'Lazarus Saturday', in the
Eastern Orthodox and
Byzantine Catholic Churches, is the day before
Palm Sunday, and is liturgically linked to it. The feast celebrates the
resurrection of
Lazarus of
Bethany, the narrative of which is found in .
Liturgical aspects
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 mourning of
Holy Week.
[1]
During the preceding week, which is the last week of Great Lent, the hymns 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" or the "Flowery Week."
[2] During the
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Friday evening, 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 (), which corresponds perfectly with the message of Lazarus Saturday, deepening the sense of sorrow and hope. On Friday night, at
Compline, the ''
Canon on the Resurrection of Lazarus'' by Saint
Andrew of Crete is read. This is a long canon, having all nine
Canticles (most canons omit the Second Canticle).
The scripture readings and hymns for Lazarus Saturday focus on the resurrection of Lazarus as a foreshadowing of the
Resurrection of Christ, and a promise 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?" (), and his ''divinity'' by commanding Lazarus to come forth from the dead (). 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. Many of the Resurrectional hymns of the normal Sunday service, which are omitted on Palm Sunday, are chanted on Lazarus Saturday. However, the
Litany of the Departed, which is normally forbidden at the Sunday services, is allowed. During the
Divine Liturgy, the Baptismal Hymn, "As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (), is sung in place of the
Trisagion. This indicates that this was a day on which
baptisms were traditionally performed.
[3] Although the forty days of Great Lent end on the day before Lazarus Saturday, the day is still observed as a fast; however, it is somewhat mitigated. In Russia, it is traditional to eat
caviar on Lazarus Saturday.
Customs
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.
History
The ancientness of this commemoration is demonstrated by the homilies of
St. John Chrysostom (
349 -
407),
Blessed Augustine (
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.
Armenian Church
The Resurrection of Lazarus is also commemorated on this same Saturday according to the
Church Calendar of the
Armenian Apostolic Church.
Notes
1. Archimandrite Kallistos Ware and Mother Mary, Tr., ''The Lenten Triodion'' (St. Tikhon's Seminary Press, South Canaan, PA, 2002, ISBN 1-878997-51-3), p. 57.
2. Sergei Bulgakov, ''Nastolnaya Kniga Dlya Svyaschenno-Tserkovno-Sluzhitelei'' (Handbook for Church Servers), 2nd edition (Kharkov, Ukraine, 1900), Tr. Fr. Eugene Tarris. The Sixth Week of Great Lent. Accessed 2007-04-02.
3. Ibid.
External links
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