AGIOS LAZAROS CHURCH
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Larnaka's most important monument, built from the 9thonwards. Houses relics attributed to Saint Lazarus of Bethany.
This Greek Orthodox church (Ιερός Ναός Αγίου Λαζάρου/Ieros Naos Agiou Lazarou, St Lazarus Church) is Larnaka's finest monument. It was built from the 9th century onwards on the site of the supposed tomb of Saint Lazarus of Bethany, a person famous for having been resurrected by Christ. Altered several times, it lost its frescoes and suffered a serious fire in 1970. Today, it is a place of pilgrimage attracting Christians from all over the world. The church also gives Larnaka its name. It was built on the site of the discovery, in 890, of a larnax, a funerary chest containing the remains of a certain Lazarus. Lazarus was the city's first bishop and died here in 63 AD. Was he Lazarus of Bethany? No source attests to this, but it's plausible. In any case, following this discovery, the present-day church was built. As for the larnax, it was transferred to Constantinople, the Byzantine capital. But it was stolen by the Crusaders in 1204 and soon afterwards disappeared from Marseille. However, in 1972, during work carried out after the fire, new bones were discovered in the Larnaka church. Locally considered to be those of Lazarus of Bethany, they have since attracted many pilgrims.
Visit. This triple-naved basilica forms a rectangle 31.5 m long and 14.5 m wide. It has walls of limestone blocks one metre thick and features elements from different periods, the most recent of which is the elegant neo-Gothic bell tower, 25 m high, added in 1857. The church is entered from the south, under the portico, by descending a flight of steps. Inside, the purity of the rough walls contrasts with the richness of the furnishings. The most impressive part is the gold-covered wooden iconostasis, one of the most precious in Cyprus. Carved around 1773-1782, damaged in 1970 and subsequently restored, it features no fewer than 120 sacred images. Below the altar, it is possible to descend into the tiny crypt where the bones were discovered in 1972. They are displayed in a silver larnax in the north wing. This is also the site of Larnaka's most venerated icon, that of Saint Lazarus (16th century). It is brought out in the city on Lazarus Saturday, eight days before Orthodox Easter. On this day, tradition also calls for the eating of lazarakia ("little Lazarus"), bread rolls depicting a figure wrapped in a shroud with cloves in place of eyes.
On the edge of the church, lie the broken columns and the remains of statues. You are in the cemetery adjacent to the building. Despite the heat of summer, you will feel freshness and calm who relax from this site. Saint Lazare was buried here after the resurrection of Béthanie. But this tomb siena or was Le Saint it still built for eternity? Do not forget to pay homage to discovering in its sanctuary. Some relics, but you have the strange feeling to be in necrophagous, all these bones within reach. The temperature falls abruptly, and the shades are propagated on the wall. It is
the effect of the Smart one?
The interior of the church is extraordinary, between a certain simplicity and gold who had with the rich furniture. The statue of the Saint is near the entrance, object of pilgrimage and worship at Easter. Moreover, pigeons rooftop seem very respectful of icon avoiding soiling. You can rest your emotions going to have a coffee " chypriote" on the lively fortified town. But especially, do not order a Turkish coffee, into a do more than just tourist, Cyprus is always divided into two by an unclean demarcation line and is occupied by the Turks in the best part of the island. Then, you will return home, by bearing a little eternity in contact with Saint Lazare.
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