- Grapevine cross
The Grapevine Cross (Georgian: ჯვარი ვაზისა, "Jvari Vazisa") also known as the Georgian cross or
Saint Nino 's cross, is a major symbol of theGeorgian Orthodox Church , dating from the4th century AD, whenChristianity became an official religion in the kingdom of Iberia (Kartli ).It is recognisable by its horizontal arms drooping a little. Traditional accounts credit Saint Nino, a
Cappadocia n woman who preached Christianity in Iberia (Georgia) early in the 4th century, with this unusual shape of the Georgiancross . Thelegend has it that she received the grapevine cross from theVirgin Mary or, alternatively, she forged it herself on the way toMtskheta ) and secured it by entwining with her own hair. Nino came with this cross on her mission to Georgia. The familiar representation of that cross, with its peculiar drooping arms, did not apprear until the early modern era, however.According to traditional accounts, the cross of St Nino was kept at the
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta until 541. During the Persian invasions, it was taken toArmenia and stayed there untilDavid IV of Georgia recovered the Armenian city of Ani from Muslims in the1124 , and brought the cross to Mtskheta. KingVakhtang III of Georgia (1303-1307) enshrined the cross in a special envelope, decorated with the scenes from St. Nino's life. During the 17th-18th centuries, when Georgia was subjected to a series of Persian and Ottoman invasions, the cross was taken to safer areas, namely toGergeti Trinity Church , then toAnanuri in highland Georgia, and eventually toMoscow . In 1801, a Georgian emigre prince George Bagration presented it to the RussianTsar Alexander I who returned it to Georgia in 1802 after Georgia's incorporation within the Russian Empire. Since then, the cross has been preserved in the Sioni Cathedral inTbilisi , Georgia. [ge icon [http://orthodoxy.wanex.net/sitsmindeebi/vazis/jvari_vazisa.htm საქართველოს სიწმინდეები - ჯვარი ვაზისა] . Accessed onApril 4 ,2007 .]See also
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Christian cross References
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