Section 08: Veneration and Shrines

The end of Nino’s life, the shrine of her tomb, and the living devotion to her. The first file follows the developed Life‘s account of her withdrawal to Bodbe in Kakheti, her death there (traditionally c. 338–340), and the history of the Bodbe convent that grew up around her tomb — a coronation site of the kings of Kakheti, sacked and downgraded and re-established, now one of Georgia’s great pilgrimage shrines. The second file sets out the feasts — Ninooba on 14/27 January and the May feast of her entrance into Georgia (correcting a spurious “October 27”) — and the devotion to the enlightener of Georgia in her homeland and in the diaspora.

Tradition: Georgian Orthodox / Pan-Orthodox

Contents

File Topic
Bodbe and the Relics Her withdrawal to Bodbe in Kakheti; her death (the uncertain dates) and tomb; the Bodbe convent’s history (Kakhetian coronation site, the 1615 sack and restoration, the 1924 closure, the post-1991 re-establishment); the three great shrines of St. Nino
Feasts and Devotion St. Nino’s day / Ninooba, 14 January (OS) / 27 January (NS); the second feast of her entrance into Georgia (May); the spurious “October 27” corrected; devotion in Georgia and the diaspora

How to Use

  • Read Bodbe and the Relics for the end of Nino’s life and the chief shrine of her cult, and for the documented history of the Bodbe convent.
  • Read Feasts and Devotion for the liturgical commemoration and the living devotion — including the correction of the spurious October 27 feast.
  • The theology of her veneration as Equal-to-the-Apostles is in Section 09.

Cross-References