When is Lazarus’s name day?

Lazarus can be celebrated on 3 feasts in the Orthodox calendar. People keep the feast of the saint they were named for, or the one their family has always kept.

Every feast on which Lazarus is celebrated

The saints behind the name

• Lazarus the Friend of Christ

  March 17, Saint, Λάζαρος ο φίλος του Χριστού

  The righteous Lazarus of Bethany, brother of Martha and Mary, was raised from the dead by the Lord four days after his burial, as the Gospel of John relates. Tradition holds that he later fled the persecution of the Jews and came to Cyprus, where he was made Bishop of Kition by the Apostles and lived for thirty more years.

  Name days: Lazaros, Lazarus

• Lazarus the Four-Days-Dead (Translation of Relics)

  October 17, Saint, Λάζαρος ο Τετραήμερος

  After the Lord raised him from the dead, Lazarus fled the hatred of the Jews and came to Cyprus, where he was made Bishop of Kition and served for many years before his second death.

  Name days: Lazaros, Lazarus, Lazar

• Lazaros of Mount Galesion

  November 7, Venerable, Λάζαρος

  Venerable Lazaros of Mount Galesion was an ascetic of the eleventh century who, after years of pilgrimage and monastic labor in the Holy Land, settled on Mount Galesion near Ephesus. There he took up the harsh discipline of the stylites, living upon a pillar in prayer and fasting, and a community of monks gathered around him under his direction.

  Name days: Lazaros, Lazarus, Lazare

Also celebrating with Lazarus

These names share the feast, many of them other forms of the same name:

Lazaros, Lazar, Lazare

What to say on a name day

The Greek wish is Χρόνια Πολλά (Chronia Polla), “many years.” A call or a short message on the day is what people remember. See name day wishes you can send and what a name day is.