Lazarus of Bethany

Brother of Martha and Mary, he lived at Bethany. John's gospel relates that Jesus, told of his illness, arrives after his death and finds him four days in the tomb; he weeps, then calls him by name and brings him out, still bound in grave clothes. The account places this sign immediately before the Passion and makes it the direct cause of the decision taken against Jesus. He appears again at table during the supper at Bethany. Two traditions dispute the rest of his life: the East makes him first bishop of Kition in Cyprus, where his tomb has been venerated since the ninth century; medieval Provence makes him first bishop of Marseille, a narrative historians date a thousand years after the events. He is commemorated on 29 July with his sisters.