Part 5 (2/2)
But from great weakness the sick man could not speak. Then the Saint began to implore G.o.d to restore him to health, with tears and great lamentations, and her pupils stood by her side.
One day and two nights she continued her prayers, and when at last the invalid had repeated the holy words for the third time, the badness of his soul suddenly abandoned him, he became a healthy man and a Christian, together with his family and servants and glorified the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost! Mirian began to fear the wrath and revenge of the Persian Tsar and wanted to have the Saint immediately executed--alone the desperate lamentations and tearful supplications of his beloved wife could cut short his anger, and dissatisfied, he decided to seek distraction in hunting. This is how Sidonia, daughter to Abiatkar, and pupil to Nina, relates the event:
”On Sat.u.r.day, July the twentieth, a royal hunt was appointed in the direction of Mouknar. The devil disturbed the royal heart, awakening in him the old love for idols and fire, and so he firmly resolved to exterminate all Christians with the sword. Four of his nearest councillors accompanied him upon the hunt, and to them he turned and made the following speech:
”'We are worthy to be punished by our G.o.ds for forgetting their glory and permitting Christian witches to preach their law and teachings in our country. Through their witchcraft they accomplish wonders, but not at all by the might of their G.o.d. I have now made up my mind that all those who pay homage to and adore the Crucified shall perish by the sword, and furthermore, I insist that an effort shall be made to increase the love of serving the G.o.ds, the real rulers of Kartla (the native word for Georgia). I shall propose to my wife to abandon the faith of the Crucified, and if she doth not fulfil my order, I shall forget her love for me and have her put to death with the rest!'” With joyfulness the heathens listened--it seemed to them as though the monarch's speech had come out of their own hearts. They had long reflected about such an event, but did not dare to express their thoughts, knowing the attachment of the sovereign for his wife. Now they strongly supported his views and encouraged him in his actions.
In the meantime they had already pa.s.sed Moukkvar and Mirian ascended the high mountain Tekkhotk (in Armenian Tkakoutk) in order to look at Kaspii and Ouplis Tzikke. When, however, he reached the tiptop, although this was just at noon, the sun suddenly disappeared before his eyes and day turned to night. An impenetrable fog covered all the surroundings and the Tsar himself not noticing this, rode a long way off from his followers. An unusual thought weighed upon him.
Surprised, he wished to ask whether all the rest were also in the fog or whether he alone was dazzled, but n.o.body answered his questions. In vain he rode over the mountains covered with bushes, his horse constantly stumbled and fell, the trees scratched his face and tore his clothes, the Tsar was involuntarily trembling, while his exhausted and tortured horse at last succ.u.mbed to fatigue and rose no more, thus depriving its reckless rider of any hope of saving his life. Then he remembered his former doubts and understood Whose hands were pus.h.i.+ng him down.
”I called to the G.o.ds, but they did not help me!” he exclaimed. ”Now I shall turn to Him who was crucified on the cross, whom Nina preached about and with whose help she succeeds in healing men. Is He not strong enough to deliver me from this disaster? I am already fully in the darkness of terrible sin and do not know whether this darkness has come for all, or whether I alone am punished with blindness.
”If Thou wilt save me, G.o.d of Nina, then I pray to Thee, lighten up darkness and show me where my palace stands! I will accept the religion of Thy name, I will erect and glorify the wooden cross, I will build a temple of prayer, following the teachings of Saint Nina, and become a true Christian.”
With hearty and sincere repentance in his heart, he swore to become a Christian, and hardly had he succeeded in closing his lips when his eyes opened. The sun shone for him with all its gloriousness, he climbed off the fallen horse and stopping at the place where he had had the vision, he raised his hands towards the East and exclaimed:
”Thou art the King of kings and the G.o.d of G.o.ds announced and proclaimed by Saint Nina! Let Thy name be glorified by all people in Heaven and on earth. Thou didst deliver me from peril and didst open my eyes; now I found out that Thou wishest to save, comfort and draw me towards Thee, according to the words of Thine arch-angel. Blessed be the Lord! On this spot I shall erect a cross, yes, I will glorify Thy holy name and let the remembrance of this marvellous event be kept upright for centuries and centuries to come.” Having taken precise notice of the spot he went away, but in the meantime his attendants, who had been everywhere vainly looking for him, came together to discuss what was to be undertaken next.
”Yes, let all my nation glorify the G.o.d of Nina!” suddenly rang out the Tsar's voice, ”for He is the Eternal G.o.d and to Him alone is due glory from century to century!”
They gave a fresh horse to the King and he rode home very happy, and best of all--both mentally and physically cured!
In the meantime the Tsaritsa had already heard the report that Mirian had disappeared and a little later she received news that he was already returning. With great haste she rushed out to meet her beloved husband and an innumerable crowd of people followed after her. They arrived together at Kindsa, which lies in Gkartk.
As to Saint Nina, she was p.r.o.nouncing her usual prayer in the rose bush, and several of us were there with her. Gradually as the Tsar approached the whole nation began to be greatly moved and excited, because he shouted in a loud voice:
”Where is the stranger, who, from now on, will be my mother, because her G.o.d saved me from death?”
Having found out already that she was praying, the Tsar branched off on a side road and his suite followed him. Before reaching the rose bush Mirian left his horse and coming up to the Saint, he humbly bowed to her, saying:
”Now make me worthy of invoking thy G.o.d, who has indeed been my saviour!”
Having taught him a little, Nina on the very spot ordered him to bow down towards the East and adore the Lord Jesus Christ.
But the people, who did not understand the point of the whole affair, began to be rebellious, seeing the Tsar and Tsaritsa humbly kneeling.
On the next day Mirian dispatched amba.s.sadors to Rome to the Emperor Constantine, with a request to speedily send some priests to baptize the nation, and with a letter from Saint Nina to the Empress Helena, informing her of the wonders which had been performed on Tsar Mirian near Mtzkhet, through the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ. The day the Tsar was converted the Saint sent to Saint Gregory Nansien asking for instructions as to what she should do next. By his advice she personally destroyed the new idol Armaz, which they had already succeeded in placing on a mountain beyond the Koura, and to which the people daily bowed at sunrise, climbing up to the roofs of their houses and turning their faces towards the sun. In its place she erected a cross on a hill near Mtzkhet, beyond the river Aragva. But as this cross was roughly made, the people kept away from it until the Lord had glorified it. While expecting the arrival of priests, the Saint and her followers preached the word of G.o.d day and night, untiringly preparing the nation before being baptized, and they went from Klardjet to the land of the Alanes and from the Caspian gates to the land of the Ma.s.sajettians, while the remaining pupils of the Saint spread all over Georgia.
The Tsar had already become an active and energetic Christian before the return of the amba.s.sadors. He said to the Saint: ”I am burning to construct a house of G.o.d, let us now choose the site!”
”Let thy mtavares (provincial governors) solve that question and have it arranged so that thou and the nation will draw the utmost profit out of it,” replied Saint Nina.
”No!” said the King, ”I love thy rose bush and wish to sacrifice everything in order to erect a temple on that spot. I shall have my vineyards, great cedars, fruit trees, and fragrant flowers cut down. Dost thou not remember how in thy vision the black birds became so white that it was blinding, and having perched themselves on the vineyard trees, filled the air with heavenly songs? Now we will turn this visible vineyard into an invisible one, giving us eternal life, and let us build in it a house of wors.h.i.+p and prayer before the arrival of the Greek priests!”
Immediately they began to get the materials together. For the church seven pillars were necessary. Thereupon a great cedar was cut down which furnished six pillars, while the seventh was made out of a large pine. When the wooden walls had been erected they fixed the six pillars, each one in a place specially prepared for it, while the seventh, which was unusually large and was meant for the cupola, they could by no means lift from the ground. They hastened to report this to the Tsar, who ordered all the people to make for the building, and he himself went there too. In this affair all then known means of raising weights were used, but neither the numberless arms, nor any possible art could succeed in obtaining the desired result. And Tsar and people asked each other with the greatest surprise: ”What can this mean?” And having labored till night they went back to their houses in great sorrow. Saint Nina, however, with twelve of her followers, remained by the pillar, was.h.i.+ng it with her tears and praying and groaning. About midnight a terrifying vision began; we saw how the mountains of Armaz and Zaden were trembling as though somebody were shaking them in order to block up the course of both rivers. Mtkouar returned and inundated the town, by reason of which the air was filled with cries, lamentations and groaning, while the Aragva flowed towards the fortress and its waves das.h.i.+ng against the fortress walls, made such a fearful noise that we ran away in terror, but the Saint shouted:
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