Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday

[Steve Hayes]

By raising Lazarus from the dead before Thy Passion, Thou didst confirm the
universal resurrection, O Christ God!
Like the children with the palms of victory, we cry out to Thee: O Vanquisher
of Death:
Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!

SAINT LAZARUS IN THE EAST
THROUGH THE SCRIPTURES AND TRADITION

http://www.ayioslazaros.org/istoria_eng.htm

Bethany, is a Jewish word which means "the home of the Phoenicians". It has
remained known in history as the homeland of Lazarus the friend of Christ.
Although it is a small and insignificant Palestinian village, it has an
important place in the history of Christianity. It was one of the places for
which Christ had a special affection and would visit frequently. This was due
to the strong bonds of friendship that Jesus Christ had with the family of
Lazarus and with the leper who some believed was the father of the saint.









Saint Lazarus in the east through the scriptures and tradition

The worship of Saint Lazarus in the west and related traditions

The establishment and history of the church - Tradition and historical
accounts

The Church



The invitation of Christ to the house of Martha and Maria, sisters of Lazarus
is a well-known event. While Martha "was distracted by her many tasks" Maria
sat "at Jesus?s feet and listened to his preaching" (Luke X, 38-42). The event
for which Bethany became renowned was the resurrection of Lazarus (John XI
1-44) through which the Lord forwarned His own resurrection. This is why the
hymns sung during the Saturday of Lazarus give prime emphasis on the sacrament
of the joint resurrection and then to the memory of the saint.
Other than these two events which took place in Bethany, there are accounts of
hospitality extended to Jesus Christis and visits to the home of Simon the
Leper (John XII 1-8, Mark XIV 3-9, Matthew XVI 6-13, John XII 9-11, Matthew
XXI 17).
Naturally, the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus aroused the Jews and
"the High Priests planned to put Lazarus to death" (John XII 9-11), as he
constituted living evidence of the miracle. Therefore the banished saint fled
to the island of Cyprus where he encountered the apostles Paul and Barnabas
and was ordained as the first Bishop of Citium.
Ancient Citium, home to the philosopher Zeno, had the honour to propagate the
teachings of the Lord through a personal friend of Christ. According to Saint
Epiphanios, Bishop of Constantia of Cyprus (367-403), the righteous Lazarus
lived on for another 30 years after his resurrection.
Historical accounts describe him as sullen and frowning during his lifetime
which was due to all that he had witnessed during his 4-day stay in the
underworld. The same historical accounts report that he had only smiled once
during his lifetime and that was when he saw someone stealing an earthen pot
on which he commented aphoristically: "a piece of soil steals another piece of
soil".
Another historical account indicates some association of the saint to the salt
lake in Larnaka (the present day name of Citium). In the present location of
the salt lake there used to be a vineyard. As he was passing by this spot one
day the saint felt thirsty and asked for some grapes from the woman who owned
the vineyard. She refused and in order to punish her he transformed the
enormous vineyard into a salt lake. This account has been confirmed by the
workers who collect the salt. They claim to have found roots and branches of
the vineyard when digging in the salt lake. Another legend describes the
existence of a well with sweet water in the middle of the salt lake, known as
the well of "rgas" i.e. the well of the old lady. According to the Synaxarium
(Constantinople Biographies of Saints), the lake was contested by two brothers
who fought tooth and nail against each other to acquire it. The saint "through
prayer drained the lake and reduced its contents to salt".
In the text of "Patria" in Mount Athos, there are strong references
associating Cyprus and Saint Lazarus with the Virgin Mary and Mount Athos.
Accompanied by John the Evangelist, the Virgin Mary came to Citium where she
met Saint Lazarus and offered him a pallium and a pair of maniples before
continuing on her way visit Mount Athos.
According to the Constantinople Biographies of Saints, the saint was buried in
a marble tomb inscribed with the words "the fourth day Lazarus, friend of
Christ". This tomb was later placed in a small church.
In addition to the information provided by Saint Epiphanios regarding the
thirty years of Saint Lazarus?s second lifetime, there is an even earlier
account according to researchers relating to Saint Lazarus?s stay in Cyprus
taken from Saint John of Eu(r)oia, priest and monk of the Patriarchate of
Antioch (circa 744). In his speech "On the fourth day Lazarus", the Saint
says: "For an old man told me, who was privy to information about the blessed
Lazarus through some of the saint?s memoranda, that he became bishop on the
island of Cyprus and wore the wreath of a martyr for the sake of Jesus Christ;
he executed his duties to the full, stayed on the path of virtue and upheld
his faith and is now in perpetual bliss in the company of Christ".
Around the year 744 word spread in Antioch about Saint Lazarus. The
information surrounding the death of the saint, as being that of a martyr,
became a point of interest.


The thirty-year presence of Saint Lazarus on the episcopal throne of Citium
has also been recorded by Saint Theodoros of Stoudites (759-826), who reports
in his catechitisms: "We celebrate the anniversary of the death or rather the
resurrection of the most blessed Lazarus, who, after his return from the dead,
lived on for a further thirty years in accordance with the word of God, and
served as a bishop".
The exhumation and translation of Saint Lazarus?s remains from Citium to
Constantinople commemorated by the Church on the 17th of October of each year,
was completed during the year 899/900 following the orders of the byzantine
Emperor Leo VI the Wise.



The translation of the holy relics has been described in great detail in two
celebratory speeches delivered by the Metropolitan of Caesarea Arethas
(850-post 932), a disciple of Photios the Great, while standing in front of
the relics and in the presence of the Emperor. In his first speech, the priest
highly commended the arrival of the the holy relics at Constantinople, while
in his second speech he gives a lengthy description of the procession,
participated by the Emperor, during which the relics were translated from
Chrysoupolis to Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. In exchange for the
translation of the relics to Constantinople, Leo VI sent money and builders to
Cyprus to erect the splendid Church of the Saint, well preserved to this day
in Larnaka. Moreover he built a monastery in Constantinople named after the
virtuous Lazarus, which housed the saint?s remains. Later on the relics of
Maria Magdalene were also translated to this same monastery. During the
byzantine years it was customary for the byzantine Emperor to pray in this
monastery on the Saturday of Lazarus.



It is thought that the remains of the saint must have been translated to
Constantinople in the old marble tomb. This has been deduced from the fact
that the marble tomb which is found today under the altar of the homonymous
church in Larnaka bears the large script inscription "PHILIOY" (belonging to
Philios), while the old one bore the inscription "the fourth day Lazarus,
friend of Christ". On the 23rd of November 1972, some of the remains of the
righteous Lazarus were found in the present shrine.


This indicates that the people of Citium could not have handed over all the
relics to the Emperor. Moreover, in his orations Arethas mentions "bones" and
"dust" not to an immortal body.
There is also an account originating from a Russian source at Oxford Library
which describes a Russian monk from the Monastery of Pskov, who in the 16th
century visited the town of Larnaka, bowed before Saint Lazarus?s relics and
took a small piece. This piece can be found to this day in the chapel of Saint
Lazarus at the Monastery of Pskov. The accessibility of the Russian monk to
the Saint?s remains leads to the conclusion that the shrine with the remaining
relics was visible to the pilgrims at least until the 16th century. Later on,
at an unknown date, the people of Citium concealed them under the altar where
they remained until their discovery around the year 1972, following a fire in
the church.

Archimandrite Lazarus Georgiou
Superior-Priest of the Church
of St. Lazarus in Larnaka
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk