Elizabeth Cassar

Who Was Saint Lazarus? Elizabeth Cassar

Two personages named Lazarus can be identified in the New Testament - one being Lazarus of Bethany; the other Lazarus the Beggar of the parable. The available relevant texts in the New Testament appear to give very little background information about the historical Lazarus. However, much can be gleaned by analysing the available information in the light of historical, archaeological and biblical sources. There is even less known about the historical Lazarus of Bethany after Jesus'' resurrection. The link between leprosy and St. Lazarus further led to the development of cults with associated iconography. The present publication is the result of a Workshop organised by the Grand Priory of the Maltese Islands of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem. The Workshop was organised with the aim of investigating the personage of the historical Lazarus and to outline the cults that developed around him during the Medieval Period.