Happy Palm Sunday and Lazarus Saturday
Lazarus Saturday in theis the day before Palm Sunday to which it is liturgically linked. It celebrates the raising of Lazarus of Bethany,
Lazarus of Bethany, also known as Saint Lazarus or Lazarus of the Four Days, is the subject of a prominent miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus restores him to life four days after his death.
The Raising of Lazarus forms "the climactic sign - Each of Jesus' seven signs illustrates some particular aspect of his divine authority, but this one exemplifies his power over the last and most irresistible enemy of humanitydeath. For this reason it is given a prominent place in the gospel."
The name Lazarus (Latinised from the Hebrew: , Elzr, Eleazar"God is my help") is also given to a second figure in the Bible:
In referring to John's account of the resurrection of Lazarus, the name Lazarus is often used to connote apparent restoration to life.
Raising Lazarus, Oil on Copper Plate, 1875, Carl Heinrich Bloch (Hope Gallery, Salt Lake City)
The biblical narrative of the Raising of Lazarus is found in chapter 11 of the Gospel of John. Lazarus is introduced as a follower of Jesus, who lives in the town of Bethany near Jerusalem. He is identified as the brother of the sisters Mary and Martha. The sisters send word to Jesus that Lazarus, "he whom thou lovest," is ill. Instead of immediately traveling to Bethany, according to the narrator, Jesus intentionally remains where he is for two more days before beginning the journey.
When Jesus arrives in Bethany, he finds that Lazarus is dead and has already been in his tomb for four days. He meets first with Martha and Mary in turn. Martha laments that Jesus did not arrive soon enough to heal her brother and Jesus replies with the well-known statement, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die". The narrator here gives the famous simple phrase, "Jesus wept"
In the presence of a crowd of Jewish mourners, Jesus comes to the tomb. Over the objections of Martha, Jesus has them roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb and says a prayer. He then calls Lazarus to come out and Lazarus does so, still wrapped in his grave-cloths. Jesus then calls for someone to remove the grave-cloths, and let him go.
The narrative ends with the statement that many of the witnesses to this event "believed in him." Others are said to report the events to the religious authorities in Jerusalem.
The Gospel of John mentions Lazarus again in chapter 12. Six days before the Passover on which Jesus is crucified, Jesus returns to Bethany and Lazarus attends a supper that Martha, his sister, serves. Jesus and Lazarus together attract the attention of many Jews and the narrator states that the chief priests consider having Lazarus put to death because so many people are believing in Jesus on account of this miracle.
The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, the longest coherent narrative in John aside from the Passion, is the climax of John's "signs".
The seven signs are:
Changing water into wine in John 2:1-11
Healing the royal official's son in Capernaum in John 4:46-54
Healing the paralytic at Bethesda in John 5:1-18
Feeding the 5000 in John 6:5-14
Jesus' walk on water in John 6:16-24
Healing the man born blind in John 9:1-7
Raising of Lazarus in John 11:1-45
The seven signs areevidence of new creation theology. The resurrection of Jesus is theeighth sign, indicating a week of creation (7 days, 7 signs etc.)and then a new creation beginning with the resurrection. A new week. A new time. A new way of thinking. Rebirth. Resurrection.
Main article: Tomb of Lazarus (al-Eizariya)
Reputed tomb of Lazarus in al-Eizariya
[The reputed first tomb of Lazarus at al-Eizariya in the West Bank (generally believed to be the biblical Bethany) continues to be a place of pilgrimage to this day. Several Christian churches have existed at the site over the centuries. Since the 16th century, the site of the tomb has been occupied by the al-Uzair Mosque. The adjacent Roman Catholic Church of Saint Lazarus, designed by Antonio Barluzzi and built between 1952 and 1955 under the auspices of the Franciscan Order, stands upon the site of several much older ones. In 1965, a Greek Orthodox church was built just west of the tomb.
The entrance to the tomb today is via a flight of uneven rock-cut steps from the street. As it was described in 1896, there were twenty-four steps from the then-modern street level, leading to a square chamber serving as a place of prayer, from which more steps led to a lower chamber believed to be the tomb of Lazarus.[ The same description applies today.
The first mention of a church at Bethany is in the late 4th century, but both the historian Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 330)].
The resurrection of Lazarus was the reason the crowds were looking for Jesus on what is now called "Palm Sunday", and leads directly to the decision of High Priest,Caiaphas (the main representative of the Assembly of 23 religious men,also called aSanhedrin) to kill Jesus.
It is notable that Lazarus is the only resurrected character in the Bible (besides Jesus) that Jesus personally refers to as "dead." The Daughter of Jairus, whom he resurrected at another time, was said by Jesus to have been "sleeping."
the narrative of which is found in the Gospel of John (John 11:1-45).
The high holidays: Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday together hold a unique position in the church year, as days of joy and triumph interposed between the penitence of Great Lent and the sadness/mourning of Holy Week.
During the preceding week the propers in the Lenten Triodion track the sickness and then the death of Lazarus, and Christ's journey from beyond Jordan to Bethany. This week is referred to as the "Week of Palms." (Palms were used in ancient times to cover the dirt or sandroads if someoneimportant was using the road, so that person wouldn't get sand or dirt in their shoes or on their legs).
The position of Lazarus Saturday is summed up in the first sticheron chanted at vespers on Friday:
The Raising of Lazarus Late 14th early 15th Century. Byzantium From the Collection of G. Gamon-Gumun. Russian museum
Having completed the forty days that bring profit to our soul, we beseech Thee in Thy love for humankind: Grant us also to behold the Holy Week of Thy Passion, that in it we may glorify Thy mighty acts and Thine ineffable dispensation for our sakes, singing with one mind: O Lord, glory to Thee.
During Friday vespers the reading of Genesis (which began on the first day of Great Lent) is concluded with the description of the death, burial and mourning of Jacob (Genesis 49:33-50:26) and on Friday night, at compline, a Canon on the Raising of Lazarus by Saint Andrew of Crete is sung; this is a rare full canon, having all nine canticles.
The scripture readings and hymns for this day focus on the raising of Lazarus as a foreshadowing of the Resurrection of Christ and a prefiguring of the General Resurrection.
The Gospel narrative is interpreted in the hymns as illustrating the two natures of Christ: his humanity in asking, "Where have ye laid him?" (John 11:34), and his divinity by commanding Lazarus to come forth from the dead (John 11:43). A number of the hymns, written in the first or second person, relate Lazarus' death, entombment and burial bonds symbolically to the individual's sinful state.
A lazarakia.
Lazarus Saturday is the day when, traditionally, hermits would leave their retreats in the wilderness to return to the monastery for the Holy Week services. In many places in the Russian Church, the vestments and church hangings on this day and on Palm Sunday are green, denoting the renewal of life.
In the Greek Church, it is customary on Lazarus Saturday to plait elaborate crosses out of palm leaves which will be used on Palm Sunday.
Although the forty days of Great Lent end on Lazarus Friday, this day is still observed as a fast day; however, the fast is mitigated to allow consumption of caviar, eggs being a symbol of the resurrection and prominent on Pascha, and fish eggs being a shadow thereof show the raising of Lazarus as a foreshadowing of Christ's Resurrection, as elucidated in the propers of the day.
In the Greek Orthodox Church, spice breads called Lazarakia are made and eaten on this day.
The antiquity of this commemoration is demonstrated by the homilies of St. John Chrysostom (349 - 407), St Augustine of Hippo Regia (354 - 430), and others. In the 7th and 8th centuries, special hymns and canons for the feast were written by St. Andrew of Crete, St. Cosmas of Maium and St. John Damascene, which are still sung to this day.[2]
Lazarus of Bethany, also known as Saint Lazarus or Lazarus of the Four Days, is the subject of a prominent miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus restores him to life four days after his death.
The Raising of Lazarus forms "the climactic sign - Each of Jesus' seven signs illustrates some particular aspect of his divine authority, but this one exemplifies his power over the last and most irresistible enemy of humanitydeath. For this reason it is given a prominent place in the gospel."
The name Lazarus (Latinised from the Hebrew: , Elzr, Eleazar"God is my help") is also given to a second figure in the Bible:
In referring to John's account of the resurrection of Lazarus, the name Lazarus is often used to connote apparent restoration to life.
Raising Lazarus, Oil on Copper Plate, 1875, Carl Heinrich Bloch (Hope Gallery, Salt Lake City)
The biblical narrative of the Raising of Lazarus is found in chapter 11 of the Gospel of John. Lazarus is introduced as a follower of Jesus, who lives in the town of Bethany near Jerusalem. He is identified as the brother of the sisters Mary and Martha. The sisters send word to Jesus that Lazarus, "he whom thou lovest," is ill. Instead of immediately traveling to Bethany, according to the narrator, Jesus intentionally remains where he is for two more days before beginning the journey.
When Jesus arrives in Bethany, he finds that Lazarus is dead and has already been in his tomb for four days. He meets first with Martha and Mary in turn. Martha laments that Jesus did not arrive soon enough to heal her brother and Jesus replies with the well-known statement, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die". The narrator here gives the famous simple phrase, "Jesus wept"
In the presence of a crowd of Jewish mourners, Jesus comes to the tomb. Over the objections of Martha, Jesus has them roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb and says a prayer. He then calls Lazarus to come out and Lazarus does so, still wrapped in his grave-cloths. Jesus then calls for someone to remove the grave-cloths, and let him go.
The narrative ends with the statement that many of the witnesses to this event "believed in him." Others are said to report the events to the religious authorities in Jerusalem.
The Gospel of John mentions Lazarus again in chapter 12. Six days before the Passover on which Jesus is crucified, Jesus returns to Bethany and Lazarus attends a supper that Martha, his sister, serves. Jesus and Lazarus together attract the attention of many Jews and the narrator states that the chief priests consider having Lazarus put to death because so many people are believing in Jesus on account of this miracle.
The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, the longest coherent narrative in John aside from the Passion, is the climax of John's "signs".
The seven signs are:
Changing water into wine in John 2:1-11
Healing the royal official's son in Capernaum in John 4:46-54
Healing the paralytic at Bethesda in John 5:1-18
Feeding the 5000 in John 6:5-14
Jesus' walk on water in John 6:16-24
Healing the man born blind in John 9:1-7
Raising of Lazarus in John 11:1-45
The seven signs areevidence of new creation theology. The resurrection of Jesus is theeighth sign, indicating a week of creation (7 days, 7 signs etc.)and then a new creation beginning with the resurrection. A new week. A new time. A new way of thinking. Rebirth. Resurrection.
Main article: Tomb of Lazarus (al-Eizariya)
Reputed tomb of Lazarus in al-Eizariya
[The reputed first tomb of Lazarus at al-Eizariya in the West Bank (generally believed to be the biblical Bethany) continues to be a place of pilgrimage to this day. Several Christian churches have existed at the site over the centuries. Since the 16th century, the site of the tomb has been occupied by the al-Uzair Mosque. The adjacent Roman Catholic Church of Saint Lazarus, designed by Antonio Barluzzi and built between 1952 and 1955 under the auspices of the Franciscan Order, stands upon the site of several much older ones. In 1965, a Greek Orthodox church was built just west of the tomb.
The entrance to the tomb today is via a flight of uneven rock-cut steps from the street. As it was described in 1896, there were twenty-four steps from the then-modern street level, leading to a square chamber serving as a place of prayer, from which more steps led to a lower chamber believed to be the tomb of Lazarus.[ The same description applies today.
The first mention of a church at Bethany is in the late 4th century, but both the historian Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 330)].
The resurrection of Lazarus was the reason the crowds were looking for Jesus on what is now called "Palm Sunday", and leads directly to the decision of High Priest,Caiaphas (the main representative of the Assembly of 23 religious men,also called aSanhedrin) to kill Jesus.
It is notable that Lazarus is the only resurrected character in the Bible (besides Jesus) that Jesus personally refers to as "dead." The Daughter of Jairus, whom he resurrected at another time, was said by Jesus to have been "sleeping."
the narrative of which is found in the Gospel of John (John 11:1-45).
The high holidays: Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday together hold a unique position in the church year, as days of joy and triumph interposed between the penitence of Great Lent and the sadness/mourning of Holy Week.
During the preceding week the propers in the Lenten Triodion track the sickness and then the death of Lazarus, and Christ's journey from beyond Jordan to Bethany. This week is referred to as the "Week of Palms." (Palms were used in ancient times to cover the dirt or sandroads if someoneimportant was using the road, so that person wouldn't get sand or dirt in their shoes or on their legs).
The position of Lazarus Saturday is summed up in the first sticheron chanted at vespers on Friday:
The Raising of Lazarus Late 14th early 15th Century. Byzantium From the Collection of G. Gamon-Gumun. Russian museum
Having completed the forty days that bring profit to our soul, we beseech Thee in Thy love for humankind: Grant us also to behold the Holy Week of Thy Passion, that in it we may glorify Thy mighty acts and Thine ineffable dispensation for our sakes, singing with one mind: O Lord, glory to Thee.
During Friday vespers the reading of Genesis (which began on the first day of Great Lent) is concluded with the description of the death, burial and mourning of Jacob (Genesis 49:33-50:26) and on Friday night, at compline, a Canon on the Raising of Lazarus by Saint Andrew of Crete is sung; this is a rare full canon, having all nine canticles.
The scripture readings and hymns for this day focus on the raising of Lazarus as a foreshadowing of the Resurrection of Christ and a prefiguring of the General Resurrection.
The Gospel narrative is interpreted in the hymns as illustrating the two natures of Christ: his humanity in asking, "Where have ye laid him?" (John 11:34), and his divinity by commanding Lazarus to come forth from the dead (John 11:43). A number of the hymns, written in the first or second person, relate Lazarus' death, entombment and burial bonds symbolically to the individual's sinful state.
A lazarakia.
Lazarus Saturday is the day when, traditionally, hermits would leave their retreats in the wilderness to return to the monastery for the Holy Week services. In many places in the Russian Church, the vestments and church hangings on this day and on Palm Sunday are green, denoting the renewal of life.
In the Greek Church, it is customary on Lazarus Saturday to plait elaborate crosses out of palm leaves which will be used on Palm Sunday.
Although the forty days of Great Lent end on Lazarus Friday, this day is still observed as a fast day; however, the fast is mitigated to allow consumption of caviar, eggs being a symbol of the resurrection and prominent on Pascha, and fish eggs being a shadow thereof show the raising of Lazarus as a foreshadowing of Christ's Resurrection, as elucidated in the propers of the day.
In the Greek Orthodox Church, spice breads called Lazarakia are made and eaten on this day.
The antiquity of this commemoration is demonstrated by the homilies of St. John Chrysostom (349 - 407), St Augustine of Hippo Regia (354 - 430), and others. In the 7th and 8th centuries, special hymns and canons for the feast were written by St. Andrew of Crete, St. Cosmas of Maium and St. John Damascene, which are still sung to this day.[2]
Replies
Children will go to church this morning and pet and walk with a donkey in Palm Sunday processions. Worshippers will be greeted at churches with palm leaves and palm crosses.
It\'s Palm Sunday, the beginning of the Christian Holy Week (April 13 - 20, this year), leading up to the celebration of Easter next Sunday, April 20.
Palm Sunday kicks off a busy week of religious activity. Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey (to celebrate Passover) the week that he died, according to the gospels.
Millions of Christians worldwide will carry palm leaves in processions Sunday reinacting Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem for Passover week nearly 2,000 years ago, when cheering crowds waved palms, hailing what they expected to be a political savior.
Jesus was later crucified by the Romans with crowds shouting approval.