16 Did you know that... Lazarus came to Cyprus after his resurrection and became the first bishop of Larnaka? Lazarus left Bethany after his resurrection and came to Cyprus because “the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well (as Jesus), since it was on his account that many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.” According to an ancient Cypriot tradition Lazarus arrived in Kition, Cyprus, where he was met later by the Apostles Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey through Cyprus and was ordained by them as the first Bishop of Kition. The church οf Saint Lazarus we see today, dating back to the 9th and early 10th century, is in fact the third church built upon this site, where Lazarus had been buried. The church was known throughout the Christian world and was a necessary stop of the pilgrimage journeys to the Holy Land. In 890, a tomb was found in Larnaka bearing the inscription “Lazarus, four days dead, friend of Christ.” Εmperor Leo the Wise of Byzantium had Lazarus’ remains transferred to Constantinopole in 898. In recompense Emperor Leo had the Church of Saint Lazarus erected over Lazarus’ tomb in the late 9th to early 10th centuries.
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