Lazarev Saturday

The day preceding Palm Sunday is revered by Christians and celebrated as Lazarus Saturday The holiday is not tied to a specific date, because it is calculated according to the lunisolar, not solar, calendar and is moving The miracle that was performed in front of many witnesses is one of the proofs of faith At the moment when Lazarus of Bethaniah (according to some legends, he was the brother of Mary Magdalene) died, the cult of the Savior had not yet become widespread Jesus himself predicted the glory of God for the event of the resurrection of the deceased, saying that Lazarus’ illness did not lead to death, but to the glorification of the Son of God He himself led his disciples to the resting place of the deceased, “so that they might believe” And so it happened In the times described, the Jews had a tradition of burying their dead in caves, the entrance to which was blocked with stones When Jesus approached that stone, Lazarus from Bethany had already been lying dead for four days, having died from illness The teary-eyed Savior began to pray earnestly, turning to his Father asking for help In the prayers of Jesus, a cry for a miracle was clearly expressed, as a need for confirmation to the people standing nearby: it was God who sent his Son After fervent prayer, the Savior rolled away the funeral stone and said only three words: “Lazarus! Go (in some translations “go out”) out” A miracle turned out to have been created; yesterday’s deceased appeared at the entrance to the cave, revived and entwined throughout his body with ritual funeral linens After the first shock had passed, they untied the resurrected man and rejoiced at his miraculous revival The people who were nearby and saw everything with their own eyes believed in Jesus of Nazareth as the new Messiah Fame quickly spread around And it was this moment that is considered a turning point in the decision of the Pharisees to put an end to the life of the one who is revered as the Son of God and who is causing confusion and disorder in Jerusalem This was followed by the entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey, the townspeople greeted the Savior and greeted them with palm branches, expressing royal honors, which further strengthened the authorities in their desire to “kill Him” Lazarus accepted persecution, being a living symbol of the faithfulness of the Savior’s words and real proof that the Son of God has great power over the souls of believers The resurrected man had to leave Judea to escape persecution It is noteworthy that, together with other saints, Celidonius and Maximian, Lazarus was landed at sea on a boat without oars The little boat washed up on the island of Cyprus, this happened in 33 AD There, the brother of Mary Magdalene spent another thirty years preaching and popularizing Christianity He served in the temple of ancient Kition, now Larnaca Lazarus died while Bishop of Kitia Nowadays the holiday is revered as an assurance and confirmation of the resurrection of all the dead from among the sincere and devout believers Just as Lazarus of Bethany (aka Lazarus the Four-Day) was once revived, now revered by Christians as a righteous man