The faithful wept and buried him with honors in a sarcophagus made of Cypriot marble, on which they wrote in Hebrew: Lazarus ended his second earthly life at Cyprus in 63 A.D. John gave him clerical vestments and cuffs, and then they went to Mount Athos. To end the dispute, the Saint by his prayers dried up the lake and it remained salty.Īnother tradition says that the Theotokos came to Kition with John the Evangelist in order to meet Lazarus. The Synaxarion of Constantinople, speaking of this tradition, says that the lake was claimed by two brothers, who broke ties for its possession. It is said that in the middle of the salt lake today there is a well of fresh water, known as “the well of the old woman”. They claim to find when they dig there roots and trunks of vines. Workers who collect salt in this area today confirm this tradition.

In this way the entire vineyard became a salt marsh. “If you see it dried up like salt, then let it become salt,” responded Lazarus. Can you not see that the vine is dried up like salt, and you are asking me for grapes?” However, she looked at him with disdain and said: Tired and thirsty, the Saint asked the old woman for a few grapes. As the Saint was walking by he saw an old woman filling her basket with grapes. In Aliki at that time was a large vineyard. Some say he never once laughed, except one time when he saw a man steal a clay vessel, and he uttered the following saying: “One earth steals another”.Īnother tradition connects him with Aliki in Larnaca (today’s Kition). There are traditions which say he was sullen and never smiled after his resurrection, and this was due to what he saw while his soul was in Hades for four days. He shepherded the Church of Kition with great care and love for eighteen years until the end of his life. While in Cyprus, Lazarus met the apostles Paul and Barnabas, as they were traveling from Salamis to Paphos, and they ordained him the first Bishop of Kition. Another tradition says that Lazarus fled the anger of the Jews and took refuge at Kition in Cyprus around 33 A.D. Epiphanios of Cyprus (367-403), Lazarus was thirty years old when he rose from the dead, and then went on to live another 30 years following his resurrection. But what happened to Lazarus?Īccording to St. Now they wanted both Jesus and Lazarus dead. The resurrection of Lazarus brought short-lived great admiration and fame to Jesus, as evidenced by his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, but it also provoked great anger among the teachers of the Law. Four days later He arrived in Bethany, not only to bring comfort to Lazarus’ grieving sisters, but to show the power of God and perform His greatest miracle by raising him from the dead, in anticipation of His own resurrection. John the Evangelist informs us (John 11) how one day Jesus was notified of the death of Lazarus.

He lived there with his sisters Mary and Martha, and they often gave hospitality to Jesus (Luke 10:38-40 John 12:1-3). Lazarus was a close friend of Christ, from Bethany, about three kilometers east of Jerusalem.

Lazarus resurrected