Saint Nino Christian Heritage Pilgrimage Circuit
Follow the pilgrimage circuit honoring Saint Nino, the 4th-century missionary who converted Georgia to Christianity, visiting the sites associated with her life and legacy that make Mtskheta the spiritual capital of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
- 1
Saint Nino's Cross
Begin at a replica of Saint Nino's distinctive cross — shaped from two grapevines bound with her own hair — displayed in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, the original vine cross preserved in Tbilisi being the most sacred object in Georgian Christianity.
- 2
Baptism Site on Mtkvari
Visit the riverbank site where King Mirian and Queen Nana were baptized by Saint Nino in the Mtkvari River in 337 CE, the conversion of the Georgian royal family making Christianity the state religion in one of the earliest such conversions in world history.
- 3
Samtavro Bramble Cell
See the shrine at Samtavro marking Saint Nino's cell of blackberry brambles where she prayed through the winter following her arrival in Mtskheta, the spare ascetic dwelling representing the missionary's remarkable spiritual discipline.
- 4
Queen Nana's Tomb
Pay respects at the tomb of Queen Nana within Samtavro Cathedral, the first royal woman to convert to Christianity in Georgia, whose healing by Saint Nino began the chain of events that would make Christianity the national faith of Georgia.
- 5
Nino's Vineyard Cross Memorial
Visit the memorial marking where Saint Nino fashioned her cross from grapevine branches bound with her hair, the choice of the vine as the material for Georgia's most sacred cross symbolically linking Christianity with Georgia's ancient wine culture.
- 6
Pilgrimage Route Completion
Complete the pilgrimage circuit with a final prayer service at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral where Georgian Orthodox pilgrims from throughout the Caucasus gather on feast days, the living tradition of the 1,700-year-old church demonstrating the continuity of Nino's conversion work.