Venerable Susanna of Cappadocia

Venerable Susanna (Sosanna) of Cappadocia was the mother of St. Nina, Equal-to-the-Apostles, the Enlightener of Georgia, and the wife of St. Zabulon. She lived in the third–fourth centuries. According to tradition she was the sister of Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem and, like her husband, came from a noble Cappadocian family. Zabulon and Susanna had one daughter, Nina, whom they raised from early childhood in deep Christian faith. When Nina turned twelve, the family moved to Jerusalem. By mutual consent, and with Patriarch Juvenal's blessing, Zabulon withdrew to the Jordanian desert to pursue ascetic life, while Susanna was made a deaconess at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where she served, caring for poor and sick women; Nina herself was entrusted to the elder Niaphora for upbringing. The Church has not established a separate feast day for Susanna alone; she is commemorated together with her husband Zabulon on their joint feast, May 20 (Old Style) / June 2 (New Style).