Day: December 24, 2016

 

 

The Church of Saint Lazarus is named for New Testament figure Lazarus of Bethany, the subject of a miracle recounted in the Gospel of John,in which Jesus raises him from the dead. According to Orthodox tradition, sometime after the Resurrection of Christ, Lazarus was forced to flee Judea because of rumoured plots on his life and came to Cyprus. There he was appointed by Paul and Barnabas as the first Bishop of Kittim (present-day Larnaca). 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 Ayios Lazaros was built over the reputed (second) tomb of Lazarus.

Tradition says that the place of Lazarus’ tomb was lost during the period of Arab rule beginning in 649. In 890, a tomb was found in Larnaca bearing the inscription “Lazarus the friend of Christ”. Emperor Leo VI of Byzantium had Lazarus’ remains transferred to Constantinople in 898. The transfer was apostrophized by Arethas, Bishop of Caesarea, and is commemorated by the Orthodox Church each year on October 17.

In recompense to Larnaca, Emperor Leo had the Church of St. Lazarus erected over Lazarus’ tomb in the late 9th to early 10th centuries. It is one of three Byzantine churches, which have survived in Cyprus; the other two are the Church of the Apostle Barnabas near Salamis, and the church that was built in the walkway leading from the Epiphanios to the font. The relics were later stolen from Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and transferred to France as part of the spoils of war.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomb and shrine of Saint Matthew the Evangelist and Apostle, in Salerno Italy. Beautiful mosaics and frescoes in both the crypt and cathedral.

Josh as Niki explore the recently uncovered tomb of St Philip in Pamukkale, Turkey.

 

 

When curious people in the States (NY-PA-OH) where I had worked in the past ,asked me in different occasions ; ‘What kind of place is this İzmir-Turkey you came from ? .. I used to answer ; Jesus Christ asked apostle St.John ( as his last wish from him ) to bring his beloved mother Mary to Ephesus ( just 60 kilometers from İzmir ) when he was being crucified in Jerusalem — In other words God himself brought his mother to Ephesus to spend rest of her life on earth , St.John established his Church in Ephesus(still standing very old and big brick building with ancient baptismal marble small pool and other structures still standing , it is called St.John’s Church in Ephesus which is build 2000 years ago ) — Heaven on Earth land of Milk and Honey , beautiful weather (
needles to say , in winter never snows in İzmir and no hurricanes or tornados ever seen here ) true homeland of Figs- Grapes and Olives and Apricots and Cherries and excellent biodiversity for millions of years ; on this land called Anatolia . Early people had realized this fact since Neolithic times.. Çatalhöyük , Hattians and Pelasgians and later 12 Ionian colonies by the Mediterranean .
No further explanation ever needed ( what kind of place I came from) after my words above , theological and historical facts have been so clear , as the believers of God ; of course they quickly realized .. How beautiful place this Ephesus/İzmir should be … indeed it really is ..

Saint Paul’s Cathedral Outside The Walls in Rome, Italy is according to tradition the burial place of the Apostle Paul.

Paul’s stone coffin was confirmed to be under the main altar in the basilica in 2006, and not long after carbon dating tests were performed on the contents inside the coffin which dated back to the 1st century confirming what tradition has been saying for almost 2000 years.

Paul was born Saul of Tarsus who had risen in Judaism and was the chief persecutor of Christians when he was converted on the road to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him.

He wrote letters which make up close to half of the New Testament Scriptures, and other than the resurrection of Jesus, his conversion and influence is considered by many to be one of two pillars the Church of Jesus Christ is built upon.

Relics found in this church include Saint Paul’s staff, a piece of the cross Jesus was crucified upon, and bones from Timothy, Andrew, Bartholomew and Saint Matthew.

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas, (doubting Thomas) went to India later in his life. Whilst there he was killed, this is his actual tomb, and his blood is sealed in the sand in front of his tomb.

Tomb of St. Luke the Evangelist, Thebes, Greece. The place where St. Luke wrote “The Acts of The Apostles.”

The grooves atop the Marble Roof of the small tomb of St. Luke the Evangelist is from where the MIRACULOUS fragranced oil, holy myrrh streams. It has been STREAMING on its own since his burial here. This Miraculous myrrh has HEALED MANY people with various sicknesses and it continues to do so to the present day. God is glorified in HIS SAINTS!

The Holy Relics of St. Luke the Evangelist – His miracle-working relics were transported to Constantinople during the 4th-century, under the reign of Emperor Constantius (357AD), the son of Constantine. In 1204, the Crusadors of the IV Crusade stole the relic from Constantinople and transported it to Padova in Italy and it is still located there in the Catholic church of Santa Justina at the centre of the city.
In 1992, the then Metropolitan Ieronymos of Thebes and Levathia (currently the Archbishop of Greece) requested the return of a “a significant fragment of the relics of St. Luke to be placed on the site where the holy tomb of the Evangelist is located and venerated today”. This prompted a scientific investigation of the relics in Padua, and by numerous lines of empirical evidence confirmed that these were the remains of an individual of Syrian descent who died between 130 and 400 A.D. The Bishop of Padua then delivered to Metropolitan Ieronymos the rib of St. Luke that was closest to his heart to be kept at his tomb in Thebes, Greece.

The tomb works miracles even today. In December 22, 1997 at 1.30pm myrrh appeared on the tomb’s marble and since then the interior of the marble sarcophagus is fragrant.The olive tree is still living to the right side of the cemetery in Thebes. On the right side of the sanctuary of this church is the roman sarcophagus where the body of St. Luke had been placed. This tomb belonged to a Roman family of the 2nd-century BC but later on it was emptied and the Christians of Thebes used it as “honour” for St. Luke’s relic since it was a majestic tomb.

The holy, glorious and all-laudable Apostle and Evangelist Luke is the author of the Gospel of Luke, the companion of the Apostle Paul (Phil 1:24, 2 Tim 4:10-11), and is numbered among the Seventy Apostles. He was a native of Syrian Antioch and a physician, and is the founder of iconography.

At the request of Christians, St. Luke wrote his Gospel in the first century. According to some accounts this took place around 60 A.D., and according to others around 80 A.D. After St. Paul’s martyrdom, St. Luke preached the Gospel throughout Italy, Dalmatia, Macedonia, and other regions. He painted icons of the Most-holy Theotokos—not just one, but three—as well as icons of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. For this reason, St. Luke is considered the founder of Christian iconography. In his old age, he visited Libya and Upper Egypt; from Egypt he returned to Greece, where he continued to preach and convert many with great zeal despite his age.

In addition to his Gospel, St. Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles and dedicated each of these works to Theophilus, the governor of Achaia. Luke was 84 years old when the wicked idolaters tortured him for the sake of Christ and hanged him from an olive tree in the town of Thebes, in Beothia of Greece.

St. Luke wrote the first icon, of the Most Holy Theotokos Directress or Hodigitria, mentioned in the Paraklesis to the Theotokos.