St. Lazarus of Bethany
Raising of Lazarus, Bible Card illustration, 1905
Four-days dead, Friend of Christ
Honored in	Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Church Roman Catholic Church Eastern Catholic Churches Anglican Communion Lutheran Church
Feast	Lazarus Saturday (Eastern Churches) July 29 (2005 Martyrologium Romanum) December 17 (Western Churches)
Attributes	Sometimes vested as an apostle, sometimes as a bishop. In the scene of his resurrection, he is portrayed tightly bound in grave clothes, which resemble swaddling bands

Lazarus of Bethany, also known as Saint Lazarus or Lazarus of the Four Days, is the subject of a prominent miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus restores him to life four days after his death. The Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions offer varying accounts of the later events of his life.

In the context of the Gospel of John, the narrative of the Raising of Lazarus forms "the climactic sign... Each of Jesus' seven signs illustrates some particular aspect of his divine authority, but this one exemplifies his power over the last and most irresistible enemy of humanity--death. For this reason it is given a prominent place in the gospel."^[1]

The name Lazarus (Latinised from the Hebrew: אלעזר, Elʿāzār, Eleazar - "God is my help"^[2]) is also given to a second figure in the Bible: in the narrative of Lazarus and Dives, attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.^[3] Also called Dives and Lazarus, or The Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus, the narrative tells of the relationship (in life and in death) between an unnamed rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus. While the two characters named Lazarus have sometimes been conflated historically, they are generally understood to be two separate characters. Allusions to Lazarus as a poor beggar taken to the "Bosom of Abraham" should be understood as referring to the Lazarus mentioned in Luke, rather than the Lazarus raised from the dead in John.

In referring to John's account of the resurrection of Lazarus, the name Lazarus is often used to connote apparent restoration to life. For example, the scientific term "Lazarus taxon" denotes organisms that reappear in the fossil record after a period of apparent extinction; and the Lazarus phenomenon refers to an event in which a person spontaneously returns to life (the heart starts beating again) after resuscitation has been given up. There are also numerous literary uses of the term.

The "Raising of Lazarus"[link]

Narrative[link]

Raising Lazarus, Oil on Copper Plate, 1875, Carl Heinrich Bloch (Hope Gallery, Salt Lake City)

The biblical narrative of the Raising of Lazarus is found in chapter 11 of the Gospel of John.^[4] Lazarus is introduced as a follower of Jesus, who lives in the town of Bethany near Jerusalem.^[5] He is identified as the brother of the sisters Mary and Martha. The sisters send word to Jesus that Lazarus, "he whom thou lovest," is ill.^[6] Instead of immediately traveling to Bethany, according to the narrator, Jesus intentionally remains where he is for two more days before beginning the journey.

When Jesus arrives in Bethany, he finds that Lazarus is dead and has already been in his tomb for four days. He meets first with Martha and Mary in turn. Martha laments that Jesus did not arrive soon enough to heal her brother and Jesus replies with the well-known statement, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die".^[7] The narrator here gives the famous simple phrase, "Jesus wept".^[8]

In the presence of a crowd of Jewish mourners, Jesus comes to the tomb. Over the objections of Martha, Jesus has them roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb and says a prayer. He then calls Lazarus to come out and Lazarus does so, still wrapped in his grave-cloths. Jesus then calls for someone to remove the grave-cloths.

The narrative ends with the statement that many of the witnesses to this event "believed in him." Others are said to report the events to the religious authorities in Jerusalem.

The Gospel of John mentions Lazarus again in chapter 12. Six days before the Passover on which Jesus is crucified, Jesus returns to Bethany and Lazarus attends a supper that Martha, his sister, serves.^[9] Jesus and Lazarus together attract the attention of many Jews and the narrator states that the chief priests consider having Lazarus put to death because so many people are believing in Jesus on account of this miracle.^[10]

The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, the longest coherent narrative in John aside from the Passion, is the climax of John's "signs". It explains the crowds seeking Jesus on Palm Sunday, and leads directly to the decision of Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin to kill Jesus.

It is notable that Lazarus is the only resurrected character in the Bible (besides himself) that Jesus personally refers to as "dead." The Daughter of Jairus, whom he resurrected at another time, was said by Jesus to have been "sleeping."

A resurrection story that is very similar is also found in the controversial Secret Gospel of Mark, although the young man is not named there specifically. Some scholars believe that the Secret Mark version represents an earlier form of the canonical story found in John.

Some scholars such as Ben Witherington have suggested that Lazarus may have been the unidentified "disciple whom Jesus loved", who leaned against Jesus during the Last Supper,^[11] and who is also mentioned in several other parts of the Gospel of John, including the accounts of the crucifixion and resurrection.

Depictions in art[link]

The Raising of Lazarus is a popular subject in religious art.^[12] Two the most famous paintings are those of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (c. 1609) and Sebastiano del Piombo (1516). Among other prominent depictions of Lazarus are works by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Ivor Williams, and Lazarus Breaking His Fast by Walter Sickert.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Resurrection of Lazarus

• Paintings of the Resurrection of Lazarus
• 

  The Resurrection of Lazarus, Russian icon, 15th century, Novgorod school (State Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg)

• 

  The Raising of Lazarus, Oil on canvas, c. 1517-1519, Sebastiano del Piombo (National Gallery, London)

• 

  The Raising of Lazarus, Oil on canvas, c. 1609, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Museo Regionale, Messina)

• 

  The Raising of Lazarus, 1630-1631, Rembrandt van Rijn (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles)

• 

  The Raising of Lazarus, 1540-1545, Giuseppe Salviati

• 

  The Raising of Lazarus (after Rembrandt), Oil on paper, 1890, Vincent van Gogh (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam)

• 

  The Raising of Lazarus, 1857, Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat

Tomb of Lazarus in Bethany[link]

Reputed tomb of Lazarus in al-Eizariya

The reputed first tomb of Lazarus at al-Eizariya in the West Bank (generally believed to be the biblical Bethany) continues to be a place of pilgrimage to this day. Several Christian churches have existed at the site over the centuries. Since the 16th century, the site of the tomb has been occupied by the al-Uzair Mosque. The adjacent Roman Catholic Church of Saint Lazarus, designed by Antonio Barluzzi and built between 1952 and 1955 under the auspices of the Franciscan Order, stands upon the site of several much older ones. In 1965, a Greek Orthodox church was built just west of the tomb.

The entrance to the tomb today is via a flight of uneven rock-cut steps from the street. As it was described in 1896, there were twenty-four steps from the then-modern street level, leading to a square chamber serving as a place of prayer, from which more steps led to a lower chamber believed to be the tomb of Lazarus.^[13] The same description applies today.^[14][15]

The first mention of a church at Bethany is in the late 4th century, but both the historian Eusebius of Caesarea^[16] (c. 330) and the Bordeaux pilgrim do mention the tomb of Lazarus. In 390 Jerome mentions a church dedicated to Saint Lazarus, called the Lazarium. This is confirmed by the pilgrim Egeria in about the year 410. Therefore, the church is thought to have been built between 333 and 390.^[17] The present-day gardens contain the remnants of a mosaic floor from the 4th century church.^[18] The Lazarium was destroyed by an earthquake in the 6th century, and was replaced by a larger church. This church survived intact until the Crusader era.

In 1143 the existing structure and lands were purchased by King Fulk and Queen Melisende of Jerusalem and a large Benedictine convent dedicated to Mary and Martha was built near the tomb of Lazarus. After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the convent was deserted and fell into ruin with only the tomb and barrel vaulting surviving. By 1384, a simple mosque had been built on the site.^[15] In the 16th century, the Ottomans built the larger al-Uzair Mosque to serve the town's (now Muslim) inhabitants and named it in honor of the town's patron saint, Lazarus of Bethany.^[18]

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913, there were scholars who questioned the reputed site of the ancient village (though this was discounted by the Encyclopedia's author):

Some believe that the present village of Bethany does not occupy the site of the ancient village; but that it grew up around the traditional cave which they suppose to have been at some distance from the house of Martha and Mary in the village; Zanecchia (La Palestine d'aujourd'hui, 1899, I, 445f.) places the site of the ancient village of Bethany higher up on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, not far from the accepted site of Bethphage, and near that of the Ascension. It is quite certain that the present village formed about the traditional tomb of Lazarus, which is in a cave in the village. The identification of this cave as the tomb of Lazarus is merely possible; it has no strong intrinsic or extrinsic authority. The site of the ancient village may not precisely coincide with the present one, but there is every reason to believe that it was in this general location."^[19]

Additional traditions about Lazarus of Bethany[link]

While there is no further mention of Lazarus in the Bible, the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions offer varying accounts of the later events of his life. He is most commonly associated with Cyprus, where he is said to have become the first bishop of Kition (Larnaka), and Provence, where he is said to have been the first bishop of Marseille.

Bishop of Kition[link]

According to Eastern Orthodox Church tradition, sometime after the Resurrection of Christ, Lazarus was forced to flee Judea because of rumoured plots on his life and came to Cyprus. There he was appointed by Paul and Barnabas as the first bishop of Kition (present-day Larnaka). He lived there for thirty more years and on his death was buried there for the second and last time.^[20]

Further establishing the apostolic nature of Lazarus' appointment was the story that the bishop's pallium was presented to Lazarus by the Virgin Mary, who had woven it herself. Such apostolic connections were central to the claims to autocephaly made by the bishops of Kition—subject to the patriarch of Jerusalem—during the period 325–413. The church of Kition was declared (or confirmed) self-governing in 413^{[citation needed]}.

According to tradition, Lazarus never smiled during the thirty years after his resurrection, worried by the sight of unredeemed souls he had seen during his four-day stay in Hades. The only exception was, when he saw someone stealing a pot, he smilingly said: "the clay steals the clay."^[20]

In 890, a tomb was found in Larnaca bearing the inscription "Lazarus the friend of Christ". Emperor Leo VI of Byzantium had Lazarus' remains transferred to Constantinople in 898. The transfer was apostrophized by Arethas, bishop of Caesarea, and is commemorated by the Orthodox Church each year on October 17.

In recompense to Larnaca, Emperor Leo had the Church of St. Lazarus, which still exists today, erected over Lazarus' tomb. The marble sarcophagus can be seen inside the church under the Holy of Holies. On November 2, 1972, human remains in a marble sarcophagus under the altar were discovered during renovation works in the church at Larnaka, and were identified as part of the saint's relics.^{[citation needed]}

After the sacking of Constantinople by the Franks during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the Crusaders carried the saint's relics to Marseilles, France as part of the booty of war. From there, "later on, they disappeared and up to the present day they have not been traced."^[20]

Bishop of Marseille[link]

Autun Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Lazare d'Autun), Autun, France also said to be built over the tomb of Lazarus

In the West, according to an alternative medieval tradition (centered in Provence), Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, were "put out to sea by the Jews hostile to Christianity in a vessel without sails, oars, or helm, and after a miraculous voyage landed in Provence at a place called today the Saintes-Maries."^[21] The family is then said to separate and go in different parts of southeastern Gaul to preach; Lazarus goes to Marseilles. Converting many people to Christianity there, he becomes the first Bishop of Marseille. During the persecution of Domitian, he is imprisoned and beheaded in a cave beneath the prison Saint-Lazare. His body is later translated to Autun, where he is buried in the Autun Cathedral, dedicated to Lazarus as Saint Lazare. However, the inhabitants of Marseilles claim to be in possession of his head which they still venerate.^[21]

Pilgrims also visit another purported tomb of Lazarus at the Vézelay Abbey in Burgundy.^{[citation needed]} In the Abbey of the Trinity at Vendôme, a phylactery was said to contain a tear shed by Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus.^{[citation needed]}

The Golden Legend, compiled in the 13th century, records the Provençal tradition. It also records a grand lifestyle imagined for Lazarus and his sisters (note that therein Lazarus' sister Mary is conflated with Mary Magdalene):

Mary Magdalene had her surname of Magdalo, a castle, and was born of right noble lineage and parents, which were descended of the lineage of kings. And her father was named Cyrus, and her mother Eucharis. She with her brother Lazarus, and her sister Martha, possessed the castle of Magdalo, which is two miles from Nazareth, and Bethany, the castle which is nigh to Jerusalem, and also a great part of Jerusalem, which, all these things they departed among them. In such wise that Mary had the castle Magdalo, whereof she had her name Magdalene. And Lazarus had the part of the city of Jerusalem, and Martha had to her part Bethany. And when Mary gave herself to all delights of the body, and Lazarus entended all to knighthood, Martha, which was wise, governed nobly her brother's part and also her sister's, and also her own, and administered to knights, and her servants, and to poor men, such necessities as they needed. Nevertheless, after the ascension of our Lord, they sold all these things.^[22]

The 15c poet Georges Chastellain draws on the tradition of the unsmiling Lazarus^[23]: "He whom God raised, doing him such grace, the thief, Mary's brother, thereafter had naught but misery and painful thoughts, fearing what he should have to pass". (Le pas de la mort, VI^[24]).

Liturgical commemorations[link]

Lazarus is honored as a saint by those Christian churches which keep the commemoration of saints, although on different days, according to local traditions.

In Christian funerals the idea of the deceased being raised by the Lord as Lazarus was raised is often expressed in prayer.

Eastern Orthodoxy[link]

In the Eastern Orthodox Church as well as the Byzantine Catholic Church, the day before Palm Sunday is celebrated as Lazarus Saturday.^[25] This day, together with Palm Sunday, hold a unique position in the church year, as days of joy and triumph between the penitence of Great Lent and the mourning of Holy Week.^[26] During the preceding week, the hymns in the Lenten Triodion track the sickness and then the death of Lazarus, and Christ's journey from beyond Jordan to Bethany. The scripture readings and hymns for Lazarus Saturday focus on the resurrection of Lazarus as a foreshadowing of the Resurrection of Christ, and a promise of the General Resurrection. The Gospel narrative is interpreted in the hymns as illustrating the two natures of Christ: his humanity in asking, "Where have ye laid him?",^[27] and his divinity by commanding Lazarus to come forth from the dead.^[28] Many of the Resurrectional hymns of the normal Sunday service, which are omitted on Palm Sunday, are chanted on Lazarus Saturday. During the Divine Liturgy, the Baptismal Hymn, "As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ",^[29] is sung in place of the Trisagion.

Although the forty days of Great Lent end on the day before Lazarus Saturday, the day is still observed as a fast; however, it is somewhat mitigated. In Russia, it is traditional to eat caviar on Lazarus Saturday.

Roman Catholicism[link]

No celebration of Saint Lazarus is included on the General Roman Calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. At one time, his memorial was listed in the Roman Martyrology for December 17.^[30] The 2005 edition of the Martyrology moved his memorial to July 29, the same day as the memorial of his sister Martha.^[31]

In Cuba, the celebration of San Lázaro on December 17 is a major festival. The date is celebrated with a pilgrimage to a chapel housing an image Saint Lazarus, one of Cuba's most sacred icons, in the village of El Rincon, outside Havana.^[32]

Lutheranism[link]

Lazarus is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on July 29 together with Mary and Martha.

Conflation with the beggar Lazarus of Lazarus and Dives[link]

Historically within Christianity, the begging Lazarus of the parable (feast day June 21) and Lazarus of Bethany (feast day December 17) have often been conflated, with some churches celebrating a blessing of dogs, associated with the beggar, on December 17, the date associated with Lazarus of Bethany.^[33]

Another example of this conflation can be found in Romanesque iconography carved on portals in Burgundy and Provence. For example, at the west portal of the Church of St. Trophime at Arles, the beggar Lazarus is enthroned as St. Lazarus. Similar examples are found at the church at Avallon, the central portal at Vézelay, and the portals of the cathedral of Autun.^[34]

Order of Saint Lazarus[link]

The Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem (OSLJ) is a religious/military order of chivalry which originated in a leper hospital founded by Knights Hospitaller in the twelfth century by Crusaders of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Sufferers of leprosy regarded the beggar Lazarus (of Luke 16:19-31) as their patron saint and usually dedicated their hospices to him.^[35]

Lazarus as Babalu Aye in Santería[link]

Via syncretism, Lazarus (or more precisely the conflation of the two figures named Lazarus) has become an important figure in Santería as the Yoruba deity Babalu Aye. Like the beggar of the Christian Gospel of Luke, Babalu-Aye represents someone covered with sores licked by dogs who was healed by divine intervention.^[32][36] Silver charms known as the crutch of St. Lazarus or standard Roman Catholic-style medals of St. Lazarus are worn as talismans to invoke the aid of the syncretized deity in cases of medical suffering, particularly for people with AIDS.^[36] In Santería, the date associated with St. Lazarus is December 17,^[32] despite Santería's reliance on the iconography associated with the begging saint whose feast day is June 21.^[33]

In culture[link]

Well known in Western culture from their respective biblical tales, both figures named Lazarus (Lazarus of Bethany and the Beggar Lazarus of Lazarus and Dives), have appeared countless times in music, writing and art. The majority of the references are to Lazarus of Bethany, including the following:

• In literature, allusions to Lazarus are made in several notable works. A few prominent examples include Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, several novels of Robert A. Heinlein, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr., a short story entitled 'Lazarus' by Russian writer Leonid Andreyev,^[37]"A Tree of Night" by Truman Capote, and "Lady Lazarus", a poem written by Sylvia Plath. Stephen King's novel, "Pet Sematary" also refers to the resurrection of Lazarus on several occasions within the text. John Derhak's novel, The Bones of Lazarus, blends fact and fiction, portraying Lazarus as an immortal creature of Judgment.
• In music, a popular retelling of the biblical Lazarus story from the point of view of Lazarus in heaven is the 1984 gospel story-song "Lazarus Come Forth" by Contemporary Christian Music artist Carman.^[38][39] A modern reinterpretation of the story is the title track to the album "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" by the Australian alternative band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Several other bands have composed songs titled "Lazarus" in allusion to the resurrection story, including Porcupine Tree, Conor Oberst, Chimaira, moe., and Placebo.
• In Joshua, My Brother, author O.F. Gnal suggests that the "death" of Lazarus was a rebirth ritual of the very early Church and that the name relates to an earlier Egyptian resurrection of "Al-Azarus".
• In the steampunk video game Darkwatch, Lazarus is the main antagonist of the game. In this version, he was a former vampire hunter who, in his arrogance, fused his body and soul with a demon in the hopes of acquiring a stronger power to fight against the vampiric forces who destroyed ancient Rome. However, this attempt failed as he became a vampire lord as a result of the experiment and turned against the Darkwatch organization he created.
• Lazarus is shown in the film The Last Temptation of Christ, Lazarus is shown resurrected but later he is killed by Saul in order to discredit Jesus.
• Lazarus is alluded to in other media, including the movie Casper, the television series The X-Files ("Lazarus", "Hollywood A.D."), Doctor Who ("The Lazarus Experiment"), "Supernatural" ("Lazarus Rising"), and the Batman comic books.

Literatary allusions to the Beggar Lazarus appear in Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick (as part of a metaphor describing a cold night in New Bedford)^[40] and in the poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot (which contains the lines: 'To say: "I am Lazarus, come from the dead,/Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all" ', in reference to Dives' request to have Beggar Lazarus return from the dead to tell his brothers of his fate).

When John Howard lost the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia, he rated his chances of regaining it as "Lazarus with a triple bypass".^[41] Howard did regain the leadership and went on to become Prime Minister of Australia.

Former President of Haiti, Jean Bertrand Aristide, was termed the "Haitian Lazarus" by journalist Amy Wilentz, in her description of his return to Haiti from exile and the political significance of this event.^[42]

The Lazarus Effect (film) is a documentary project for HIV AIDS awareness by U2 musician Bono's private sector brand initiative (RED) (Product Red). Promotion involved the recruitment of high profile celebrities to advocate for consumer funding for effective ARV (Antiretroviral drug) therapy which cost just US$0.40 a day to provide.^[43][44][45] "In as few as 40 days, the medicine can help bring people back to life"^[46] from this viral illness, hence its reference to the story of the ((Raising of Lazarus)).

In Mass Effect 2 (2011), Commander Shepard, the main character, is killed and is revived under a project named The Lazarus Project

The scientific term "Lazarus taxon", which denotes organisms that reappear in the fossil record after a period of apparent extinction. The Lazarus phenomenon refers to an event in which a person spontaneously returns to life (the heart starts beating again) after resuscitation has been given up.

References[link]

Look up Lazarus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Lazarus may refer to:

• Lazarus (name), a surname and given name (and a list of people with this name)

People[link]

• Lazarus of Bethany, a figure in the Gospel of John, which describes him being raised by Jesus from the dead
• Lazarus from the Rich man and Lazarus story spoken by Jesus, unrelated to the Lazarus "raised from the dead"
• Lazarus of Persia (died 326), Persian martyr
• Lazarus (bishop of Milan), Archbishop of Milan from 438 to 449

Music[link]

• Lazarus (band), a 1970's folk band
• Lazarus (Lazarus album) (1971)
• Lazarus (Travie McCoy album) (2010)
• "Lazarus" (song), a song by Porcupine Tree
• "Lazarus", a song by the Boo Radleys
• "Lazarus", a song by Chimaira
• "Lazarus", a song by Circa Survive
• "Lazarus", a song by Fozzy
• "Lazarus", a song by Hacride
• "Lazarus", a song by moe.
• "Lazarus", a song by Placebo

Television[link]

• "Lazarus" (The X-Files), a 1994 episode of The X-Files
• "Lazarus" (Smallville), an episode of Smallville
• Lazarus, a character in the Star Trek episode "The Alternative Factor"
• Professor Lazarus, character in the Doctor Who episode "The Lazarus Experiment"
• Lazarus, a fictional virus in Sanctuary

Film[link]

• Lazarus, a character in Black Snake Moan
• Dr. Lazarus, a character in Galaxy Quest
• Lazarus, a fictional machine in Casper

Other uses[link]

• Lazarus (IDE), an integrated development environment for Free Pascal
• Lazarus (department store), a defunct department store chain now branded as Macy's
• Ultima V: Lazarus, a 2005 fan remake of the RPG Ultima V using the Dungeon Siege engine
• Team Lazarus, an Italian motor racing team currently competing in the Auto GP series
• Project Lazarus, a plot element in Mass Effect 2

See also[link]

• Order of Saint Lazarus, a religious/military order which picked Lazarus as their patron saint
• St. Lazarus Parish, a parish in Macau
• Tomb of Lazarus (al-Eizariya), near which is the Church of Saint Lazarus
• Lazarus taxon, a taxon that disappears from a period of the fossil record only to appear again later
• Lazarus effect, an unusable semiconductor detector fixing itself at cryogenic temperatures
• Lazarus phenomenon, an unexpected return of spontaneous circulation after resuscitation has been abandoned
• Lazarus sign, a reflex movement in brain-dead patients, which causes them to briefly raise their arms and drop them crossed on their chests
• Lazarus A.D., a thrash metal band from Wisconsin
• "Project: Lazarus", a Doctor Who audio drama
• Lazaretto, a quarantine station for maritime travelers
• Saint-Lazare (disambiguation)

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