Tomb of Lazarus (al-Eizariya)

The Tomb of Lazarus at al-Eizariya
The reputed tomb of Lazarus in al-Eizariya
Basic information
Location	al-Eizariya, West Bank
Affiliation	Christian, Islamic
Region	Middle East

Mosque of al-Uzair
Basic information
Location	al-Eizariya, West Bank
Affiliation	Islam
Completed	16th Century

Church of Saint Lazarus
Basic information
Location	al-Eizariya, West Bank
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Year consecrated	1954
Architectural description
Architect(s)	Antonio Barluzzi
Completed	1955
Specifications
Length	17.7 metres (58 ft)
Width (nave)	7.7 metres (25 ft)

Church of Saint Lazarus
Basic information
Location	al-Eizariya, West Bank
Affiliation	Greek Orthodox
Completed	1965

The Tomb of Lazarus is a traditional spot of pilgrimage located in the West Bank town of al-Eizariya, traditionally identified as the biblical village of Bethany, on the southeast slope of the Mount of Olives, some 2.4 km (1.5 miles) east of Jerusalem. The tomb is the purported site of a miracle recorded in the Gospel of John in which Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

The site, sacred to both Christians and Muslims, has been identified as the tomb of the gospel account since at least the 4th century AD. As the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913 states, however, while it is "quite certain that the present village formed about the traditional tomb of Lazarus, which is in a cave in the village", the identification of this particular cave as the actual tomb of Lazarus is "merely possible; it has no strong intrinsic or extrinsic authority." Archeologists have established that the area was used as a cemetery in the 1st century AD, with tombs of this period found "a short distance north of the church."

Several Christian churches have existed at the site over the centuries. Since the 16th century, the site of the tomb has been occupied by the al-Uzair Mosque. The adjacent Roman Catholic Church of Saint Lazarus, built between 1952 and 1955 under the auspices of the Franciscan Order, stands upon the site of several much older ones. In 1965, a Greek Orthodox church was built just west of the tomb.

There is no mention of a church at Bethany until the late 4th century AD, but both the historian Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 330) and the Bordeaux pilgrim in the Itinerarium Burdigalense (c. 333) do mention the tomb of Lazarus. The first mention of a church dedicated to Saint Lazarus, called the Lazarium, is by Jerome in 390. This is confirmed by the pilgrim Egeria in her Itinerary, where she recounts a liturgy celebrated there in about the year 410. Therefore, the church is thought to have been built between 333 and 390. Egeria noted, when the liturgy for Lazarus on the Saturday in the seventh week of Lent was performed, "so many people have collected that they fill not only the Lazarium itself, but all the fields around."