Christopher Walter - Lazarus, A Bishop

7/30/2019 Christopher Walter - Lazarus, A Bishop

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Christopher Walter

Lazarus a bishopIn: Revue des tudes byzantines, tome 27, 1969. pp. 197-208.

Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Walter Christopher. Lazarus a bishop. In: Revue des tudes byzantines, tome 27, 1969. pp. 197-208.

doi : 10.3406/rebyz.1969.1420

http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rebyz_0766-5598_1969_num_27_1_1420
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LAZARUS A BISHOP

The Parthenon friezes are not the only treasures in the BritishMuseum; there is also Tsar Alexander's Gospel Book. It is, in fact,a Tetraevangelion, and, as is well known, it is one of the relativelynumerous copies of the Tetraevangelion in the Bibliothque Nationale, Parisinus graecus 74. When recently looking through TsarAlexanders Gospel Book my eye was caught by a detail which seemedanomalous and anachronistic in a New Testament scene a bishopreclining at a banquet 2 (Fig. 3).

This is the passage of th e Gospel which the scene illustrates : Six days before the Passover festival Jesus came to Bethany,where Lazarus lived whom he raised from the dead. There a supperwas given in his honour, at which Martha served, and Lazarus satamong the guests with Jesus. Then Mary brought a pound of verycostly perfume, oil of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus... 3

It may be seen that the artist has conformed faithfully to th edetails of the Gospel narrative, as did indeed the illustrator of theParis Tetraevangelion. Four people are seated at table Christ reclines

1. London, British Museum, Add. 39627, published by B. Filow (Les miniatures de vangile du ro i Jean- Alexandre Londres, Sofia, 1934); Parisinusgraecus 74 , published by 11. 0-MONT (vangiles avec peintures byzantines duXIe sicle, Paris, s.dj. For this group of manuscripts cf. Filow, op. cit., p. 29-33; S. Der Nersessian,


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198 REVUE DES TUDES BYZANTINESon the left; Mary extends her right hand towards Christ's feet, andMartha approaches from the right, a dish of food in her hands (Fig. 4).

The iconographical type used for the banquet is conventional.Derived from Antiquity 4 and adapted by Christian artists for theLast Supper 5 and for refrigeria 6, it is used regularly for the banquetscenes of this group of manuscripts 7. Perhaps this scene of the Supperat Bethany conforms most closely to the Supper in the House of Simonthe Leper. It is, indeed, on this occasion in the narrative of the Synopticospels that Christ's feet are anointed76" (Fig. 6 and 7).

In this scene, however, a man in a tunic serves in the place ofMartha, meat cooked on a spit is depicted at the right extremityand a rudimentary landscape restricts th e space available for the actualrepresentation of the meal. We see, in fact, that th e artist is faithfulo the conventions of his art : he takes as the basis of his composition he time-honoured formula for representing a meal; to this headds picturesque or narrative details to give an air of realism to th escene and to bring it into conformity with the1 text which it is toillustrate.

Then, by one of those twists which make so fascinating and profound the study of Byzantine art, he introduces a detail which isneither realistic nor in conformity with the Gospel narrative : oppositeChrist reclines a person dressed as a bishop of the Greek rite. Notso obvious to the naked eye in the Paris Tetraevangelion, it is quiteclear in the London one. The person in question wears an omophoriondecorated with crosses, although it does not seem that he is wearinga chasuble. From the Gospel Text it seems reasonable to infer thatthe bishop is Lazarus 8. But was Lazarus a bishop? If he was, thenthe anomaly disappears; it will only remain to explain the anachronism.First, it does not seem that Lazarus was normally represented asa bishop in Gospel scenes. The Supper at Bethany, in any case, isnot often represented. As far as I know the only example outside

4. C. Daremberg and E. Saglio, Dictionnaire des antiquits grecques et romaines,Paris, 1877-1910, articles Coena (III. 1022), and Lectus (IV. 1509).5. Dictionnaire d'archologie chrtienne et de liturgie, Cne (II. 3045-7).6. Ibid., Refrigerium (XIV. 2179-90).7. In Paris, gr. 74 : Marriage at Cana, f. 170v (Omont pi. 147); Supper in theHouse of Simon the Leper, f. 52V and 94 (Omont pi. 42 and 82); Last Supper, f.53, 95, 156, 195 and 196 (Omont pi. 43, 82, 133, 167 and 168).7 bis. Matthew 26. 6-13; Mark 14. 3-9.8. Lazarus is the only other person mentioned by name in the Gospel text;in the illustration he occupies the- second place of honour,


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C. WALTER : LAZARUS A BISHOP 199Parisinus graecus 74 and its dependent manuscripts is in the FlorenceTeiraevangelion 9. But in this version the artist deals rather summarilywith th e Gospel narrative, providing only a conventional banquet scene ;further there is no-one represented reclining opposite Christ (Fig. 5).The account of Lazarus' illness is also sometimes illustrated 10.He lies in bed with a person standing beside him holding a fan similar o the liturgical rhipidion; it is the ordinary iconography of sickness.But by far the commonest way of representing Lazarus was asthe object of Christ's most sensational miracle n. This scene occursregularly on early Christian sarcophagi in the cycle of miracles12;it figures again in the didactic cycle represented in mosaic in the churchof Sant'Apollinare Nuovo at Ravenna 13. The iconography is, however, n these early renderings somewhat austere. Interest is concentrated on the miracle of Resurrection.

The liturgy was less concise. In Etheria's time a procession tookplace to Lazarus' tomb at Bethany on the Vigil of Palm Sunday u.By the sixth century the procession had been transferred to PalmSunday itself. However in the liturgy of Constantinople Lazarus'feast was observed on the Vigil. Constantine Porphyrogenitus describes the ceremony in which the Emperor took part that day 15.

9. Laurentianus VI. 23, f. 194V. The Supper at Bethany is only described byJohn. As a result, given the tendency of Byzantine artists to skimp the decorationf the later pages of a manuscript, this composition was generally omitted.When the Lectionary replaced the Tetraevangelion, there was no occasion toillustrate this passage. Cf. the classification of illuminated Gospel manuscriptsby Gabriel Millet (L iconographie de vangile, Paris, 1916, p. 4-14).10. Cf. Paris, suppl. gr. 27, f. 9V [H . Omont, Fac-simils des miniatures desplus anciens manuscrits grecs de la Bibliothque Nationale, Paris (2nd ed.), 1929,p. 48 and pi . G. 1].11. John 11. 1-44.12. H. Leclercq lists 123 examples of the Resurrection of Lazarus in EarlyChristian art (Dictionnaire d'archologie chrtienne et de liturgie, VIII, 2010-37).13. F. W. Deichmann, Frhchristliche Bauten und Mosaiken von Ravenna,Munich, 1958, pi. 36.14. V. Saxer, Lazzaro di Betania , in Bibliotheca Sanctorum, VII, 1138-40.(The article is accompanied by an excellent bibliography.)15. According to De Ceremoniis, I.40 (31), the Emperor attended the liturgyof the Resurrection of Lazarus at the church of Saint Demetrius of the Pharos(ed. A. Vogt, Paris, 1935, p. 158-9). The emperor stood at the door and distributed to the dignitaries as they entered a posy of palm leaves, marjoram andspring flowers. Leo VI built this church. It is curious that, since he was to builda church dedicated to Lazarus, he should have attended the liturgy here(Cf. R. Janin, glises et monastres de Constantinople, Paris, 1s t ed. 1953, p. 96:2nd ed. 1969, p. 91). Later, in fact, the liturgy of fh e Resurrection of Laza-


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200 REVUE DES TUDES BYZANTINESIncluded among the Twelve Feasts, the Resurrection of Lazarushad an important place in the programme of church decoration 16.

These representations, with Mary prostrate at the feet of Christ andpeople holding their noses against the stink of a corpse four days dead,are far more circumstantial than those to be seen on a sarcophagus.The point of emphasis has also slightly changed. The feast is not onlya pledge of faith in the possibility of Resurrection but also a commemoration of Lazarus th e friend of Christ.It was natural that at some time a certain curiosity should ariseas to the subsequent fate of Lazarus, and that th e hagiographersshould try to satisfy it. At the end of the ninth century it becameknown at Constantinople that Lazarus's relics were in Cyprus. At thistime Cyprus was neutral territory with both a Byzantine functionaryand an Arab in residence 17. Leo VI had them brought to Constantinople,ogether with the relics of Mary and Martha which had beendiscovered at Ephesus 18. We are fortunate in having the text of twodiscourses of Arethas, one of which is a speech of welcome on thearrival of the relics of Lazarus in Constantinople, the other a descriptionf the procession which Leo the pious emperor had made in theirhonour 19. However, although the second describes with a wealth ofanalogy and of colourful detail the journey of the relics from Chrysopoliso the Great Church, neither is particularly informative abouttheir previous history. It is merely noted that Lazarus lived forfifteen years after his resurrection, and that the relics had beenbrought from Cyprus 20.Mr Cyril Mango relates the two orations to the two feasts of theTranslation of the relics of Lazarus in the Synaxarium Constanti-nopolitanum, and dates them to October 17th, 901, and May 4th,902 21. In between these dates it would seem that the relics wererus would be held at his church (Psexjdo-Codinus, De Officiis, ed. J. Verpeaux,Paris, 1966, p. 246; PG 157, 98).16. Millet, op. cit. (note 9), p. 232-54; K. Knstle, Ikonographie der christlichen Kunst, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1928, I, p. 385-8; K. D. Kalokyres, () , in ', V, 746.17. R. . J. Jenkins, Cyprus between Byzantium and Islam, A.D. 688-965 , in Studies presented to David M. Robinson, Saint Louis, Missouri, 1953,p. 1006-14, especially p. 1014.18. R. H. J. Jenkins, B. Laourdas and C. A. Mango, Nine Orations of Arethasfrom cod. Marc. gr. 524 , in Byzantinische Zeitschrift, XLVII, 1954, p. 7.19. Ibid., p. 20-25.20. Ibid., p. 21 , para. 3.21. Ada Sanctorum, Novembris Propylaeum, ed. II. Delehaye, Brussels,1902, 146-7 and 658-9.


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C. WALTER : LAZARUS A BISHOP 201deposed in the church of the , which continued to celebrate the liturgy of Mary the Myrrhophore 22.

The Typikon of the Great Church, dating from the tenth century,notes, in fact, only one feast of the Translation of th e relics, on May4th 23. The office takes place at the monastery with the name of thesaint founded by the Emperor Leo. In this text Lazarus is called byhis traditional title, friend of Christ. This title is, in fact, the theme ofArethas' first discourse; he concludes that, since the Emperor isLazarus' friend, he also is th e friend of Christ 24.The details of Lazarus' life are therefore still sparse. Michael theSyrian, writing in the^twelfth century, includes Lazarus among theseventy disciples 25, although his name occurs neither in th e list ofthe Chronicon as hale 26 nor in that of Pseudo-Dorotheus 27. Anothertradition, dating back to the year 870, makes Lazarus bishop ofEphesus 28. But, with one exception, to which I shall come later, thenumerous homilies on th e Resurrection of Lazarus give no details ofhis subsequent life 29.However the Synaxarium Constantinoolitanum, in the version ofthe Codex Sirmondianus dating from the twelfth or thirteenth century,gives under the date of October 17th a considerable information 30.The relics of Lazarus were found in the city of Citium after lying underground for nearly a thousand years in a marble sarcophagus. On thiswas inscribed in a foreign language Lazarus dead four days and'thefriend of Christ . The same text, besides giving an account of the translation of the relics, also adds that Lazarus lived eighteen years afterbeing brought back from the dead, that he came to Citium, wherehe was consecrated bishop by Peter the apostle and first of Christ'sdisciples.Now it seems unlikely that this tradition or legend originated inCyprus, although it was certainly received there at a later date, and

22. Janin, op. cit. (note 15), 1st ed. p. 200; 2nd ed. p. 191.23. Le Typicon de Grande Eglise, ed. J. Mateos (Orientalia ChristianaAnalecta, 165), Rome, 1962-3, I, p. 280-3.24. Jk\ki.\s etc., art. cit. (note 18), p. 22 , para. 4.25. Chronique de Michel le Syrien, ed. J.-B. Chabot, Paris, 1899, I, p. 149.26. PG 92 , 519-24.27. PG 92 , 1061-5.28. Bernardi Itinerarium, in PL 121, 573; R. Jenkins' date art. cit. (note 18),p. 9, n. 4.29. Bibliothcca Hagiographica Graeca, II, ed. F. Halkix, Brussels, 3rd ed.1957. Supplementtim p. 39-4330. Op. cit. (note 21 ), 146-7.


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202 REVUE DES TUDES BYZANTINESgiven a greater plausibility by the attribution of Lazarus' consecrations bishop to Paul and Barnabas31. The major argument againsta Cypriot origin is the absence of allusion to Lazarus in the claims toautocephalous status made by the Cypriot church by reason of itsapostolic origin. When the patriarchate of Antioch renewed his claimto jurisdiction over Cyprus under Emperor Zeno (474-91), Anthelmus,archbishop of Salamis, was guided by a vision io the place where thebody of Barnabas was hidden. The apostolic origin of the Church ofCyprus was then considered proved. But no vision guided him to thebody of Lazarus 32.

Where, then, did the tradition that Lazarus became bishop ofCitium originate? I would answer tentatively : in Constantinople inthe first half of the tenth century. I would advance, as an extremelyfragile hypothesis, that, in order to satisfy the curiosity of the Cons-tantinopolitans about the life of Lazarus, whose relics they now hadin th e city, someone found The Book of Lazarus.This was an apocryphal writing ascribed to Lazarus, who is said tohave narrated his experience of the unseen world in four books. Threeof these were hidden by the apostles and th e fourth carried to Rome.The title with this description appears in a catalogue of 174 booksfound among some antiquities of Constantinople during the Venetianoccupation of the city 33. No other reference to The Book of Lazaruswas known until Franz Dlger published a homily of John of Euboeaon the Resurrection of Lazarus 34. John of Euboea, a contemporaryand compatriot of John of Damascus, composed this sermon in th eyear 774. He calls Lazarus the friend of Christ according to the usualpractice 35. But in the last paragraph he says that an old man told himthat in the memoirs of Lazarus it is written that Lazarus becamebishop in the island of Cyprus 36.

31. Ch. I. Papaioannou, ' ' ' ,Athens, 1927, II, . 257-8. The considerable material which he has collectedis all comparatively late.32. A. Palmieri, Chypre (glise de) in Dictionnaire de thologie catholique,II, 2430.33. Codices Apocryphi Novi Testamenti, d. J. A. Fabricius, Hamburg, 1719,III, p. 475-6 and 509-10; A Dictionary of Christian Biography, ed. W. Smith andH. Wace, III, London, 1882, p. 635.34. F. Dlger, Johannes 'von Euboia', Anhang Die Predigt des Johannes'von Euboia' auf die Erweckung des Lazaros , in Analecta Bollandiana, LXVIII,1950 {Mlanges Paul Peelers II), p. 18-19 and p. 26, 1. 255-6.35. Ibid., p. 26 , 1. 252.36. Ibid., p. 26, 1. 254-7.


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C. WALTER : LAZARUS A BISHOP 203The manuscript containing this homily dates from the tenth cen

tury 37. Is it possible that this last sentence was added by the copyistin order to incorporate information from the recently found Book ofLazarus?However this may be, a first portrait of Lazarus as a bishop is tobe found in Cappadocia in th e New Church of Tokali. Pre de Jerpha-nion and Mme Thierry both date the decoration of this church earlierthan that of Tchaouch In, to which a secure date can be given, 964-5 38.Lazarus is presented, wearing the omophorion, under the form of abust portrait in a medallion. The series of which this is a part extendsabove the arcade of the north side. Next to Lazarus are Spyridon,another Cypriot, bishop of Trimithonte, whose relics had been atConstantinople since the seventh century 39, Proclus, presumablythe bishop of Constantinople who died in 446 40, and Parthenius,presumably bishop of Lampsacus 41. Mme Thierry notes that thedecoration in the New Church of Tokali forms part of a group of Cons-tantinopolitan origin. It is therefore plausible to suppose that saintschosen for representation were taken from the Constantinopolitancalendar.The next portrait of Lazarus as a bishop to which a date can be givenwould have been that at Asinou 42. Unfortunately there remainsonly th e inscription, and it is only hypothetical though likely thathe was in fact represented here as a bishop. Mme Sacopoulo insiststhat the iconographical types of Asinou were profoundly Byzantine,and supposes that they were taken from illuminated paintings sentdirectly from Constantinople43. The church was decorated in 1106.Later that century Mr Megaw and Mr Hawkins suggest the reignof Manuel I, probably between the years 1160 and 1180 Lazarus

37. Ibid., p. 17.38. G. de Jerphanion, Les glises rupestres de Cappadoce, Paris, 1934, I. 2,p. 419, p. 544-8 and pi. 85. 1; N. Thierry, Les peintures de Cappadoce de lafin de l'Iconoclasme l'invasion turque (843-1082) , in Revue de l'Universitde Bruxelles, 1-2, 1966-7, p. 14. Mme Thierry tells me that she knows of no otherrepresentation of Lazarus as a bishop in Cappadocia.39. Spyridon , in Lexikon fr Theologie und Kirche, IX, 991.40. Dictionary of Christian Biography, op. cit. (note 33), IV, 483-4.41. Ibid., IV, 194.42. D. C. Wingfield and E. J. W. Hawkins, The church of Our Lady at Asinou, Cyprus, a report on the seasons of 1965 and 1966 , in Dumbarton Oaks Papers,21 , 1967, p. 264. Mme Marina Sacopoulo was kind enough to draw my attentionto this reference.43. M. Sacopoulo, Asinou en 1106 et sa contribution, V iconographie, Brussels.1966, p. 134.


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204 REVUE DES TUDES BYZANTINESwas represented as a full figure in th e church of the Holy Apostles atPerachorio 44. This portrait has a special interest, for it is in the lowerzone of the apse wall. Lazarus accompanies John Chrysostom, Basil,Gregory of Nazianzen, Nicolas and Athanasius. He is, therefore, associated directly with the chief patrons of the Constantinopolitanchurch, while Barnabas and Epiphanius, whose Gypriot associationswere far better documented, are represented as bust portraits inmedallions 45.

Another portrait of Lazarus, fortunately preserved in excellentphotographs, used to exist in th e church of Spasa-Nereditsy nearNovgorod, destroyed during the last war. This was also a full lengthportrait and figured in the |apse. There were two zones of portraits.The principal patrons of the Constantinopolitan church appeared inthe upper zone; Lazarus was in the lower zone with James, Phokas,Gregory (of Nyssa?) and Ignatius. The decoration dates from119946 (Fig. 1).

These are the only examples of Lazarus as a bishop in th e monumental art of the Byzantine period, so far, at least, as I know. To themcan be added a small enamel bust portrait on a chalice now in theTreasury of Saint Mark's, Venice 47. An inscription refers to a Roma-nus. If this is Romanus IV (1068-1071) as Pasini suggests, we have aterminus ad quern for the chalice, which is, surely, of Constantinopolitanrovenance. Lazarus accompanies Peter and Paul, Basil andNicolas, John the Evangelist, John Chrysostom, Antony th e Hermit,Spyridon and Nicephoras. He wears an omophorion, holds a bookand blesses.

Certain observations about th e portrait types may be worth making.The faces in the New Church of Tokali and the Holy Apostles of Perachorio are partly destroyed. The Spasa-Nereditsy portrait is, however,well preserved. It shows Lazarus as young, beardless with, apparently, fair hair. On the other hand the person in the scene of theSupper at Bethany in Parisinus graecus 74 has dark hair and a slight

44. A. II. S. Megaw and E. J. W. Hawkins, Church of the Holy Apostles atPerachorio , in Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 16, 1962, p. 348 (date), p. 308-9 and fig. 26.45. Ibid., p. 309.46. V. Myasyedov and N. Sycev, Fresld Spasa-Nereditsy, Leningrad, 1925, p. 5,pi . XXIX and XXXIII. 1 ; V. Lazarev, Iskusstvo Novgoroda, Moscow /Leningrad,1947, pi. 15; Idem., Old Russian Murals and Mosaics, London, 1966, p. 117 andpi . 94.47. A. Pasini, Iltesom di San Marco in Venezia, Venice, 1887, p. 58-9 and pLXLI, n 83.


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Fig. 1. Lazarus and James the Less as Bishops.Church of Spasa-Nereditsy.

Fir;. 2. Martyrdom of James the Less. Menologiun of Basil II.


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Illustration non autorise la diffusion

pIG_ 3_ Supper at Bethany. Tsar Alexander's Gospel Book

Fig. 4. Supper al Bethany. Paris Tetraevangelion.

Fig. 5. Supper al Bethany. Florence Tetraevangelion.(Photograph Collection cole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris.


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Fig. 6. Banquet of Vestal Virgins. Museo dei Conservator], Rome.

Fig. 7. Last Supper. Church of SanL'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna


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Fig. 8. Heretics venerating an idol.Paris Tetraevangelion.

Fig. 9. Burial of John the Baptist. Paris Tetraevangelion.


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G. WALTER : LAZARUS A BISHOP 205beard. In the copy at the British Museum he is tending to baldness.The portrait on the chalice bears, however, a close resemblance, atleast in Pasini's copy, to that in Parisinus graecus 74.

To recapitulate, Lazarus figures in the Synaxarium Constantino-politanum in the twelfth or thirteenth century as a Cypriot bishop.Documentary evidence of his episcopal status dates back at least tothe tenth century when the homily of John of Euboea was copied.In a tradition preserved by a Western monk dating from the ninthcentury he was already believed by the Ephesians to have beenbishop of their city, and, if the mention in John of Euboea's sermonis not an interpolation, the Cypriot tradition already existed in theeighth century. We have, then, sufficient testimony to the traditionthat Lazarus was accepted to have been a bishop for his representationas such in a manuscript executed in Constantinople in the latter halfof the eleventh century not to be an anomaly.

There remains, however, the anachronism. Conventionally theapostles and disciples are represented in compositions representingevents of apostolic times wearing a tunic and mantle. Under whatcircumstances would an artist depart from this convention, andrepresent an apostle or disciple in a fashion which he knew to beanachronistic?Two answers are possible. Either he wished to stress the fact thatthe apostle or disciple in question was also a bishop, or he was soaccustomed to think of this particular person as a bishop that, inspite of the anachronism, he readily represented him such.In the first case the reason would be that apostolic origin and auto-cephalous status of a see had to be represented in an official picture.Such pictures are not unknown in Western art. Two obvious examplesleap to mind. The first is the lost mosaic in the triclinium of the Lateran Palace, where Peter was represented wearing the pallium andconferring the pallium on Pope Leo III48. The second is an enamelof Peter consecrating Mark a bishop decorating the Pala d'Oro atSaint Mark's, Venice49. Here Peter's episcopal status is indicatedby the crozier. In Byzantine art perhaps the portraits of Barnabasand Lazarus at Perachorio are analogous; they serve as a testimonyto the origins of th e Cypriot church.

In the second case we must suppose a contamination or reinter-48. J. Wilpert, Die rmische Mosaiken und Malereien, Freiburg im Breisgau,

1 '. 1 7, p. 155 and flg. H8-40.4lJ. VV. F. Volbach, etc., La Pala d'Oro, Florence, 1965, p. 35 and pi . XXXIX.


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206 REVUE DES TUDES BYZANTINESpretation of th e sources, and this certainly occurred. By contaminationI mean the introduction from apocryphal or other sources of detailswhich are not attested in th e New Testament. These details probablypassed first into liturgical texts and were then introduced into iconography.he most striking example of this is offered by the Dormition of theVirgin. The somewhat ambiguous account of Pseudo-Dionysius 5 isembellished with explicit details in a Homily of John Damascene :Timothy the apostle and first bishop of Ephesus was present, together with Denys th e Areopagite and Hierotheus 51. They are referredto as a group as our bishops chosen by God . This tradition, however,does not pass at once into the liturgy. There is no mention of bishopseither in the Typikon of the Great Church 52 or in the Menologion ofBasil II 53. However the Synaxarium Constantinopolitanum 54 dulymentions these three persons and calls them th e divinely wise hie-rarchs .From the eleventh century perhaps the mosaic at Daphni is thefirst example three bishops figure in representations of th e Dormition5. Their presence is probably posterior to their adoption in thetexts of the liturgy, and, as the Dormition takes on increasingly theair of a funeral procession and hence a liturgical character, the bishopsbecome more prominent in th e scene 56.

Another example is offered by James th e Less, although in his caseit is a question of reinterpretation rather than contamination. Jamesis presented as first bishop of Jerusalem rather than as an apostle. So,in the Menologion of Basil II, the text for his feast day begins by mentioning that he was the first bishop of Jerusalem and consecrated bythe Lord. The Synaxarium Constantinopolitanum says the same 57.Consequently it is not surprising to find that, in th e scene of his martyr-

50. De divinis nominibus, III. 2, PG 3, 681D; cf. G. M. Roschini, Lo Pseudo-Dionigi VAreopagita e la morte di Maria SS., Rome, 1958, p. 13.51. John of Damascus, Homilia II in Dormitionem B. V. Mariae, PG 96, 749;cf. Saint Jean Damascene : Homlies sur la. Nativit et la Dormition, d. P. Voulet(Sources chrtiennes ), Paris, 1961, p. 173.52. Op. cit. (note 23), p. 368-70.53. PG 117, 585.54. Op. cit. (note 21), 893.55. L. Wratislaw-Mitrovig and N. Oku ne v, La Dormition de la Sainte Viergedans la peinture mdivale orthodoxe , in Byzantinoslavica, III, 1931, p. 138.56. This is particularly noticeable at Staro Nagoricino and at Gracanica(R. Hamann-Mac Lean, Die Monumentalmalerei in Serbien und Makedonien,Giessen, 1963, pi. 287 and 333).57. PG 117, 121; op. cit. (note 21), 155.


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C. WALTER : LAZARUS A BISHOP 207dorn in the Menologion of Basil II, he is dressed as a bishop 58. Jamesthe Less is also represented as a bishop in illuminated manuscriptscontaining his Epistle 59. A number of representations exist of abishop James, who is probably to be identified with him 60 (Fig. 2).Finally it may be noted that the Communion of the Apostlesundergoes a liturgical contamination, as a result of which Christ isrepresented at Cucer wearing a bishop's vestments. 61

The representation of Lazarus, then, as a bishop in Parisinusgraecus 74 and its dependent manuscripts may be an anachronism butnot an isolated one. Taking the liturgical books as his guide in a periodwhen they had become the primary vehicle of tradition, the artistcould readily justify the representation of certain persons of theNew Testament as bishops rather than as apostles or disciples. In this hewould be encouraged by the fashion in the late eleventh century togive a liturgical interpretation to New Testament events, and, if heworked in the atelier of Saint John Studion, to introduce pictures ofmembers of th e clergy into manuscripts. Pre Maris explains howthe way was prepared for this by what he calls 'l'irruption des saintsdans l'illustration du psautier byzantin' 62. Whereas the BristolPsalter contains no portraits of saints, the Theodore Psalter has aconsiderable number. The Theodore Psalter, in fact, starts the fashion,which is continued in the dependent Barberini and Russian Psalters.

Since the Paris Tetraevangelion (like the Theodore Psalter) wasilluminated in the Studion workshops 63, it is not surprising to findthe same penetration of the clergy into its illustrations. Apart from the58. // Menologio di Basilio II (Vaticanus graecus 1613,), ed. C. Stornajolo,Vatican /Milan, 1907, II, p. 131. In the Princeton Index of Christian Art he iscalled James the Great.59. Among the numerous examples listed in the Princeton Index of ChristianArt: the New Testament in the University Library, Moscow codex 2280, f. 100,dating from 1072 (V. Lazarev, History of Byzantine Painting, Moscow, 1947,

1, pi . XXIV. b); the New Testament in the Greek Patriarchal Library, Jerusalem,codex 47 , f. 146 (W. H. P. Hatch, Greek and Syrian Miniatures in Jerusalem,ambridge, Mass., 1931, pi. XLVI).60. For example in the apse of the church of Spasa-Nereditsy, next to Lazarus,cf. note 46 (Fig. 1).61. IIamann-Mac Lean, op. cit. (note 56), 226.62. L. Maries, L'irruption des saints dans l'illustration du psautier byzantin, in Analecta Bollandiana, LXVIII, 1950 {Mlanges Paul Peeters II), p. 153-62.Mlle Der Nersessian tells me, however, that she believes the introduction of portraitsof saints into Byzantine marginal psalters to have been a more gradual process.63. S. Dcfrenne, Deux chefs-d'uvre de la miniature du xie sicle , inCahiers Archologiques, XVI], 1967, p. 177-91.


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208 REVUE DES TUDES BYZANTINESdedication pictures there are also two or three other compositions inwhich members of the clergy appear 64. It is normal that there shouldbe bishops in a Last Judgment scene. A picture of a heretic bishopadoring an idol (the crosses on his omophorion have been changed intoa cruciform pattern, as was normal in representing a heretic) may beexplained as commentary. But to represent a bishop swinging acenser at the obsequies of John the Baptist is surely as anachronisticas to represent Lazarus reclining in an omophorion at the Supper atBethany (Fig. 8 and 9) .

Christopher Walter.

64. Last Judgment, f. 51V and 93V; Adoration of an idol, f. 135V; Intermentof John the Baptist, f. 76.

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Christopher Walter - Lazarus, A Bishop