Church of the Holy Lazarus ( Greek Ιερός Ναός Αγίου Λαζάρου ) is an Orthodox church of the 9th century in the city of Larnaca , Republic of Cyprus . It is administered by the Chinese Metropolitanate of the Cyprus Orthodox Church .
| Orthodox Church | |
| Church of St. Lazarus | |
|---|---|
| Ιερός Ναός Αγίου Λαζάρου | |
 | |
| A country |  Cyprus |
| Location | |
| Denomination | Orthodoxy |
| Established | 898 year |
| Relics and Shrines | tomb of St. Lazarus |
| condition | acting |
| Site | en.agioslazaros.org.cy |
The church is named after the righteous Lazarus of Bethany , who, according to the Gospel, was resurrected by Jesus Christ . After the Resurrection of Christ, Lazarus was forced, due to persecution, to leave Judea and move to Cyprus in 33, where soon the apostles Paul and Barnabas in 45 made him the first bishop of Kition (the old name of the city of Larnaca). After the resurrection, he lived for another thirty years, and then died a second time in Cyprus in 63 [2] . Above his tomb, the church of St. Lazarus was built.
After the Crusades, part of his relics was transferred to Marseille from Constantinople . Before that event, only part of his relics was transferred to Constantinople, his head was left in Cyprus [3] . So the legend arose that Saint Lazarus from Bethany preached in France, became the bishop of Marseilles and was buried on the site of the future fr Cathedral of Saint Lazarus in Autun [4] [5] .
History
According to legend, the tomb of Lazarus was lost during the period of Arab rule in the middle of the VII century . In 890, a tomb was discovered in Larnaca with the inscription “Lazarus the Four-Day, Friend of Christ” . By decree of Emperor Leo VI, the relics of Lazarus were transferred to Constantinople in 898 , where they were laid in the temple of the Righteous Lazarus. The transfer of the relics soon became an Orthodox holiday, celebrated on October 17 (30) .
At the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th centuries , the church of St. Lazarus was built over the grave of Lazarus in Larnaca . It is one of the three Byzantine churches preserved in Cyprus . The temple has an oblong rectangular shape with a three-sided apse on the facade. Inside the temple is divided into three naves with a bulky double colonnade and arched spans between them. The temple was crowned with three domes and a bell tower on the southeast side.
From the 13th to the 16th century , during the reign of the Lusignan and Venetian dynasty on the island, the temple began to belong to the Roman Catholic Church . On the south side was attached to it a massive portico in the Gothic style . In the early years of Ottoman rule ( 1571 ), the church became a mosque and its three domes with a bell tower were destroyed. In 1589, the Turks sold it to the Orthodox Church, and in the next two centuries it was used for both Orthodox and Catholic services. In 1857 , after the completion of Ottoman rule on the island, it was allowed to rebuild the bell tower at the temple.
The unique baroque iconostasis of the church was made between 1773 and 1782 . Soon it was gilded and painted. The interior of the temple was badly damaged during a fire in 1970 . [6] During the repair of the church in November 1972, a marble sarcophagus with human remains was discovered under the altar, which was identified as the relics of St. Lazarus, which apparently had not been completely taken to Constantinople .
Eight days before Easter , on Lazarus Saturday , the icon of the saint is worn in the streets of Larnaca during a festive procession.
Notes
- ↑ archINFORM - 1994.
- ↑ Michaelides MG Saint Lazarus, The Friend Of Christ And First Bishop Of Kition. - Larnaca, Cyprus, 1984. - Reprint. by Fr. Demetrios Serfes at St. Lazarus The Friend Of Christ And First Bishop Of Kition, Cyprus .
- ↑ Larnaca. Church of St. Lazarus .
- ↑ THE WORSHIP OF SAINT LAZARUS IN THE WEST AND RELATED TRADITIONS Archived February 12, 2015 on the Wayback Machine .
- ↑ St. Lazarus of Bethany // Catholic Encyclopedia . - New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1913 .
- ↑ Dubin, Marc and Damien Morris (2002). Cyprus: The Rough Guide (4th ed.). Published by Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-85828-863-5 .
Literature
- Sofronios R. Michaelides // "St. Lazarus, Friend of Christ and the First Bishop of China (History of His Temple in Larnaca)", Larnaca, Cyprus, 1999 (Russian)