Lazarus of the Four Days, friend of Christ. A few facts about the resurrected Lazar and his future fate

Raising Lazarus - greatest sign, a prototype of the General Resurrection promised by the Lord. The figure of the resurrected Lazarus himself remains, as it were, in the shadow of this event, but he was one of the first Christian bishops. How did his life turn out after returning from the captivity of death? Where is his grave and are his relics preserved? Why does Christ call him a friend and how did it happen that the crowds of witnesses to the resurrection of this man not only did not believe, but denounced Christ to the Pharisees? Let's consider these and other points related to the amazing gospel miracle.

Did you know that many people attended Lazarus' funeral?

Unlike the hero of the same name from the parable “About the Rich Man and Lazarus,” righteous Lazarus from Bethany was real person and besides, not poor. Judging by the fact that he had servants (John 11: 3), his sister anointed the Savior’s feet with expensive oil (John 12: 3), after the death of Lazarus they put him in a separate tomb, and many Jews mourned him (John 11: 31, 33), Lazarus was probably a wealthy and famous man.

Due to their nobility, Lazarus’s family apparently enjoyed special love and respect among people, since many of the Jews living in Jerusalem came to the sisters who were orphaned after the death of their brother to mourn their grief. The holy city was located fifteen stages from Bethany (John 11:18), which is about three kilometers.

“The wondrous Fisher of Men chose the rebellious Jews as eyewitnesses of the miracle, and they themselves showed the coffin of the deceased, rolled away the stone from the entrance to the cave, and inhaled the stench of the decomposing body. With our own ears we heard the call to the dead man to rise, with our own eyes we saw his first steps after resurrection, with our own hands we untied the burial shrouds, making sure that this was not a ghost. So, did all the Jews believe in Christ? Not at all. But they went to the leaders, and “from that day they decided to kill Jesus” (John 11:53). This confirmed the correctness of the Lord, who spoke through the mouth of Abraham in the parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus: “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, then even if someone were raised from the dead, they will not believe” (Luke 16:31).”

Saint Amphilochius of Iconium

After the murder of the first martyr Stephen, Lazarus was put into a boat without oars and sent to sea

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Did you know that Lazarus became a bishop?

Exposed to mortal danger, after the murder of the holy protomartyr Stephen, Saint Lazarus was taken to the sea coast, put in a boat without oars and removed from the borders of Judea. By divine will, Lazarus, together with the disciple of the Lord Maximin and Saint Celidonius (blind, healed by the Lord) sailed to the shores of Cyprus. Being thirty years old before his resurrection, he lived on the island for more than thirty years. Here Lazarus met the apostles Paul and Barnabas. They elevated him to the position of bishop of the city of Kitia. (Kition, called Hetim by the Jews). The ruins of the ancient city of Kition were discovered during archaeological excavations and are available for inspection (from the life of Lazarus the Four-Days).

Tradition says that after the resurrection, Lazarus maintained strict abstinence, and that the bishop's omophorion was given to him by the Most Pure Mother of God, having made it with Her own hands (Synaxarion).

“Indeed, the unbelief of the leaders of the Jews and the more influential teachers of Jerusalem, which did not yield to such a striking, obvious miracle performed in front of a whole crowd of people, is an amazing phenomenon in the history of mankind; from that time on, it ceased to be unbelief, but became a conscious opposition to obvious truth (“now you have seen and hated Me and My Father” (John 15:24)."

Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky)

Church of St. Lazarus in Larnaca, built on his grave. Cyprus

Did you know that the Lord Jesus Christ called Lazarus a friend?

The Gospel of John tells about this, in which our Lord Jesus Christ, wanting to go to Bethany, says to the disciples: “Lazarus, our friend, fell asleep.” In the name of the friendship of Christ and Lazarus, Mary and Martha call on the Lord to help their brother, saying: “Behold, the one you love is sick” (John 12:3). In the interpretation of Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria, Christ deliberately places emphasis on why He wants to go to Bethany: “Since the disciples were afraid to go to Judea, He tells them: “I am not going for what I followed before, in order to expect danger from side of the Jews, but I’m going to wake up a friend.”

Relics of Saint Lazarus the Quadruple in Larnaca

Do you know where the relics of Saint Lazarus the Four-Days are located?

The holy relics of Bishop Lazarus were found in Kitia. They lay in a marble ark, on which was written: “Lazarus the Fourth Day, friend of Christ.”

The Byzantine Emperor Leo the Wise (886-911) ordered in 898 that the relics of Lazarus be transferred to Constantinople and placed in a temple in the name of the Righteous Lazarus.

Today, his relics rest on the island of Cyprus in the city of Larnaca in a temple consecrated in honor of the saint. In the underground crypt of this temple there is a tomb in which the righteous Lazarus was once buried.

Crypt of the Church of Lazarus. Here is an empty tomb with the signature “Friend of Christ”, in which the righteous Lazarus was once buried

Did you know that the only described case when the Lord Jesus Christ cried was associated precisely with the death of Lazarus?

“The Lord weeps because He sees man, created in His own image, undergoing corruption, in order to take away our tears, for for this purpose He died, in order to free us from death.” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem).

Did you know that the Gospel, which speaks of the weeping Christ, contains the main Christological dogma?

“As a man, Jesus Christ asks, and cries, and does everything else that would testify that He is a man; and as God, He resurrects a four-day-old man who is already emitting the smell of a dead corpse, and generally does what would indicate that He is God. Jesus Christ wants people to make sure that He has both natures, and therefore reveals Himself either as a man or as God.” (Evfimy Zigaben).

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The only recorded case when the Lord cried was associated with the death of Lazarus

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Do you know why the Lord calls the death of Lazarus a dream?

The Lord calls the death of Lazarus the Dormition (in Church Slavonic text), and the resurrection that He intends to accomplish is an awakening. By this He wanted to say that death for Lazarus is a fleeting state.

Lazarus fell ill, and the disciples of Christ said to Him: "God! Behold, the one you love is sick.”(John 11:3). And after this He and his disciples left for Judea. And then Lazarus dies. Already there, in Judea, Christ says to the disciples: “Lazarus, our friend, fell asleep; but I'm going to wake him up"(John 11:11). But the apostles did not understand Him and said: “If you fall asleep, you will recover”(John 11: 12), meaning, according to the words of Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria, that the coming of Christ to Lazarus is not only unnecessary, but also harmful for a friend: because “if sleep, as we think, serves for his recovery, but If you go and wake him up, you will hinder his recovery.” In addition, the Gospel itself explains to us why death is called sleep: “Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of an ordinary sleep.”(John 11:13). And then He directly declared that “Lazarus died” (John 11:14).

Saint Theophylact of Bulgaria speaks of three reasons why the Lord called death a sleep:

1) “out of humility, for he did not want to seem boastful, but secretly called the resurrection an awakening from sleep... For, having said that Lazarus “died,” the Lord did not add: “I will go and raise him”;

2) “to show us that all death is sleep and tranquility”;

3) “although the death of Lazarus was death for others, for Jesus Himself, since He intended to resurrect him, it was nothing more than a dream. Just as it is easy for us to wake up a sleeping person, so, and a thousand times more, it is convenient for Him to resurrect the dead.” "may he be glorified through" this is the miracle of “Son of God” (John 11:4).

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The Dominican monk Burchardt of Zion wrote about the worship of Muslims at the tomb of righteous Lazarus in the 13th century.

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Do you know where the grave is where Lazarus came from, returned by the Lord to earthly life?

The tomb of Lazarus is located in Bethany, three kilometers from Jerusalem. Now, however, Bethany is identified with the village, in Arabic called Al-Aizariya, which grew up already in Christian times, in the 4th century, around the tomb of Lazarus himself. Ancient Bethany, where the family of righteous Lazarus lived, was located at a distance from Al-Aizariya - higher up the slope. Many events of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ are closely connected with ancient Bethany. Every time the Lord walked with his disciples along the Jericho road to Jerusalem, their path passed through this village.

Tomb of St. Lazarus in Bethany

Did you know that the tomb of Lazarus is also venerated by Muslims?

Modern Bethany (Al-Aizariya or Eizariya) is the territory of the partially recognized state of Palestine, where the overwhelming majority of the population are Muslim Arabs who settled in these areas already in the 7th century. The Dominican monk Burchardt of Zion wrote about the worship of Muslims at the tomb of righteous Lazarus back in the 13th century.

Resurrection of Lazarus. Giotto.1304-1306

Did you know that the raising of Lazarus is the key to understanding the entire fourth Gospel?

The Resurrection of Lazarus is the greatest sign that prepares the reader for the Resurrection of Christ and is a prototype of what is promised to all believers eternal life: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life"(John 3:36); “I am the resurrection and the life; He who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live.”(John 11:25).

Man is the crown of creation. Even the creation of a social hierarchy does not refute this truth. Man always remains the crown of creation, regardless of his position in society, his physical, financial and mental capabilities. Being a creation of God, man has the opportunity to become like his Creator, which is limited only by the Will of the Lord God.

However, it is known from Holy Scripture that the higher a person climbs the social ladder, the more difficult it is for him to get through it to Heaven. The stairs are wrong. But it clearly demonstrates the relativity of the concepts of “top” and “bottom” in the vast Universe.

In order for a person to understand the need to use another path, another ladder (or “Ladder”) for Salvation, he needs to believe that he is God’s creation, that he has a Father in Heaven who does not leave him with his attention even for a second. moment and who is always ready to help find the right way V Father's house. As a navigator, yes.

And this is how a person is designed that in order to start moving in the right direction, he needs constant confirmation that he must move and that the direction is chosen correctly.

Miracle of life

Oddly enough, but a person trusts most of all not logic, not scientific explanations, not experience, not eyewitness accounts, but a miracle! A miracle that happens to him, or to someone before his eyes.

During his earthly life, Jesus Christ performed many miracles so that people would follow him. He forbade telling even close people about some of them, because not everyone is ready to convey to others the essence of what happened, not everyone can believe them without considering him out of his mind.

Here I would like to recall the place in the Bible where it talks about the resurrection of Lazarus.

Pay attention to the meaning of the word in Russian. Two words - “resurrection” and “resurrection”, which seem to mean the same thing, tell us about different events. In the first case (resurrection) we are talking about an action on someone. The second (resurrection) is about the ability of someone to rise from their deathbed.

None of us, born wives, perceive life as a miracle, because it is a given, it is like a gift for our birthday. This miracle happens to us every day. And only events on the verge of life and death remind us of the one who gave us life. How often do we think about how we use this gift?

Or maybe this is not a gift at all, but a miracle given on loan? We need this life, we need it as a tool, like a jack, like a stepladder, in order to be able to climb as high as possible along the spiritual “ladder”. In order to save your Soul and in order to help save those who are close to us.

Lazarus, friend of Christ

It was in Bethany, not far from Jerusalem. Lazarus, a friend of Christ, fell ill and died natural death. The fourth day has passed since his death. His relatives had already buried him according to custom, in a cave.

Knowing about his friend's death, Jesus headed to Bethany. On the way to Lazarus's house, he met Martha, who said that if Jesus had been here, his friend would not have died. Could Jesus not have known about this? Martha seemed to doubt the omnipresence of Jesus God. But the Lord consoled her, saying that her brother would rise again. But even after these words, Martha continued to doubt. She believed that Jesus reminded her of the general Resurrection of the dead. And the Lord forgave her for this lack of faith, she was heartbroken and had lost her beloved brother.

Where Christ appeared, people certainly flocked in huge numbers. And now a whole crowd led by bishops ran to the place where Martha and Jesus met. They all followed Christ to the burial place of Lazarus, but only to laugh at the attempt to resurrect a dead man whom they all knew, whom they themselves buried in a cave. They themselves consoled his sisters at the funeral dinner yesterday. And here they are at the tomb of Lazarus. This is how the episode is described in the Bible (John 11:38-45):

“It was a cave, and a stone lay on it. Jesus says: take away the stone. The sister of the deceased, Martha, said to Him: Lord! already stinks; for he has been in the tomb for four days. Jesus says to her: Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? So they took away the stone [from the cave] where the dead man lay. Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Father! I thank You that You heard Me. I knew that You would always hear Me; but I said [this] for the people standing here, so that they might believe that You sent Me. Having said this, He cried out with a loud voice: Lazarus! get out. And the dead man came out, entwined on his hands and feet with burial cloths, and his face was tied with a scarf. Jesus says to them: Untie him, let him go. Then many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what Jesus had done believed in Him.”

Jesus loved his friend very much, and could have made sure that he did not die at all. But then no one would have thought that Lazarus was alive by the Will of the Lord. People would think that Lazarus simply got well. Coped with the disease. And therefore Jesus allowed death to devour his beloved friend in order to show that the Lord commands death too.

No one thinks that every morning he wakes up according to the Will of God, that his life continues day after day only because it is the Will of God.

After the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus, Christ headed to Jerusalem, but not in order to ascend to the throne and become king of the Jews with the help of the crowd that followed him, who witnessed the miracle, but in order to complete his way of the cross and die on the cross for the sins of the world and show people your Resurrection as a victory over death.

Life after death

The miracle of resurrecting a dead man took place. There has never been a miracle like this! People recognized the resurrection of Lazarus; no one could doubt that he was dead. Everyone knew Lazarus, and no one dared to slander this miracle, just as they slandered the healing of the man born blind, saying: “It’s him. It's not him. Like him” (John 9:9)4.

It was precisely this unconditionality of this miracle that became the reason for the hatred of Lazarus himself on the part of the bishops. Their hatred reached the point that they wanted to kill the resurrected one.

Fleeing persecution, Lazarus leaves his native Bethany and goes to the beautiful, flowering island of Cyprus, which at that time was under the rule of Rome. There he became a bishop in the city of Kition and a tireless preacher of Christianity. He was thirty years old at that time. Having survived the persecution of Christians, Lazarus lived in Cyprus until he was sixty years old and went to the Lord.

Holy places

In Bethany, where the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus took place, the square cave in the rock that served as Lazarus’s tomb is a place of worship for believers around the world. A chapel was erected on this site, and a basilica nearby, then a Benedictine monastery appeared, and after its destruction a mosque was built.

Part of the wall of the medieval chapel at the tomb of Lazarus belongs to Orthodox Church. Built right there greek temple, and a little further - the Greek Orthodox monastery of Martha and Mary, dedicated to the meeting of Martha with Christ on the day of the resurrection of Lazarus. The stone on which Christ sat when meeting Martha is now main shrine monastery

In the 9th century, the Byzantine emperor Leo the Wise ordered the relics of Lazarus to be transferred to Constantinople. And in the city of Kition (now Larnaca) a temple was built in honor of Christ’s friend Lazarus.

We cordially congratulate you on the Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. We wish you a peaceful Senior Week and a joyful meeting of the Bright Resurrection of Christ. God help you!

Father Spiridon (Sammur) joins our congratulations. Father serves in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and cordially congratulates all of you, dear readers of the Elitsa project, on the upcoming Easter of the Lord.

Word of the Holy Martyr Seraphim (Zvezdinsky), Bishop of Dmitrov

In Bethany there was a man named Lazarus, whom Jesus Christ loved, and he had two sisters: one was called Martha, the other Mary. These were simple people, hospitable, welcoming, kind. Because of their simplicity and childlike faith, the Savior often visited them in their home. This Wanderer, Who had no place to lay His head, found refuge and rest for Himself here from His labors. And then, like a whirlwind, like a storm, misfortune suddenly fell upon this pious house: Lazarus fell ill with a serious, severe illness.

He fell ill... And a little later he died and was buried, bitterly mourned by his sisters and all his relatives. The grief of the Lazarus sisters was even more bitter because at that time their sweet Comforter, their merciful Teacher, was not with them, but He was then on the other side of the Jordan, working great miracles there: giving sight to the blind, walking to the lame, raising the dead, as if awakening from sleep, and healing from all sorts of illnesses with one word, giving health to everyone...

Jesus Christ foresaw by His Divinity that Lazarus, His friend, died and said to the apostles: “Behold, our friend Lazarus, die.” He said and went with them to Bethany. When they approached Bethany, Martha and Mary met them on the way; They approached Jesus, sorrowful, fell with tears at His most pure feet and mournfully exclaimed: “O Lord, if You had been with us, Lazarus, our brother, would not have died then.” The good Lord said to them in response: “If believe, he will live again.” They, out of deep sorrow, as if not hearing this consolation, with weeping and a great cry, said to Him: “Lord, Lord, our brother Lazarus, he has been lying in the grave for four days and stinking!” Then the Creator Lord, as if not knowing where the deceased was buried, asked them: “Show Me the place where they laid him.” And with a great multitude of people they went with Him to the tomb, and they showed Him the place where the dead man was buried. When Jesus Christ approached the grave, he ordered the heavy stone lying on it to be rolled away.

They took a stone from the coffin, and a kind of sacred trembling suddenly ran through everyone; everything seemed silent all around. It fell silent, became silent; Some kind of awe gripped everyone: our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was looking at heaven at that time - to where His Father dwells. I looked and prayed... Oh, this prayer - it burned like a hot flame and as if on the wings of fast-flying eagles it rushed to heaven! Christ prayed, and tears, drop by drop, as if drops of blessed dew, flowed from His most pure eyes.

The Savior prayed and ended the prayer with praise to His Father: “Father, I give You praise because You heard Me, and I knew that You always listen to Me, but for the sake of the people who stand, I decided that they may have faith, because You have sent Me and glorify your name holy!” And having spoken this, he cried out in a great voice: “Lazarus, come out!” From the thunder of this voice the rivets of hell were torn apart, all hell groaned from its illness. He groaned, and, groaning, he opened his gates, and Lazarus, who died, came out of there. Like a lion from a den, he came out of the tomb; or, better said, just as an eagle flies out of the abyss, he flew out of the bonds of hell. And he stood, wrapped in a covering, before the Lord Jesus Christ, worshiped Him as the Son of God, glorified Him, who had given him life.

Then Lazarus took his burial shrouds, as the Lord commanded, and followed Christ. Along the way, a very large crowd followed Jesus and Lazarus, accompanying Him all the way to Lazarus’s court. Lazarus rejoiced and rejoiced with all his heart and soul when he saw the house in which he lived with his sisters. All his relatives had fun and rejoiced with him. And, having made a prayer to God, Lazarus and his sisters entered his house. The Lord Jesus Christ also entered there, having stayed with Lazarus for two days. Oh, welcome Guest, sweetest Jesus! What joy Lazarus and his sisters experienced in their hearts from communicating with such a Guest! Truly indescribable, indescribable was this joy.

Only the bishops and Jewish scribes were not happy: devilish envy ate their souls. Driven by the devil, they were furious at Christ and Lazarus: they gathered their unrighteous council and decided to kill them both. Jesus, having recognized this Jewish council by His Divinity, left Bethany, for His hour had not yet come. And Lazarus, with the blessing of the Lord, fled to the island of Cyprus. On this island he was subsequently installed as bishop by the apostles. They say that after the resurrection until his death, Lazarus, no matter what food he ate, ate it with honey, and without honey he could no longer eat any food. He did this out of the hellish grief in which his soul remained before the Lord Savior called him from the grave. So, in order not to remember this hellish sorrow, in order to drown out the feeling, the experience of this sorrow in his soul, Lazarus ate only sweet, honey.

Oh, beloved, how bitter is this hellish bitterness, how terrible it is! We will be afraid so that we will not experience it for our sins. Lazarus could not avoid hellish sorrow, for Jesus Christ had not yet suffered, resurrected, or ascended to heaven. Therefore, everyone who died before Christ was inevitably involved in this hellish sorrow. But with His honest Blood, Christ consumed this sorrow, and we, who believe in Him, if we live according to His commandments, may not even recognize this sorrow at all. Let us strive, beloved, to achieve this!

They also say about Lazarus that the omophorion he wore Holy Lady our Mother of God, the Mother of the Lord, made and embroidered it with her own hands and gave it to Lazarus. He was the gift of this priceless welcome honestly from our Lady Theotokos, with the warmest tenderness he bowed to Her, kissed Her nose and greatly thanked God...

After his resurrection, having lived well and pleasingly to God for another thirty years, Lazarus again rested in peace and departed to the Kingdom of Heaven. The wise King Leo, by some divine manifestation, transferred his holy body from the island of Cyprus to Constantinople and honestly placed it in a silver shrine in the holy temple built in the name of Lazarus. This cancer exuded a great and indescribable fragrance and aroma and gave healing to all sorts of ailments of people who flowed with faith to the tomb of God’s holy friend Lazarus.

The Church calls the Saturday of the sixth week of Great Lent Lazarus in honor of the miracle performed by the Savior - the resurrection of His friend Lazarus from the dead. Thus, the prophetic words of the Lord, spoken by Him earlier, were fulfilled: “The time is coming when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, they will live” (John 5:25).

Origins of the holiday

The celebration of Lazarus Saturday has been established since ancient times. In the 4th century, this holiday began to be revered by the entire Church, as evidenced by the many teachings compiled for this day by St. John Chrysostom, Blessed Augustine and other fathers. In the 7th–8th centuries, holy hymns - St. Andrew of Crete, Cosmas of Maium and John of Damascus - composed special hymns and canons for this holiday, which we still sing today.

Let's remember gospel story, which formed the basis of the celebration. The holy righteous Lazarus, together with his sisters Martha and Mary, lived in the village of Bethany, not far from Jerusalem. The people of Bethany respected this humble believer and often turned to him for help or advice.

During His earthly life, Christ more than once visited the house of Lazarus, whom He loved very much and called His friend. One day, when He was returning from Galilee to Jerusalem, the sisters of the righteous Lazarus met Him with the sad news of their brother’s mortal illness: God! The one you love is sick!(In. 11 , 3). The Lord consoled the messengers by saying that this disease is not for death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it(In. 11 , 4). In this way, Christ showed us a new approach to life and to suffering. If a person does not spend the time of illness on fruitless self-pity, does not grumble, but rejoices in it, because it cleanses from sins, then through this suffering he can acquire an imperishable treasure.

When Christ came to Bethany, it turned out that Lazarus had died and had been in the tomb for four days. The Lord approached the tomb and told them to take away the stone. Coffins in ancient Palestine were arranged in the form of a cave, the entrance to which was closed with a stone. The opening of such caves was carried out only in extreme cases, and even then not when the body was already decomposing. In the warm climate of Palestine, this process began very quickly, as a result of which the Jews buried their dead on the same day on which they died. On the fourth day, the decomposition was to reach such a degree that even the believing Martha could not resist objecting to the Lord: God! already stinks; for four days he has been in the grave!(In. 11, 40).

When the stone was taken away, the Lord looked at the sky and said: Father! Thank You for hearing Me(In. 11 , 41). With this prayer He showed that He works miracles because of His complete unity with God the Father. And with a loud voice he cried: Lazarus! Get out!(In. 11 , 43). Bound with burial shrouds, Lazarus himself emerged from the cave. Subsequently, this moment began to be depicted on many icons and frescoes.

What happened shocked everyone present. By this miracle, Christ showed people that He is truly the Son of God. “Today,” writes St. John Chrysostom, “Lazarus, raised from the dead, has destroyed for us many and various temptations.” It happened before that greatest prophets Israel raised the dead, but they never raised those whose bodies had been touched by corruption. “Whoever sees, whoever hears, as if rising man dead stinking? Elijah was raised up and Elisha, but not from the grave, but below the four days,” is sung in the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete.

New life

The news of the miracle quickly spread throughout Judea. Lazarus was forced to leave his homeland and seek refuge on the island of Cyprus, as the high priests and Pharisees entered into a conspiracy and sought to kill him. The apostles Paul and Barnabas met him on the island. They ordained him to the rank of Bishop of Kitia (as the city of Larnaca in Cyprus was previously called). Righteous Lazarus was thirty years old.

According to legend, the Lady Theotokos Herself poured out the holy omophorion with Her own hands and made a sea voyage to the island of Cyprus to personally convey this gift to the new bishop.

Saint Lazarus remained in the rank of bishop in Cyprus for about thirty years, preaching Christ and confirming the faith of the pagans he converted. It is known that after his resurrection he strictly fasted until the end of his days and never smiled, since he touched the mystery of life and death unknown to those living on earth. He did not say anything about what he saw after death, “since he either did not have to see those there, or was commanded to remain silent about what he saw” (Synaxarion on Lazarus Saturday).

In memory of all generations

The circumstances of the saint's death are unknown. For a long time, the grave of the righteous Lazarus was lost. But after some time in Kitia, at the forgotten burial place of the righteous man, amazing events began to occur. In 392, the Cyprus Icon of the Mother of God, famous for its miracles, was revealed there. On the icon Holy Mother of God it is written sitting on a throne with the Infant God, and on the sides there are two Angels with branches in their hands. Copies of the icon were distributed to many countries. In Russia, the Cypriot image of the Mother of God, kept in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral, is known.

Some time later, in the same place, a healing spring began to flow, which then disappeared and then reappeared. At the end of the 8th century, they decided to build a temple here in the name of the righteous Lazarus. During excavations, the burial of ancient sarcophagi was found, one of which contained the honest head of the righteous Lazarus and part of the bones. The inscription on the tomb read: “Lazarus the Fourth Day and Friend of Christ.” Faced with the threat of an Arab invasion, the Byzantine emperor Leo the Wise ordered in 898 that part of the holy relics be transferred to Constantinople and placed in a temple in the name of righteous Lazarus, but the other part of the shrine was left in Larnaca, where it is kept to this day.

The temple in the name of righteous Lazarus was rebuilt several times, but at its core it retained the three-nave basilica of the 9th century. The iconostasis, consisting of 120 icons and representing an excellent example of ancient wood carving, deserves special attention. The most valuable icon is considered to be one dating back to 1734, in which Saint Lazarus is depicted as bishop of Kitia. In addition, the church houses a small museum containing magnificent Byzantine religious art, including ancient wood carvings, icons and church utensils.

The ringing of the temple bells can be heard in all corners of modern Larnaca. The life of the townspeople is closely connected with this temple: children are baptized here, weddings take place, great amount Believers gather for Sunday and holiday services.

Many people turn to the multi-healing relics of the righteous Lazarus, especially those who are in a state of grave despondency and despair, and the saint invariably helps everyone, strengthening the spirit and increasing faith. Together with his holy sisters - righteous Martha and Mary - he is also the patron saint of hospitality and other works of mercy.

Righteous Lazarus is still considered the patron saint of Larnaca, and a week before Orthodox Easter, townspeople celebrate his resurrection by carrying an icon of the saint through the streets of the city, which is kept in the temple the rest of the time.

In the ancient evangelical village of Bethany, the cave (tomb) of St. Lazarus the Four-Days, where he lay until his resurrection, has been preserved. The tomb is a deep square cave in the rock. In the wall of the cave you can see a depression - a bed on which the body of the deceased Lazarus lay for four days.

You can venerate a particle of the holy relics of the righteous Lazarus in Russia. Since June 2013, the ark with the relics of St. Lazarus has been kept in Conception Monastery Moscow.

Lazarus Saturday precedes the saving suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was not by chance that Christ showed this miracle a few days before His death. Wanting to strengthen the faith of His disciples and give them hope for eternal life, the Lord reveals His divine power, which death obeys. The miracle of the resurrection was a prototype of the future Resurrection of Christ, and at the same time the subsequent general resurrection of the dead at the Second Coming of the Savior to earth.

Prepared by Natalia Bondarenko

Lazarus the Four Days

Konstantin Ikonomos, teacher

Ο Άγιος Λάζαρος, ο τετραήμερος

cancer with the relics of St. Righteous Lazarus in Larnaca

SCRIPTURE AND RATIONALISTS: Lazarus grew up in Bethany and was the brother of Martha and Mary. He was a friend of Jesus Christ () John. 11.5, 36; Mf. 21, 17; Mk. 11:11) and was raised from the dead by the Lord. The resurrection of Lazarus is described in the most detailed detail in chapter 11 of the Gospel by John the Theologian. Many rationalists look at the story of this resurrection simply as a " symbol of the sinner's spiritual restoration" and nothing more.

However, these views contradict some details in the description of this event in the Gospel, which, strictly speaking, leave no doubt about the authority and certainty of his words. So the city of Bethany (15 stadia from Jerusalem), time (four-day dead), fear of stench, description of the coffin, grave clothes, emotional reaction of the Lord, the presence of Sadducees (who do not believe in the resurrection), as well as the enemies of the Lord who wanted to kill the Lord himself Jesus, are living proof that John the Revelator is speaking of a real and earth-shattering event.

LAZARUS IN CYPRUS: Lazarus, after his resurrection, around 30-33 A.D., left Bethany and came to Larnaca on the island. Cyprus. Here he met the apostles Paul and Barnabas as he walked from Salamis to Paphos, and he was ordained bishop of the Church, which he himself had founded. Saint Lazarus was thirty years old after his resurrection by the Lord in Bethany, St. reported this. Epiphanius of Cyprus says: “In the legend we find that Lazarus was thirty years old when he was resurrected (by the Lord) and he lived another thirty years after his resurrection and then reposed before the Lord.”
During the thirty years of the saint’s stay at the episcopal see in Kitia, St. Theodore the Studite in his Catechism. Popular legend says that Saint Lazarus was serious and did not laugh for all the thirty years that he lived after his resurrection, not at all because he did not have the grace of God, because among the blessings that he gave to believers by the All-Holy Spirit are “joy , peace, long-suffering, meekness” (Gal. 5:22), but because his eyes, during his four-day stay in hell, saw the endless, eternal condemnation of sinners. It is also said that he smiled only once when he saw a certain woman who stole a clay vessel and commented on this event as follows: “Clay steals a pylon,” that is, an earthen man steals something made from earth, not knowing that “the day The Lord will come like a thief” (I Thess. 5:2). The Western tradition that Lazarus was an active missionary in Provence and became Bishop of Marseille dates back to the 12th century.
DEATH OF THE SAINT: After his second death, which occurred on October 16, according to the Codex Causocalivia, Saint Lazarus was buried in a marble tomb, which, according to the Synaxarium of Constantinople, had the inscription: Lazarus of the four days and friend of Christ.” In the Codex Kavsokalyvia, under October 16, it is accordingly reported that it is necessary to especially celebrate such a great saint, since he was resurrected by the Lord (just like the placing of the finger of the Apostle Thomas in the side of Christ), since they are not simply feasts of saints, but feasts of the Lord. October 16 is also associated with the memory of the discovery of his honorable relics, which occurred during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise, in 890 A.D. This event is celebrated on October 17. The resurrection of Lazarus is celebrated as “Lazarus Saturday.” With extraordinary zeal and love, he ruled the holy Church of Cyprus until the end of his earthly life.

Troparion: The general resurrection before your passion, I assure you that you raised Lazarus from the dead, O Christ our God. In the same way, we, as the youths of victory bearing the sign, cry out to You as the conqueror of death. Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

Church of Saint Lazarus in Larnaca in Cyprus

After his resurrection, Lazarus lived another 30 years. He was a bishop in Cyprus and preached Christianity.

After his death, the relics of Bishop Lazarus were placed in a Marble Ark, on which was written: “Lazarus of the Four Days, friend of Christ.” In the 9th century, the Byzantine emperor Leo the Wise ordered the relics of Lazarus to be transferred to Constantinople. And in the city of Kition (now Larnaca) a temple was built in honor of Christ’s friend Lazarus.

The church was built on the very tomb of the saint. This temple is a place of pilgrimage for believers.

The temple was built around 890. The English consul in Syria, Alexander Drumond, who visited Cyprus in 1745, wrote with admiration about the Church of Lazarus: “I have never seen anything like it!”

The iconostasis of the church is considered an example of the most skillful wood carving. The temple houses several ancient Byzantine icons. Directly below the iconostasis there is a small church carved into the rock - steps lead there from the right side of the iconostasis. It contains two sarcophagi. Lazarus was once buried in one of them.

Around the temple there are still several buildings of the monastery that existed here many years ago. One of them now houses a museum. A small cemetery with stunningly beautiful carved stone sarcophagi has also been preserved on the territory of the church.

The ringing of the bells of the Church of St. Lazarus can be heard in all corners of Larnaca. The life of the townspeople is closely connected with this temple: children are baptized here, weddings take place, and a huge number of believers gather here for Sunday and holiday services.

The first Christian archbishop, and after his death heavenly patron Lazarus, resurrected by Christ, became the city. The most famous tomb in Larnaca is the tomb of St. Lazarus. She is in Church of St. Lazarus, which was built around 900. The Church of St. Lazarus and his tomb can be seen in the city center.

Righteous Lazarus. The resurrection in Bethany, in a small village southeast of Jerusalem, of the righteous Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary, whom the Lord himself called his friend, greatly outraged the Jews. Exposed to mortal danger, after the murder of the holy protomartyr Stephen, Saint Lazarus was taken to the sea coast, put in a boat without oars and removed from the borders of Judea. By divine will, Saint Lazarus, together with the Lord’s disciple Maximin and Saint Celidonius, a blind man healed by the Lord, sailed to the shores of Cyprus. Having been thirty years old before his resurrection, he lived on the island for more than thirty years. Here Saint Lazarus met the holy apostles Paul and Barnabas. They elevated him to the position of bishop of the city of Kitia (Kition, called Hetim by the Jews). The ruins of the ancient city of Kition were discovered during archaeological excavations and are available for inspection.

The following legend is associated with the name of the righteous Lazarus. Arriving on the island on a hot summer day, and walking around the outskirts of Kition in search of shelter, righteous Lazarus wanted to quench his thirst. Not finding a source nearby, he asked a bunch of grapes from a woman working near his house. She refused the saint his modest request, citing crop failure and drought. As he left, righteous Lazarus said: “So, as punishment for your lies, let the vineyard dry up and turn into a salt lake.” Since then, five kilometers west of Larnaca, Cypriots have shown the Salt Lake to pilgrims and tourists and are famous for their hospitality. From December to March, hundreds of white and pink flamingos spend the winter here. From the road leading to the city and the airport there is a magnificent view of the mountains reflected in the lake, dominated by the peak of the Holy Cross with the Stavrovouni monastery.

Righteous Lazarus really wanted to meet the Mother of God, but due to persecution he could not leave the island. Having received a message from the Most Holy Theotokos and sent a ship for Her from Kition, he awaited Her arrival. Having left the borders of Palestine, the Most Holy Theotokos, accompanied by the Apostle John the Theologian and other companions, set off on a journey through Mediterranean Sea. In “Tales of the Earthly Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” published by the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Athos, further events are described as follows: “There was already a little way left to Cyprus, when suddenly a strong contrary wind blew, and the shipmen, with all their efforts and skill, could not cope with The wind, strong, turned into a storm; and the ship, not listening to the earthly helmsman, surrendered to the direction of the finger of God and rushed away from Cyprus into the Aegean Sea, it quickly rushed between the numerous islands of the archipelago and, without damage or the slightest loss. , moored off the coast Mount Athos". By the will of God, the Ever-Virgin Herself laid the foundation for monastic life on the Holy Mountain. Returning to Jerusalem, the Mother of God visited Cyprus, blessed the local Church created by the apostles and handed over to Saint Lazarus the bishop's omophorion sewn by her hands.

After his death, righteous Lazarus was buried in the vicinity of Kition, in a place that later received the name “Larnax” - “coffin, sarcophagus”. On the marble tomb of the saint there was an inscription: " Four-day Lazarus, friend of Christ."

According to legend, it was found at the burial place of St. Lazarus in 392. Cyprus icon of the Mother of God. On it, the Most Holy Theotokos is depicted sitting on a throne with the Infant God, and on either side stand two angels with branches in their hands. The celebration of the icon takes place on May 3/April 20 (Old Art.). Copies of the icon were distributed to many countries. In Russia, the Cypriot image of the Virgin Mary is known, kept in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral. In the village of Stromyn, Moscow region, on July 22/9 (Ol. Art.) and on the 1st Sunday of Great Lent, a celebration of the miraculous Cypriot icon is celebrated.

The relics of righteous Lazarus were found in 898, under the Byzantine Emperor Leo IV the Wise (886-911) and transferred to the city of Constantinople, where a silver shrine was built for them, and earlier a temple was built in honor of the saint under Emperor Basil I the Macedonian (867- 886). On the day of the transfer of the holy relics of the saint from Cyprus to Constantinople, October 30/17 (O.S.), his memory is celebrated. Later, the Frankish crusaders took the relics to the Mediterranean port city of Marseille.

Built over the tomb of St. Lazarus in Cyprus in the 9th century stone temple in honor of the righteous Lazarus. At the beginning of the 1970s (namely in 1972), during restoration work in the temple, stone tombs were discovered under the altar, in one of which part of the relics of St. Lazarus was found. A silver-gilded ark in the form of a bishop's miter was specially made for them and a carved gilded shrine (tomb) was built, with a canopy and a small Byzantine dome topped with a cross. The relics of Saint Lazarus are constantly displayed for public veneration in the center of the temple near the southern column. Along a specially constructed passage at the base of the temple, the entrance to which is located in the southern part of the sole, pilgrims descend several steps into a low, semi-dark sub-part, covered with a modern concrete vault. At the eastern wall, at the entrance to this underground room, there is a holy spring enclosed in a pipe. There are rectangular stone tombs with heavy lids dating back to the Roman period. There is a custom to bring to the tomb and to the icon of St. Lazarus in the temple, in gratitude for the healing, wax-cast figurines of people and body parts, and they stand in abundance in this place. The candle workshop is located on the next street, a few tens of meters, northeast of the Temple of Lazarus. It produces wax figures and various candles. Among them, huge holiday candles stand out, more than a meter high and several centimeters in diameter.

The temple in honor of righteous Lazarus, built of massive stone blocks, was rebuilt several times, but basically retained the three-nave basilica of the 9th century. Outside the temple for its own centuries-old history has undergone some changes. The three domes that crowned the temple have been completely dismantled. A large open gallery is attached to it from the south. There is a high, four-tiered bell tower near the southeastern wall. What especially stands out in the decoration of the temple is the multi-tiered carved wooden iconostasis, erected in the 18th century. An icon hangs on the northern pillar in the center of the temple Mother of God"Hodegetria" in frame, written in the 18th century in Russia. From the south and west, the Temple of Lazarus is surrounded by two-story buildings. Part of the western building is occupied by a small church-archaeological museum telling about the history of the temple. Its exhibition includes ancient icons of the righteous Lazarus and other saints, church vestments and utensils. A rare image of St. Lazarus, painted in the 12th century, is also kept here. On the icon he is depicted in bishop's vestments. Another ancient icon, heavily damaged by fire, the image of St. Lazarus was miraculously preserved. Right hand he blesses (the emperor), and holds the Gospel in his left. The rector of the temple is Archimandrite Lazar.

Also Special attention It is worth paying attention to the iconostasis, consisting of 120 icons, which is a wonderful example of ancient wood carving. The most valuable icon is considered to be one dating back to 1734, in which Saint Lazarus is depicted in the rank of Bishop of Kition. In addition, the church houses a small museum containing magnificent Byzantine religious art, including ancient wood carvings, icons and church utensils. And next to the cathedral there are burial places of a number of Europeans who lived in the city in the 17th and 18th centuries. Saint Lazarus himself is considered the patron saint of Larnaca, and the celebration of his Resurrection takes place in the city on a grand scale. This happens a week before Orthodox Easter.

Temple icon of the Resurrection of St. Lazarus in the temple in his honor. Larnaca, Cyprus.

On this day we celebrate the resurrection of the holy righteous Lazarus of the Four Days, a friend of Christ. He was a Jew by birth, a Pharisee by religion, the son of the Pharisee Simon, as they say somewhere, from Bethany. When did our Lord Jesus Christ accomplish His earthly path for the sake of saving the human race, Lazarus became His friend in this way. Since Christ often talked with Simon, for he also hoped for the resurrection of the dead, and came to their house many times, Lazarus, together with his two sisters, Martha and Mary, fell in love with Him as if they were his own.

The saving Passion of Christ was approaching, when it was fitting for the mystery of the resurrection to be revealed with certainty. Jesus stayed beyond the Jordan, having first raised the daughter of Jairus and the son of a widow (of Nain) from the dead. His friend Lazarus, having become seriously ill, died. Jesus, although he was not there, says to the disciples: Lazarus, our friend, fell asleep, and after a while he said again: Lazarus is dead (John 11: 11, 14). Called by his sisters, Jesus, leaving the Jordan, came to Bethany. Bethany was near Jerusalem, fifteen stages away (John 11:18). And Lazarus’ sisters met Him, saying: “Lord! if You had been here, our brother would not have died. But even now, if You please, You will erect it, for you can do everything” (cf. John 11:21-22). Jesus asked the Jews, “Where have you laid it?” (John 11:34). Then everyone went to the tomb. When they wanted to roll away the stone, Martha said: Lord! already stinks; for he has been in the tomb for four days (John 11:39). Jesus, having prayed and shed tears over the one lying down, cried out in a loud voice: Lazarus! get out (John 11:43). And immediately the deceased came out, they untied him, and he went home.

translation of “Orthodox Apologist” 2013

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