Tomb of Lazarus (Bethany)
The traditional tomb of Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead.
St. Lazarus → Plan a trip hereThe Story
In Bethany — today the village of al-Eizariya on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, whose Arabic name means 'the place of Lazarus' — pilgrims descend a flight of worn stone steps into a rock-cut chamber venerated for centuries as the tomb of Lazarus, the friend whom Jesus raised from the dead. The Gospel of John (chapter 11) recounts how Jesus, arriving after Lazarus had lain four days in the tomb, wept at his friend's grave, declared to Martha 'I am the resurrection and the life,' and called Lazarus out of the tomb alive — the greatest of his signs before his own Passion, and the act that, John records, hardened his enemies' resolve to put him to death. Christian veneration of the tomb at Bethany is attested from at least the fourth century, when Eusebius and the pilgrim Egeria mention the site and its liturgies. A succession of churches rose beside it in the Byzantine and Crusader eras. After the original entrance was incorporated into a mosque, the Franciscans in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries cut the present entrance from the street. The modern Catholic Church of St. Lazarus, designed by Antonio Barluzzi and consecrated in 1954, stands over the remains of its Byzantine and Crusader predecessors, its mosaics recalling the friendship of Jesus with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. In 2021 Pope Francis inscribed the joint memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus into the General Roman Calendar on July 29, honoring the household that welcomed the Lord. The Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land keep the sanctuary at Bethany, where pilgrims still read John 11 at the mouth of the tomb and hear its promise addressed to themselves.
Church Recognition
The tomb at Bethany has been venerated since the early centuries as that of Lazarus, and the sanctuary is maintained by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land; in 2021 Pope Francis added the memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus (July 29) to the General Roman Calendar.
Catholic Teaching
The raising of Lazarus is a sign of Christ's power over death and a pledge of the resurrection of the body professed in the Creed (CCC 992-996); in Jesus' words at Bethany — 'I am the resurrection and the life' (John 11:25) — the Church hears the promise fulfilled in his own Easter victory (CCC 994).
Plan Your Visit
Practical
Additional Information
A church adjoins the traditional tomb at Bethany.
Go Deeper
See the Custody of the Holy Land's Bethany page at https://www.custodia.org/en/sanctuaries/bethany/, read John 11 alongside the Catechism on the resurrection of the dead (CCC 988-1004), and consult pilgrim guides to the Holy Land sanctuaries.
Location
Visit the official website ↗ See it on the interactive map →Pilgrim Photos
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In the Area
Other sacred sites within 40 miles.