Lazarus Saturday | |
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Also called | List
|
Observed by | Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Christians |
Type | Eastern Christian |
Date | Variable (depends on the paschal computus) |
2023 date | 8 April |
2024 date | 27 April |
2025 date | 12 April |
Frequency | Annual |
Related to | Raising of Lazarus, Great Lent, Palm Sunday |
Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox,[1][2] and Eastern Catholic Churches) refers to the moveable feast before Palm Sunday to which it is liturgically linked. It celebrates the raising of Lazarus of Bethany. Bethany is recorded in the New Testament as a small village in Judaea, the home of the siblings Mary of Bethany, Martha, and Lazarus, as well as that of Simon the Leper.
John's gospel reports that "Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead."[3] Presumably, it is where he spent the Great Sabbath that occurs immediately before Passover, prior to his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus is reported to have lodged there during Holy Week, and it is where his anointing by Lazarus' sister Mary took place a few days later on Holy Wednesday.