Tomb of Lazarus (al-Eizariya) - History of Previous Churches at Bethany

History of Previous Churches At Bethany

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."

The Lazarium consisted of the church (to the east of the site), the tomb of Lazarus (to the west), and an open space between the two which probably served as an atrium. The church was in the form of a three-aisle basilica. The apse, in a solid rectangular block shape, was at the east end. A sacristy on each side opened into the aisles.

The Lazarium was destroyed by an earthquake in the 6th century, and was replaced by a larger church. This church was mentioned by the Coptic Pope Theodosius I of Alexandria, circa 518 and by the Frankish bishop Arculf in his narrative of the Holy Land, circa 680. It survived intact until the Crusader era. The second church followed the same general plan as the first, but the apse was situated about 13 metres (43 ft) to the east in order to create a larger atrium. A chapel was built on the south side of the atrium.

In 1138, King Fulk and Queen Melisende of Jerusalem obtained the village of Bethany from the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in exchange for land near Hebron. The queen built a large Benedictine convent dedicated to Mary and Martha to the south of the tomb and church. Melisende had extensive repairs made to the 6th-century Byzantine church, which remained the focal point of pilgrimages. For the use of the convent, the queen had a new church built over the tomb of St. Lazarus with a triapsidal east end supported by barrel vaults (the largest of which would be used for the currently existing mosque). This new church was dedicated to St. Lazarus and the older church was reconsecrated to Sts. Mary and Martha. Melisende also fortified the complex with a tower.

After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the nuns of the convent went into exile. The new west church was most likely destroyed at this time, with only the tomb and barrel vaulting surviving. The 6th century church and tower were also heavily damaged at this time but remained standing. The village seems to have been abandoned thereafter, though a visitor in 1347 mentioned Greek monks attending the tomb chapel.