Church of Saint Lazarus, Israel

The Church of Saint Lazarus is a Roman Catholic church located near the tomb of Lazarus in the West Bank village of Bethany. 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" [ [http://homepages.luc.edu/~avande1/jerusalem/sources/bordeauxJerus.htm The Pilgrim of Bordeaux - Jerusalem ] ] and the historian Eusebius of Caesarea [ [http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/mad/articles/DiSegniOnomasticon.html The Onomastikon of Eusebius and the Madaba Map - By Leah Di Segni ] ] do mention the tomb of Lazarus, and around the year 390 Jerome recounts visiting the guest room of Mary and Martha at the site of a new church of Lazarus (the Lazarium). 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. [ [http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/san/BET04byz.html Bethany in Byzantine Times I ] ] [ [http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/san/BET05lit.html Bethany in Byzantine Times II ] ] 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 of Alexandria around 518 [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=gWkkvc7303AC&pg=PA352&lpg=PA352&dq=theodosius+church+of+lazarus&source=web&ots=P-yjooAbRf&sig=hHfKAGuRptsCjBSzQ73TYZxA6X4&hl=en#PPA352,M1 A Source Book for Ancient Church History] ] and by Arculf c.680. [ [http://chass.colostate-pueblo.edu/history/seminar/arculf.htm De Locis Sanctis ] ] [ [http://chass.colostate-pueblo.edu/history/seminar/arculf/arculfus.htm De Locis Sanctis ] ] It survived intact until the Crusader era.

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. The queen built a large Benedictine convent dedicated to Mary and Martha near the tomb of Lazarus and extensively repaired the 6th century church. 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.

After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the nuns of the convent went into exile. 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.

ources