Lazarus Saturday
Background
Lazarus was the brother of Martha and Mary. The family lived in the village of Bethany, about two miles east of Jerusalem on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives.
Lazarus Saturday (along with Palm Sunday) holds a unique position in the church year, as a day of joy and triumph interposed between the penitence of the Great Fast and the mourning of Holy Pascha Week. The raising, or resurrection, of Lazarus is a miracle performed by our Lord Jesus, recounted only in the gospel of St. John in which Jesus brings Lazarus of Bethany back to life four days after his burial.
In the gospel of St. John, this is the last miracle that Jesus performed before His passion and His own resurrection. Some time after the Resurrection of Christ, Lazarus was forced to flee from Judea and went to Cyprus. There Paul and Barnabas ordained him as the first bishop of Kition or modern-day Larnaca. Until this day, he is highly revered on the island of Cyprus.
According to tradition, Lazarus Saturday is celebrated on the eve of the fortieth day of the Great Lent Fast. Historically, there has been a clear practice of separating the holy forty days of the Great Fast and Pascha Week.
Mikhail, Albair Gamal. “Lazarus Saturday.” Coptic Heritage | 08 - Fast and Feast of Nineveh, 26 Dec. 2006
Spiritual Application
“The tomb became a womb, and as a womb giving birth, thus from the tomb arose the newly-formed Lazarus… Before He said ‘arise’, He provided an exit out towards the road, so that when He later resurrected him, the resurrected one might then run straightaway.”
St. John Chrysostom
We cannot live the season of Palm Sunday and accept for Christ to enter as King over our hearts without first removing the death and stench we have kept within our hearts. Therefore, living the season of Lazarus Saturday with the church is the fulfillment of the journey of repentance that we practiced during the Great Fast. Lazarus was publicly raised from the dead, was unbound so that he can walk, and was returned to his mother and the rest of his family. Likewise, we come back to ourselves with an exposed repentance when we confess our sins to the priest, we are unbound with the absolution, and we return to our Mother the church and commune once more with the rest of the body.
Also, before we begin our journey of sharing in the passion of Christ and His death, the church reminds us of the hope of the resurrection of our own bodies which is to come. Although we mourn the passion and death of Christ for our sakes, there is a sense of hope that is never lost throughout the Holy Week of Pascha, which can be tasted as inklings of joy within the mournful hymns that are chanted throughout the week.
Spiritual exercise
Let us rise up and fully empty our hearts from all malice, envy, enmity, lust and all other sources of death that we have been allowing to remain in our hearts for so long. Let’s truly live as followers of Christ with a commitment to completely living a different life than the world as true Christians. It is difficult to depart from a lifestyle we have grown so accustomed to, but the willingness to make that transition to a Christian lifestyle soon turns into a familiar way of life that is natural and also difficult to depart from.
Rites
Lazarus Saturday hymns transition between the Fasting tune of the Great Fast and the joyful Hosanna tune of Palm Sunday, using the standard tune. Being on Saturday, it is a fasting day without abstaining and without prostrations.
Matins
Similar to matins during the weekdays of the Great Fast, after the priest says “God have mercy upon us…” the lights are turned off and the prophecies are read. However, the litanies and prostrations are skipped and the priest proceeds directly to the Litany of the Gospel.
Hymns
Verses of Cymbals
Hail to Lazarus whom He raised after four days. Raise my heart, my Lord Jesus, which was killed by the evil one.
doxology
Hosanna in the highest, this is the King of Israel. Blessed is He who comes in the name, of the Lord of Hosts.
He who sits upon the cherubim, sat on a donkey. He came into Jerusalem. What is this great humility?
matins gospel
Many are the wonders, which were performed, I believe in His might, for He is the King of Glory.
intercessions verse
Through the prayers of our righteous father, Abba Lazarus the Bishop, O Lord grant us the forgiveness of our sins.
acts response
Hail to Lazarus whom He raised after four days. Raise my heart, my Lord Jesus, which was killed by the evil one.
liturgy gospel response
Hail to Lazarus whom He raised after four days. Raise my heart, my Lord Jesus, which was killed by the evil one.