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Lazarus

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › Our Lord and the Faith › Lazarus

The question

I recently read Chapters 11-12 in the Holy Gospel of St. John and was curious as to what happened to Lazarus after Christ's death and resurrection. I know that Zacchaeus became a holy man and, I think, a bishop. After typing up a question in Google, nothing really came up that spoke about Lazarus' life after his own resurrection aside from this article. I read it and found it fascinating, but always want to come back to the Coptic beliefs and get clarity and understanding. The article is about 4-5 pages and proving that the Holy Gospel of St. John was really written by Lazarus himself. Please help me to understand: http://www.lazaruscomeforth.com/

The answer

St. John the Beloved did not starting writing his account of the Holy Gospel until much later. He also wrote 3 general (Catholic) letters and the Holy Book of Revelation. All this literature is distinctive of St. John and has been corroborated and canonized by the early Church Fathers. Though the Lord loved Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, Lazarus was not a previed eyewitness as was St. John the Beloved to the numerous private events, and this is clearly noticeable in his unique writing.

Orthodox Churches generally believe that Lazarus was a bishop of Cypress. http://copticchurch.net/synaxarium/2_21.html#2; http://serfes.org/lives/stlazarus.htm. Catholic Churches believe that Lazarus was the bishop of Marseilles.

Some Eastern Orthodox Churches believe that Zacchaeus was discipled by St. Peter and became the bishop of Caesarea in Palestine. The Coptic Orthodox Church does not have any record of Zacchaeus as a bishop and there is no specific day commemorating his departure. He is esteemed for his steadfast repentance, penance, earnest desire to see Christ, and the transformation of himself and his whole household at the blessed visit of grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to Zacchaeus' home.

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

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