The Church of Saint Lazarus is a Roman Catholic church located near the tomb of Lazarus in the West Bank village of Bethany. Lazarus ( Hebrew: אלעזר Elʿāzār Eleazar "God (has helped" is the name of two separate men mentioned in the New Testament. The West Bank (الضفة الغربية, הגדה המערבית Hagadah Hamaaravit) also referred to in Israel as " Judea and Samaria Bethany (בֵּית עַנְיָה or ביתניה is recorded in the New Testament as the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, as well The current Franciscan church stands upon the site of many, much older ones.
History
Although their is no mention of a church at Bethany through the 4th century, both the Bordeaux pilgrim, in the Itinerarium Burdigalense, [1] and Eusebius the historian [2] do mention the tomb of Lazarus, and around c. The Itinerarium Burdigalense (also known as the Itinerarium Hierosolymitanum) is the oldest known Itinerarium, written by an anonymous pilgrim from Burdigala (present-day 390 AD St. Jerome recounts visiting the guest room of Mary and Martha at the site of a new church of Lazarus, (the Lazarium). Jerome (c 347 – September 30, 420) ( Latin: Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος St. Jerome's description of the Lazarium is confirmed by the pilgrim Egeria in her Itinerary recounting of the liturgy of the word as it was celebrated at the Lazarium. In early Christian history, Egeria, also known as Aetheria, is the name of a Spanish or Gallic woman who made a Pilgrimage to [3] [4] The Lazarium was destroyed by an earthquake in the 6th century, and was replaced by a larger church. This church was mentioned by the Coptic pope Theodosius I c. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and Pope Theodosius I of Alexandria (died 567 was the Coptic Pope from 535 until his death and until 536 also recognized as Patriarch of Alexandria by the Eastern 518 [5] and by Arculf c. Arculf (later 7th century was a monk of Gaul said by Bede to be a bishop ( "Galliarum Episcopus") who according to Bede's history of the Church in England 680. [6] It survived intact until the Crusader era. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents
In 1143, King Fulk and Queen Melisende of Jerusalem purchased the village of Bethany from the Patriarch of the Holy Sepulchre in exchange for land near Hebron [7]. Fulk V (1089/1092 &ndash November 13, 1143) also known as Fulk the Younger, was Count of Anjou from 1109 to 1129 and Melisende of Jerusalem (1105 &ndash September 11, 1161) was Queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1153 The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Sanctum Sepulchrum also called the Church of the Resurrection, ( Greek: Ναός της Αναστάσεως Naos tis Anastaseos Hebron ( al-Ḫalīl or al-Khalīl, Standard Hebrew: Ḥevron Tiberian Hebrew: Ḥeḇrôn is the largest city in the West Bank, located in the south The queen built a large Benedictine convent dedicated to Mary and Martha near the tomb of Lazarus and extensively repaired the 6th century church. Benedictine refers to the Spirituality and Consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in She also built a new west church to St. Lazarus over his tomb; fortified the complex with a tower; and bestowed the nuns of the convent with the estates of the village of Jericho. Jericho ( Arabic, ʼArīḥā; Hebrew, Standard Yəriḥo Tiberian Yərîḫô
After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the nuns of the convent went into exile. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the The new west church was most likely destroyed at this time, with only the tomb and barrel vaulting surviving; the 6th century church and tower were also heavily damaged at this time but remained standing.
In the 16th century, the Mosque of al-Uzair was built in the surviving vaulting, which initially made Christian access to the tomb difficult. Eventually the Franciscans were permitted to cut a new entrance into the tomb on the north side. At some point the original entrance from the mosque was blocked. This entrance can still be seen in the east wall of the church's antechamber; this alignment suggests the tomb does indeed predate the Byzantine churches and may very well be from the time of Lazarus.
Design and Construction
From 1952-55 a modern Franciscan church dedicated to St. Lazarus was built over the Byzantine and crusader east churches. The courtyard of this church stands over the west end of the older churches. Parts of the original mosaic floor are still visible here. The west wall of the courtyard contains the west facade of the 6th century basilica, as well as its three doorways.
The church proper is set in a cruciform pattern and stands over the east end of the older churches. Visitors can view parts of the apse of the Lazarium through trapdoors in the floor, just inside the main entrance. The modern church includes a facade mosaic depicting Mary, Martha, and Lazarus; and the interior is decorated with polished stone and mosaics. About twenty-five meters up a hill to the left of the church is the modern entrance to the Tomb of Lazarus.
The architect of the modern church was Antonio Barluzzi. Barluzzi, the architect of several shrines and sanctuaries built during the first half of the 20th century, is also known for some of his other works in Jerusalem, such as the Church of the Visitation at Ein Karem, the sanctuary church of Dominus Flevit on the Mount of Olives, the Basilica of the Agony at Gethsemane, and the Church of the Flagellation on the Via Dolorosa. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the History The Church of the Visitation is the older of two churches located at Ein Karem, in present day Israel. Ein Kerem (عين كارم עין כרם lit Spring of the Vineyard) also commonly known as Ein Karem, is a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem Dominus Flevit is a Roman Catholic church located on the Mount of Olives immediately facing the Old City of Jerusalem in modern day Israel The Mount of Olives (also Mount Olivet, جبل الزيتون الطور Jebel az-Zeitun הר הזיתים Har HaZeitim; is a mountain ridge in east The Church of All Nations, also known as the Church or Basilica of the Agony, is a Roman Catholic church located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem Gethsemane ( Greek ΓεσΘημανι Gesthēmani ' Hebrew: גת שמנים, from Aramaic גת שמנא Gat Šmānê, lit The Church of the Flagellation is a Roman Catholic church located in the eastern or old section of Jerusalem, near the Saint Stephen's Gate Via Dolorosa ( Latin for "Way of Grief" or "Way of Suffering" is a street in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Sources
- ^ The Pilgrim of Bordeaux - Jerusalem
- ^ The Onomastikon of Eusebius and the Madaba Map - By Leah Di Segni
- ^ Bethany in Byzantine Times I
- ^ Bethany in Byzantine Times II
- ^ A Source Book for Ancient Church History
- ^ De Locis Sanctis
- ^ Wikipedia Article - Bethany
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