SKU: 33610783821

St. Nina Equal to Apostles icon

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St. Nina Equal to Apostles iconOrthodox icon of Saint Nina or Nino, Equal to Apostles. Commemorated January 14th. The virgin Nino of Cappadocia was a relative of Great martyr George and the only daughter of a widely respected and honorable couple. Her father was a Roman army chief by the name of Zabulon, and her mother, Sosana, was the sister of Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem. When Nino reached the age of twelve, her parents sold all their possessions and moved to Jerusalem. Soon

Orthodox icon of Saint Nina or Nino, Equal to Apostles.

Commemorated January 14th.

The virgin Nino of Cappadocia was a relative of Great-martyr George and the only daughter of a widely respected and honorable couple. Her father was a Roman army chief by the name of Zabulon, and her mother, Sosana, was the sister of Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem. When Nino reached the age of twelve, her parents sold all their possessions and moved to Jerusalem. Soon after, Nino's father was tonsured a monk. He bid farewell to his family and went to labor in the wilderness of the Jordan. After Sosana had been separated from her husband, Patriarch Juvenal ordained her a deaconess.

She left her daughter Nino in the care of an old woman, Sara Niaphor, who raised her in the Christian Faith and related to her the stories of Christ's life and His suffering on earth. It was from Sara that Nino learned how Christ's Robe had arrived in Georgia, a country of pagans. Soon Nino began to pray fervently to the Theotokos, asking for her blessing to travel to Georgia and be made worthy to venerate the Sacred Robe that she had woven for her beloved Son. The Most Holy Virgin heard her prayers and appeared to Nino in a dream, saying, Go to the country that was assigned to me by lot and preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will send down His grace upon you and I will be your protector.'

But the blessed Nino was overwhelmed at the thought of such a great responsibility and answered, 'How can I, a fragile woman, perform such a momentous task, and how can I believe that this vision is real?' In response, the Most Holy Theotokos presented her with a cross of grapevines and proclaimed, 'Receive this cross as a shield against visible and invisible enemies! When she awoke, Nino was holding the cross in her hands. She dampened it with tears of rejoicing and tied it securely with strands of her own hair. (According to another source, the Theotokos bound the grapevine cross with strands of her own hair.)

Nino related the vision to her uncle, Patriarch Juvenal, and revealed to him her desire to preach the Gospel in Georgia. Juvenal led her in front of the Royal Doors, laid his hands on her, and prayed, O Lord, God of Eternity, I beseech Thee on behalf of my orphaned niece: Grant that, according to Thy will, she may go to preach and proclaim Thy Holy Resurrection. O Christ God, be Thou to her a guide, a refuge, and a spiritual father. And as Thou didst enlighten the Apostles and all those who feared Thy name, do Thou also enlighten her with the wisdom to proclaim Thy glad tidings. When Nino arrived in Rome, she met and baptized the princess Rhipsimia and her nurse, Gaiana.

At that time the Roman emperor was Diocletian, a ruler infamous for persecuting Christians. Diocletian (284-305) fell in love with Rhipsimia and resolved to marry her, but St. Nino, Rhipsimia, Gaiana, and fifty other virgins escaped to Armenia. The furious Diocletian ordered his soldiers to follow them and sent a messenger to Tiridates, the Armenian king (286-344), to put him on guard. King Tiridates located the women and, following Diocletian's example, was charmed by Rhipsimia's beauty and resolved to marry her. But St. Rhipsimia would not consent to wed him, and in his rage the king had her tortured to death with Gaiana and the fifty other virgins. St. Nino, however, was being prepared for a different, greater task, and she succeeded in escaping King Tiridates persecutions by hiding among some rose bushes.

When she finally arrived in Georgia, St. Nino was greeted by a group of Mtskhetan shepherds near Lake Paravani, and she received a blessing from God to preach to the pagans of this region. With the help of her acquaintances St. Nino soon reached the city of Urbnisi. She remained there a month, then traveled to Mtskheta with a group of Georgians who were making a pilgrimage to venerate the pagan idol Armazi.

There she watched with great sadness as the Georgian people trembled before the idols. She was exceedingly sorrowful and prayed to the Lord, O Lord, send down Thy mercy upon this nation ...that all nations may glorify Thee alone, the One True God, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ. Suddenly a violent wind began to blow and hail fell from the sky, shattering the pagan statues. The terrified worshipers fled, scattering across the city. St. Nino made her home beneath a bramble bush in the garden of the king, with the family of the royal gardener.  

The gardener and his wife were childless, but through St. Nino's prayers God granted them a child. The couple rejoiced exceedingly, declared Christ to be the True God, and became disciples of St. Nino. Wherever St. Nino went, those who heard her preach converted to the Christian Faith in great numbers. St. Nino even healed the terminally ill Queen Nana after she declared Christ to be the True God. King Mirian, a pagan, was not at all pleased with the great impression St. Nino's preaching had made on the Georgian nation. One day while he was out hunting, he resolved to kill all those who followed Christ. According to his wicked scheme, even his wife, Queen Nana, would face death for failing to renounce the Christian Faith. But in the midst of the hunt, it suddenly became very dark.

All alone, King Mirian became greatly afraid and prayed in vain for the help of the pagan gods. When his prayers went unanswered, he finally lost hope and, miraculously, he turned to Christ: God of Nino, illumine this night for me and guide my footsteps, and I will declare Thy Holy Name. I will erect a cross and venerate it and I will construct for Thee a temple. I vow to be obedient to Nino and to the Faith of the Roman people! Suddenly the night was transfigured, the sun shone radiantly, and King Mirian gave great thanks to the Creator. When he returned to the city, he immediately informed St. Nino of his decision.

As a result of the unceasing labors of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nino, Georgia was established as a nation solidly rooted in the Christian Faith. St. Nino reposed in the village of Bodbe in eastern Georgia and, according to her will, she was buried in the place where she took her last breath. King Mirian later erected a church in honor of St. George over her grave.

Reference: O.C.A.

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4.4 ★★★★★
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Anastasia Goygova
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 4
Fallen for the Fallen Angel – A Guilty Pleasure Worth Every Page
Format: Kindle
There’s something deeply irresistible about a dark academia or trial-based setting, a brooding and arrogant fallen angel, and a fierce heroine with enough sass to go toe-to-toe with him. Wings So Wicked is exactly that kind of book—and I devoured it in just a couple of days. To be fair, the plot isn’t groundbreaking. If you’re looking for something fresh and innovative in terms of storyline, this might not be it. But if your reader heart beats faster at the mere mention of enemies-to-lovers, jealousy-fueled banter, magical trials, betrayals, and forbidden tension—you’ll feel right at home. It’s like catnip for those of us with this particular weakness. The chemistry between the leads could have used a slightly slower burn to make the tension sizzle longer, but I still found myself completely invested in their dynamic. There are moments and phrases that feel a bit cheesy or underdeveloped, but honestly? I didn’t care. The vibes were exactly what I wanted. This book isn’t trying to reinvent the genre—it’s here to give readers like me what we crave: high-stakes magical drama, angsty romance, and the thrill of watching a badass girl and her brooding counterpart clash and spark. If that sounds like your kind of story, Wings So Wicked will hit the mark. Here’s hoping Book 2 turns up the heat and keeps the magic alive.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2025
M
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Madi lohr
Carnegie, US
★★★★★ 5
my new favorite book
Format: Kindle
Ok so I never write reviews but this book was so good I felt the need to write this. Firstly your introduced to Huntyr you see her closed off hard core badass than towards the end you see the most subtle change and growth it’s amazing and the enemies to friends to lovers was just perfect, AND THE TWIST AT THE END GOT ME GOOD! You see one spicy scene the whole book but it doesn’t even MATTER BECAUSE THE BOOK WAS THAT GOOD. I’ve read 85 books in 2023-2024 so far and I’m pround to say this is my all time favorite. I’m so excited to read more of Emily Blackwoods books, this was my first time reading one of hers and I’m glad I did because HOLY!! Well done Emily well done
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Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2024
R
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Robin
Massapequa, US
★★★★★ 4
Fast paced romantasy you will not want to put down!
Format: Kindle
4.25 stars! I LOVED this book with similar vibes to Hush Hush, Fourth Wing, and The Serpent and the Wings of Night! It was fast paced with easy world building and will keep you turning the pages late into the night because you will not want to put it down! Huntyr is a fierce bad@ss FMC trained to kill vampyres her entire life. She is sent on a mission to go to the academy and earn her spot into The Golden City. Upon arrival, she is forced to room with the delicious fallen angel, Wolf, who is the only one who knows about her assassin identity. The romance, the plot twists, the secrets revealed, the battles, and the tantalizing training scenes had me hooked! And that ending…. I’m holding my breath in need to know hell! Read if you love: 🪽 Fae, Vampyres, Fallen Angels 🪽 Academy setting with magical trials 🪽 Forced proximity and slow burn 🪽 Rivals to lovers 🪽 Hidden identities and secrets 🪽 Tend your wounds “𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥.” “𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘴, 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘬.” “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
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Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2024
B
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Bernadette Smith
Battle Creek, US
★★★★★ 5
Excellent Rivals to Lovers!!
Format: Kindle
The tension and banter between Huntyr and Wold was delectable. I absolutely love the fallen angel and all of his flaws. Huntyr is amazing too being a badass FMC with some major trauma. The world building was great and I enjoyed the training aspect of the story. The writing was immersive and was in the story the whole time. The ending had quite a twist that I hadn’t anticipated and made my jaw DROP. Excellent job! I also loved the narration. Laura is one of my fave narrators!
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Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2025
E
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❈ Elizabeth ❈ | Breakawayreads
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 5
Fallen Angels, fae, vampires, oh my!
Format: Kindle
Rating: 4.5 | Spice: 2 (but a good slow-burn) • Main Characters: Huntyr and Wolf • I couldn’t wait to read this book; there was so much hype about it! And there was no doubt why. I fell in love with the characters and the plot itself. This book is mainly plot driven more than friction driven but it’s easy to follow along with. The characters are fun, easily understood. The main setting is at an academy where both the main characters are going through trials and building strength for the final test, The Transcendent. There are fantastic side characters as well. I loved the camaraderie between Huntyr and her friends. But we don’t like Lanson. 😆 We do have some plot twists that come into play throughout the book. Secrets and betrayal to be seen. I did adore Wolf and Huntyr’s relationship. It was a classic slow burn trope. They didn’t hit it off fast, but in time their feelings grew. I loved their banter, so sexy. Wolf is your next book boyfriend; Huntyr is your next vampire assassin independent bad-a*s female. Themes include loyalty, trust, self-discovery, a true slow burn romance. Side note: book ends on a angsty cliffhanger! • Emily, thank you for writing this awesome novel and I cannot wait to devour Book 2, Blood So Brutal! 😍 • Happy reading, my lovelies! xo
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Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2024

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