With a population of over 50,000, Larnaca is one of the largest cities in Cyprus.


The Church of Saint Lazarus is a late-9th century church. It belongs to the Church of Cyprus, an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church. It is named for Lazarus of Bethany, the subject of a miracle in which Jesus raises him from the dead. According to Eastern Orthodox tradition, sometime later, Lazarus was forced to flee Judea because of rumoured plots on his life and came to Cyprus. There he was appointed by Paul the Apostle and Barnabas as the first Bishop of Kition. He is said to have lived for thirty more years and on his death was buried there for the second and last time. The Church of Agios Lazaros was built over the tomb of Lazarus.

The first church is thought to have had the form of an early three-nave Christian basilica, built no earlier than the middle of the 6th century. This building is thought to have been destroyed during Arab rule (649–965).The first church is thought to have had the form of an early three-nave Christian basilica, built no earlier than the middle of the 6th century. This building is thought to have been destroyed during Arab rule (649–965).

Then a smaller church dedicated to St. Lazarus was built on this site. The Byzantine Emperor Leo VI ("Leo the Wise") sent a delegation to find this place of worship. A sarcophagus was discovered, whose inscription ‘the fourth day Lazarus and friend of Christ’ led to the conclusion that it was the shrine of St. Lazarus. In gratitude for the transfer of the saint's remains to Constantinople, a larger church, the present-day church, was built on this site.

The remains from the sarcophagus were stolen in Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204 and brought to Marseille. From there, they were taken to the Church of St. Lazare in Autun in Burgundy, where they are venerated today.

Under Frankish and Venetian rule (the 13th to 16th centuries), the church became Roman Catholic. A Gothic portico was added on its south side during this time. The three domes of this Orthodox Basilica Church and the original bell tower were destroyed in the first years of Ottoman rule (1571), when the church was turned into a mosque. In 1589, the Ottomans sold it back to the Orthodox, probably because of its Christian cemetery. For the next two hundred years it was used for both Orthodox and Catholic services. In 1857, after the Ottoman authorities again allowed Cypriot churches to have bell towers and the church's bell tower was rebuilt in a Latinate style.




The Gothic portico