The present day appearance of the Church of Saint Lazarus is the result
of a multitude of renovations and reconstruction work during the course
of centuries. It is one of the three churches which have survived in
Cyprus; the other two being the Church of the Apostle Barnabas near
Salamis and the church that was built in the walkway leading from the
Basilica of Saint Epiphanios to the font. The churches are roofed by
three successive domes (the third eastern dome on the Church of the
Apostle Barnabas has since collapsed). The domes of Saint Lazarus were
not existing already by 1727, according to the Russian pilgrim Basileios
Barsky.
The church
is an elongated building measuring 31,5 x 14,5 m with a tripartite
sanctuary, semicircular apses internally and three-sided externally
and a five-sided apse in the center. The interior structure of the
church is particularly interesting as it is divided into three aisles
with bulky double pillars and arched openings going through them.
These pillars bear the weight of the domes thus forming the central
aisle while the north and south aisles bear a semi-cylindrical roof,
intersected by cross-vaults.
On the northern and southern walls of the church there are two parallel
rows of arched windows. The three windows on the upper row are more
narrow while the three windows on the lower row are more square shaped
having undergone some modification. In its earlier appearance the
church had three entrances on the western side, the central one of
which was restructured and widened, while the entrances to each side
were built in as can be ascertained when one observes the remnants
on interior side of the wall. During Frankish rule, it seems that
both the northern and southern entrances were breached, as mentioned
above.
The stonework of the church consist mainly of square limestones about
a metre in thickness. Only fragments of the original marble Byzantine
pavement (opus sectile) survive today which can be seen in the openings
of each pair of pillars found in the main church.
Frescoes had survived until the beginning of the 20th century in the
interior of the church and one cannot exclude the existence of an
elaborate mosaic of this middle Byzantine church similar to fragments
of the mosaic found in the center of the dome of the Church of the
Apostle Barnabas. Also of special interest is the relief decoration
of Saint Lazarus which has survived and was originally used in the
earlier basilicas. It consists of late roman and early Christian capitals
at the corners of the church’s massive pillars. The fact that there
are round shaped capitals and not pilaster-capitals, as well as their
relatively distorted but symmetrical insertion into the corners of
the thick pillars, indicates that they were there in second use, reflecting
the architectural tendency of that period seen also in other similar
churches (e.g. the Church of the Apostle Barnabas near Salamis).
The
decorated iconostasis of the church (1773-1782), a work by the wood-carver
Chatzisavvas Taliadorou demonstrates tremendous craftsmanship. This
was first gold-plated between 1793-7 and again more recently between
1972-4. The section of it, in front of the north pastophorium (Prothesis)
together with the corresponding icons, suffered great damage during
the fire of 1970. Some of the icons were painted towards the end of
the 18th century by Michael Proskynetes from Marathasa. The iconostasis
consists of eight episcopal icons, and a two-tier architrave on which
stand the icons depicting the "Dodekaorton" (the twelve feasts
of the life of Christ), the Great Deesis (Christ enthroned flanked by
the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist as intercessors) and the "Lypera"
(The Crusified Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Theologian).
On
the "royal doors" one can see the icons of eight bishops amongst
which that of Saint Lazarus, crowned by the "Holy Mandylion",
while at the side entrances of the royal doors are mainly depicted local
saints. Below the main icons the iconostasis has been intricately carved
with representations from the Old (Adam and Eve, Sacrifice of Abraham,
Hospitality) and New Testaments (Birth and Baptism of Christ, Noli me
Tangere, Resurrection of Lazarus) while the bases of the small columns
in the iconostasis are decorated with woodcarved angels in a standing
position. The same style is also used for the woodcut ciborium over
the holy altar.
The pulpit of the church adorned by the symbols of the Evangelists and
bas-relief angels is also an extraordinary piece of work. A bas-relief
inscription carved into the scroll carried by the eagle indicates that
it dates back to 1734.
The bishop’s woodcarved throne and reliquary containing the skull and
holy relics of Saint Lazarus, demonstrate splendid workmanship also
seen in the two icon stands.
On the southern wall there is an icon depicting the martyrdom of Apostle
Andrew and on the northern wall a replica of the Russian icon of Kazan,
encased in a silver decorated case.
