სვეტისცხოვლობა (or მცხეთობა), a Georgian Orthodox Church holiday, is celebrated every October 14 in Mtskheta, one of the oldest cities in eastern Georgia. Eliazar, a citizen of Mtskheta, was present at the crucifixion of Jesus. He managed to procure some of Jesus’s robe and brought it back to Mtskheta with him. Sidonia, his sister, touched the robe, and, overcome by the emotions of belief, died with the robe clenched to her breast. Unable to remove the robe from Sidonia’s clutches, the townspeople buried her with it. From her grave, a spectacular cedar tree grew.
When King Mirian asked Saint Nino of Cappadocia, the missionary who converted Mirian to Christianity, where to build a house of God, she pointed to Sidonia’s grave. The builders tried to use the cedar as a column for the church, but the tree did not move. After prayers from Saint Nino the cedar rose to the height of 12 meters (almost 40 feet). Seven great columns were made from the tree to support the structure of the cathedral, according to one legend.
Today, the Svetitskhoveli (meaning "miraculous or life-giving pillar") Cathedral is one of the holiest places in Georgia. Ten of Georgia’s kings are buried here (but only six of the tombs have been found).
Overlooking Svetitskhoveli, way up in the hills, above the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi Rivers, is the Jvari Monastery, or the Monastery of the Cross. St. Nino was here, too, praying and erecting a cross back in the sixth century. In the night, when I visited, with just the monastery lit up and this tree right in front of it, I felt like I was in THE Holy Land. It makes sense, then, I guess, that there was a Georgian at Christ's crucifixion.
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