Lazarus Saturday

The observance is of considerable antiquity. Its early presence in the Church's life is attested by homilies on the raising of Lazarus attributed to Saint John Chrysostom (349-407) and Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430), indicating that the event was already a fixed point of commemoration in both the Eastern and Western traditions by late antiquity.

The proper hymnography for the day took shape in the seventh and eighth centuries. Canons and hymns were composed by Saint Andrew of Crete, Saint Cosmas of Maiuma, and Saint John Damascene, and these texts continue to be sung. The full nine-canticle Canon on the Raising of Lazarus by Saint Andrew of Crete, a rare complete canon, is sung at Compline on Friday night.

In the historical shape of the calendar, Lazarus Saturday served as a major day for baptism. This is preserved liturgically in the substitution, at the Divine Liturgy, of the baptismal hymn drawn from Galatians 3:27 ('As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ') in place of the Trisagion, a vestige of the ancient baptismal practice attached to the day.

The week preceding the feast, known as the 'Week of Palms' or 'Flowery Week,' tracks the illness and death of Lazarus and Christ's journey to Bethany through the propers of the Lenten Triodion. Although the forty days of Great Lent conclude on the preceding Friday, Lazarus Saturday retains its own distinct observance as a hinge between the fast and Holy Week. By ancient custom, hermits would leave their wilderness retreats on this day to return to their monasteries for the Holy Week services.

The Church's liturgical texts interpret the raising of Lazarus as a prefiguring of both Christ's own Resurrection and the general resurrection of all the dead. Lazarus, restored to life before Christ's Passion, becomes the confirmation and pledge of the universal Resurrection. This gives the day its paradoxical character: a celebration of resurrection standing immediately before the days of the Lord's suffering.

The event is read as a revelation of Christ's dual nature. His humanity is shown when he asks, 'Where have ye laid him?' and weeps, while his divinity is shown when he commands the four-days-dead man to come forth from the tomb. In Martha's presence Christ proclaims himself 'the Resurrection and the Life,' and the hymnody of the day gathers around this title.

The hymns draw a symbolic connection between the burial bonds of Lazarus and the bondage of the individual soul in sin, so that the loosing of Lazarus from his grave-clothes becomes an image of redemption and the loosing of humanity from death. The resurrectional themes of the day point toward the ultimate restoration promised in Christ.

Lazarus Saturday is liturgically unique as the only occasion in the Church year on which the resurrectional service otherwise proper to Sunday is celebrated on another day. Consistent with this festal, resurrectional character, there is no kneeling during the consecration of the Holy Gifts.

The hymns of Lazarus Saturday were largely composed in the seventh and eighth centuries by Saint Andrew of Crete, Saint Cosmas of Maiuma, and Saint John Damascene. At Compline on Friday night a full nine-canticle canon on the raising of Lazarus by Saint Andrew of Crete is sung, a rare instance of a complete canon in the services.

The Troparion and Kontakion of the day center on Christ as 'the Resurrection and the Life,' presenting the raising of Lazarus as the common assurance of the resurrection given before the Passion, and drawing out the themes of divine forgiveness and the resurrection to come.

At the Divine Liturgy the baptismal hymn drawn from Galatians 3:27 replaces the Trisagion, a hymnographic marker of the day's historical role as a principal occasion for baptism.

Although the forty days of Great Lent conclude on the Friday before, Lazarus Saturday retains a modified observance. The Church's practice on this day maintains abstinence from meat and dairy while introducing a note of anticipation of Pascha: caviar (fish roe) is traditionally permitted. The allowance is understood symbolically, the eggs signifying the coming Resurrection which the raising of Lazarus foreshadows. Typikon prescriptions vary; the faithful should consult their priest.

In the Greek and Cypriot tradition, mildly sweet spiced Lenten breads called 'lazarakia' are baked, shaped to represent Lazarus bound in his grave-clothes; the custom is traditionally said to originate in Cyprus, where St. Lazarus is remembered as the island's first bishop.

In the Greek tradition children sing carols recalling the raising of Lazarus.

In the Russian Church, green vestments are used on this day and on Palm Sunday, signifying the renewal of life.

In Serbia and Bulgaria, blessed willow twigs are distributed in place of palms, sometimes with small bells tied to the Serbian branches.

• John 11:1-45 — The raising of Lazarus of Bethany, brother of Mary and Martha, four days dead.
• John 11:25 — Christ's proclamation to Martha: 'I am the resurrection, and the life.'
• Zechariah 9:9 — The prophecy fulfilled in the triumphal entry that follows the miracle.
• Galatians 3:27 — The baptismal verse sung in place of the Trisagion, preserving the day's ancient baptismal character.