Historical Context
Mirian III belonged to the House of Mihran, one of the Seven Great Houses of Iran, and was born in Sasanian Iran. His adoption of Christianity therefore marked a decisive religious and political reorientation of Kartli. By making Christianity the state religion, Mirian set Georgia on the same path Armenia had taken shortly before, making it the second kingdom to establish Christianity as its state religion.
Saint Nino, a Cappadocian missionary, is credited in Georgian tradition with bringing the faith to the royal court. According to her hagiography, she traveled to Georgia intending to venerate the tunic of Christ (the Chiton) preserved at Mtskheta. Abiathar and Sidonia are named among her early followers who converted during her missionary activity.
Contributions and Legacy
Under Mirian and Nana, churches were established at major sites, including Svetitskhoveli Cathedral at Mtskheta and Sioni Cathedral in Tbilisi, often replacing earlier pagan worship locations. The Georgian Orthodox Church canonized Mirian as Saint Equal to the Apostles King Mirian.
The conversion of the royal house anchored Christianity as the foundation of the Georgian state and church, a legacy still expressed in the great cathedral at Mtskheta and in the continued veneration of the rulers and of Saint Nino.
Relics & Shrines
Mirian and Nana are buried at the Samtavro Monastery in Mtskheta, in the south-west part of the church; 19th-century gravestone markers identify the royal couple, and the tombs are shown to the public. Saint Nino is said to have established the original small church on the Samtavro site during Georgia's conversion in the 4th century; the main temple was significantly reconstructed in the 11th century under King George I and Catholicos-Patriarch Melchizedek I. The monastery was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994 as part of the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta.
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral at Mtskheta — its name meaning 'Life-Giving Pillar' (Georgian sveti, 'pillar,' plus tskhoveli, 'life-giving') — stands at the confluence of the Mtkvari (Kura) and Aragvi rivers, the site Saint Nino chose for the first Georgian church. A 4th-century baptismal font there is thought to have been used for the baptism of King Mirian and Queen Nana. The present cathedral was built between 1010 and 1029 by the architect Arsukidze and served as a burial place for Georgian kings.
Miracles and Traditions
Historically Documented: The reign of Mirian III over Kartli and the establishment of Christianity as the state religion are attested in the historical record, with the conversion dated to 319 or 326. The tombs of Mirian and Nana at Samtavro and the cathedrals of Mtskheta and Tbilisi remain material witnesses to this period.
Traditional Accounts: Georgian hagiography relates that Nana was healed and converted through Saint Nino, and that Mirian, struck blind while hunting near Mtskheta when darkness fell over the land, recovered his sight after praying to the God of Nino and was then baptized. The tradition of the Robe of Christ holds that Elias (Elioz) brought the robe from Jerusalem and that his sister Sidonia died holding it and was buried with it; a cedar grew from her grave, from which Saint Nino ordered seven columns cut for the church's foundation. The seventh column is said to have risen into the air until Saint Nino prayed through the night to lower it, giving Svetitskhoveli its name. The OCA synaxarion connects the commemoration of Mirian, Nana, and Sidonia with the apparition of the Pillar with the Robe of the Lord at Mtskheta.
