In Nizhny Novgorod, a church was consecrated in honor of the enlightener of Georgia, Nina.

      On May 6, 2026, at 15:26, the Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas Metropolitan Georgy performed the consecration of the church in honor of Saint Nina, Equal-to-the-Apostles, the enlightener of Georgia, in the Moscow district of Nizhny Novgorod. After the consecration, the head of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese led the Divine Liturgy.

      The service was attended by the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Gleb Nikitin, the speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Evgeny Lyulin, State Duma deputy Evgeny Lebedev, the head of the Georgian diaspora in Russia and a member of the Council for Interethnic Relations under the President of the Russian Federation, David Tsetskhladze, the head of the Georgian diaspora in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Zurab Kardava, as well as the head of the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations, Valery Sinkov.

      The liturgical hymns were performed by the traveling archbishop choir of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese under the direction of protodeacon Antoniy Molev. Some hymns and prayers were sung in Georgian, and the Apostle was read in Georgian by benefactor Merab Kardava. Volunteers from the Nizhny Novgorod diocese assisted in organizing the service.

      At the end of the liturgy, there was a glorification of Saint Nina, Equal-to-the-Apostles, and Saint George the Great Martyr.

      Gleb Nikitin reminded of the connection between the Nizhny Novgorod land and the history of one of the main Georgian relics—the cross of Saint Nina. According to him, the relic returned to Georgia from the Lyskovsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod province: a Georgian prince who owned Lyskov first handed the cross to Emperor Alexander I, and after Georgia joined the Russian Empire, the relic was sent to Tiflis.

      "And this church appeared in the year of the 1700th anniversary of Georgia's acceptance of Christianity. I am convinced this is a very worthy gesture of mutual respect between two Orthodox peoples. Here, there is completely unique and unusual architecture for the central part of Russia. The church, built in the Georgian style, will become a true gem of Nizhny Novgorod and one of its most prominent religious sites," said the head of the region.

      Metropolitan Georgy thanked the fellow bishops for their joint prayer and presented them with icons of Saint Nina, Equal-to-the-Apostles. The same images were presented to Gleb Nikitin and Evgeny Lyulin by the head of the metropolis.

      The chairman of the Legislative Assembly called the opening of the church a significant event for the Nizhny Novgorod region and a symbol of the spiritual ties between the peoples of Russia and Georgia. He noted that one of the largest churches in Russia in honor of Saint Nina has appeared in Nizhny Novgorod, and the history of the cross of Saint Nina in Lyskov confirms the centuries-old closeness of the two peoples.

      Addressing those gathered, Metropolitan Georgy congratulated the believers on the Great Consecration of the church and noted that a museum of Georgian culture and spirituality has been established at the parish.

      "With the consecration of the church of Saint Nina, Equal-to-the-Apostles, we are opening yet another spiritually and culturally significant page of the Nizhny Novgorod land. This year marks 1700 years since Georgia accepted Orthodoxy, and today we are effectively beginning the celebration of this event. Let us work in collective prayer for the glory of God, our God-protected Fatherland, the Mother Church, and the people of God," said Metropolitan Georgy.

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