Venerable Zabulon and Sosanna Parents of Saint Nino
4th century
Also known as Zabulon · Sosanna
A noble and devout couple of Cappadocia, the father and mother of St Nino the Enlightener of Georgia; they raised their daughter in piety and gave themselves to God's service.
Feast Day
May 20
Draft
Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.
The Righteous Zabulon and Sosanna, Parents of Saint Nino, Enlightener of Georgia
Life
Zabulon and Sosanna were a 4th-century couple remembered in Orthodox tradition as the father and mother of Saint Nino, the Equal-to-the-Apostles who brought Christianity to Georgia. Tradition holds that Zabulon was a Cappadocian nobleman and that Sosanna was the sister of Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem. After raising their daughter in piety, both parents withdrew from worldly life to devote themselves wholly to the service of God.
Their commemoration is intimately bound to that of their daughter: it is through the surviving accounts of Nino's life that the deeds of her parents are preserved. The Georgian Orthodox Church formally numbered them among the saints in the late twentieth century, recognizing them as confessors of the faith.
Timeline 5 moments
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4th centuryMilitary service and the Frankish campaignBy tradition, Zabulon was a nobleman of Cappadocia who entered the Roman emperor's army and gained renown as a brave cavalryman. The synaxarion relates that in a campaign against the Franks he captured their king and entourage; when the captives sought baptism, Zabulon stood as their godfather and successfully petitioned the emperor to spare them.
4th centuryPilgrimage to Jerusalem and marriageTradition relates that Zabulon afterward made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, distributing his wealth to the poor and entering the service of Patriarch Juvenal. There he married the patriarch's sister, Sosanna, and the couple subsequently settled in Cappadocia.
4th centuryBirth and upbringing of NinoIn Cappadocia the couple had a daughter, Nino, whom they raised in devout Christian faith. When Nino reached the age of twelve, the family sold their possessions and returned to Jerusalem.
4th centuryWithdrawal to the ascetic lifeWith the blessing of Patriarch Juvenal, Zabulon withdrew to the wilderness to take up a life of ascetic seclusion, while Sosanna dedicated herself to ministering to the poor and the infirm.
December 10, 1996GlorificationThe Georgian Orthodox Church declared Zabulon and Sosanna confessors of the Christian faith, formally numbering the parents of Saint Nino among the saints.
Contributions & Legacy
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Tradition and Sources
The accounts of Zabulon and Sosanna survive chiefly within the hagiographical tradition surrounding their daughter, Saint Nino. According to these sources Zabulon was related to the Great-Martyr George, and Sosanna was the sister of Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem.
Some accounts add that, after Zabulon's monastic departure, Patriarch Juvenal ordained Sosanna a deaconess, and that the young Nino was placed in the care of an elderly woman, Sara Niaphor, who instructed her in the Christian faith. As with much early hagiography, these details are preserved as pious tradition rather than independently documented history.
