Saint Lazarus

Emperor Theophilus, L'empereur Théophile Byzantine iconoclast emperor, responsible for the torture of verses carved onto the faces of saints. a great supporter of these heretics (829), declared war particularly on all Christian painters, whom he resolved to put to death if they did not themselves spit upon the holy images and trample them underfoot. Our Saint, who excelled in the art of painting, was therefore one of those who were arrested for this reason. As soon as the emperor saw him, he endeavored to win him over with fair words, so that he might join his party; but, seeing that he was wasting his time and effort, he resorted to his usual violence and had this religious man tormented with such cruelty that, believing him no longer capable of living, he had him thrown into a sewer.

But, shortly after, the confessor of Jesus Christ, having recovered some strength and health, began again to work on his ordinary tasks and to paint images; Theophilus had red-hot iron plates applied to the palms of his hands, which consumed all his flesh and left him half-dead. Then divine Providence, which wished to reserve this good painter to serve His Church further, permitted that Theophilus, won over by the prayers of his wife, the Empress Theodora, and his favorites, had our Sai nt released from priso l'impératrice Théodore Eastern Roman Emperor (likely Theodosius II according to the historical context). n.

Being delivered in this manner, he remained hidden for some time in Constantinople, in a church of Saint John the saint Jean-Baptiste Saint whose feast day coincides with that of the blessed John. Baptist, which was called the Terrible; there, this pious painter, although crippled in his hands, did not cease to make an image of the holy Forerunner; it lasted for a long time, and God used it to perform many miracles.

A few years later, this emperor died miserably of dysentery following a battle he had lost against the Saracens (842); and Michael III, his son, succe eded him t Michel III Byzantine Emperor, son of Theophilus and Theodora. o the empire. This prince having restored, through the care of his mother, the veneration of holy images, the religious Lazarus returned more than ever to working on beautiful works, among which one notes an excellent image of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which he placed on a bronze column. Begged by the holy Empress Theodora to forgive her late husband and to pray to God for his soul, so that He might show him mercy, he replied that it was no longer time to sway the justice of God.

Nevertheless, several authors report that this pious princess urgently requested Patriarch Methodius and the other bishops assem bled to celebrate th patriarche Méthodius Patriarch of Constantinople who worked for Orthodoxy. e anniversary of a feast called Orthodoxy, to pray to God for the emperor her husband, and that the prelates did so with such fervor that they obtained from divine mercy the remission of all his crimes. One may see on this matter Bollandus in the life of Saint Theodora, on the 11th of this month.

Michael, convinced of the merit of our Saint, in the third year of his empire, honored him with a famous embassy of obedience to Pope Benedic pape Benoît III Immediate predecessor of Nicholas I. t III, who had been newly elected, and charged him to present on his behalf a book of the Gospels, covered in solid gold and enriched with precious stones; a chalice of similar material and several other church ornaments made of very rare fabrics: which shows how much God knows how to honor his servants, and what reward he gives, even in this world, to those who have endured some hardship for his glory and for justice. On the other actions of Saint Lazarus, nothing is known, except that he spent the rest of his life in great rest. The Greeks, in their Menologion, say that he died on the way, during a second jou rney Rome Birthplace of Maximian. he made to Rome. The year cannot be determined: it is probable that it was around the year 860. It is mentioned, in the Menologion, on October 17, a translation of the relics of a Saint Laz arus, f Chietti Italian city from which some relics of Saint Lazarus are said to originate. rom the city of Chieti to Constantinople, under Emperor Leo VI. There are some who believe that these are the relics of Saint Lazarus, brother of Saint Mary Magdalene, and not those of our Saint.

This martyr of the cult of images has been depicted: 1° painting in a chapel; 2° in his prison, having just painted Our Lady: the executioner burns his right hand with a red-hot iron. A soldier holds him by the shoulder; but one can clearly see from the Saint's calm that this precaution is useless. He is, along with Saint Luke and Sa int Catherine of Bologna, o sainte Catherine de Bologne 15th-century Poor Clare saint, mystic, writer, and artist. ne of the patrons of painters.

The Roman Martyrology speaks with honor of Saint Lazarus on February 22, as do Zonaras and Cedrenus; and Cardinal Baronius in his Remarks, and in the fourteenth and fifteenth volumes of his Annals (Bar-le-Duc edition).