courtiers and a multitude of people.
Finally, the time arrived for the blessed end of the holy evangelist. She was informed from above of the approaching day of her death and informed King Miriam by letter, asking him to send an archbishop to her to prepare her for her departure on her eternal journey. Miriam, along with her entire court and a multitude of people, hastened to the dying woman. A multitude of people surrounded the sickbed of Nina, watering it with abundant tears, and many of the sick, leaning upon her bed, received healing. Having reverently received the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ from the hands of the archbishop and having bequeathed her body to be buried in the same cramped hut in which she had lived her last days, St. Nina gave up her spirit to the Lord. King Miriam, the archbishop, and all the people wanted to transfer her precious remains to Mtskheta and bury them there near the miraculous pillar, but they could not move her coffin from the spot she had chosen. King Miriam, and after his death, his son Bokur, built a church over the ascetic's grave, which remains to this day. The Lord preserved St. Nina's body, hidden under a veil by her command, incorrupt, and from her coffin came many and constant miracles of healing. St. Nina's labors and ascetic deeds, and the signs and wonders she performed during her life and after her death, prompted the Iveron Church, with the blessing of the Church of Antioch, to canonize St. Nina, naming her the Equal-to-the-Apostles Enlightener of Georgia, and establishing an annual feast day in her honor on January 14 (Julian Calendar), the day of her blessed repose.
Source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Istorija_Tserkvi/zhizn-i-trudy-apostolov/132