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 ambassadors 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 God 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 Massajettians, 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 ambassadors. He said to the Saint: “I am burning to construct a house of God, 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 worship 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, washing 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 dashing against the fortress walls, made such a fearful noise that we ran away in terror, but the Saint shouted:
“Do not be afraid, sisters, the mountains still stand in their places and the rivers have not altered their course, and the nation quietly sleeps. Although that which you beheld did not happen in reality, yet this was not a mere dream, for the mountains of unbelief were thoroughly shaken up in Georgia, for the rivers of innocent children’s blood, which flowed in honor of the idols, dried up, for legions of demons, chased out of this region by the mightiness of the Cross are pitifully combatting, seeing how their waves of wrath cannot carry out anything nor harm the fortress of Christ’s faith. Come back and let us pray!”
Then all these sounds quieted down and everywhere one could distinguish silence once more. The Saint stood up with raised hands and prayed that what had been begun by the Tsar should not be destroyed. But before dawn the vision repeated itself, and this time more terrifying than ever: it seemed as though an immense and terrible army had attacked the city from three different sides.
Having forced the gates open it completely filled the streets. Everywhere a fearful emotion had spread, shrieking and murdering took place. Pools of blood flowed at every corner. In some places the people threw themselves upon the enemy with arms in their hands; some of them from terror and confusion turned against their own countrymen. Here one was killing the other—there a second one was expiring, a third one’s heart was perfectly broken by the lamentations of his family. Suddenly a loud, loud voice was heard: