On the sides of this monstrous figure are handles at equal distances for carrying it more conveniently. It is made of wood and represents a dragon the body is formed of hoops covered with a painted calico and has on its back a sort of buckler thick set with strait horns. The grotesque figure which represents the tarasque is carried about the town of Tarascon every year on Whitmonday and on the feast of Saint Martha. Saint Martha who is mentioned in the Gospel caught it in her veil and subdued it. The tarasque, according to Gervase of Tilbury, the most ancient author who mentions it and who wrote about the beginning of the 13th century, was destroyed by Saint Martha and was a serpent of the leviathan kind which lived in the Rhone between Arles and Tarascon, and devoured those who descended the river. (left) 2005 Statue of the Tarasque by Pascal Demaumont you may wish to see an ancient statue in the Lapidary Museum of Avignon which depicts a river monster (right) Monument to Tartarin of Tarascon, the hero of a novel by Alphonse DaudetĮverybody has heard of Saint George and the dragon and there are several towns in France where some strange figure is carried about on certain festivals in commemoration of the delivrance of the inhabitants from some horrible monster. John Murray III - Hand-book for Travellers in France - 1843 They were at length delivered from the pest by St Martha, sister of Lazarus, since adopted as the patron saint of the town who conquered the monster, with no other weapon than the Cross and made him a prisoner with her girdle. Etymologists have been bold enough to derive its name from the Greek "turbazó" (to disturb) connecting it with the tradition of a dragon called Tarasque, which once upon a time infested the borders of the Rhone, preying upon human flesh to the great terror and disturbance of the inhabitants. Tarascon is a town of about 11,000 inhab. View of the town and of Collegiale Royale Sainte-Marthe from the Castle with the Alpilles in the background You may wish to see an introductory page to this section first. On Lazarus Saturday, eight days before Easter, the icon of Saint Lazarus is taken in procession through the streets of Larnaka.(relief at Glanum and quotation from Pliny: "It is More Similar to Italy than to a Province") (not all having been removed to Constantinople apparently.) During the subsequent renovations of the church, human remains were discovered in a marble Sarcophagus under the altar, and were identified as part of the Saint's relics. In 1589 the Ottomans sold it back to the Orthodox and for the next 200 years was used for both Orthodox and Catholic services.Ī fire in the 1970 damaged much of the interior, including extensive damage to a section of the iconostasis together with the corresponding icons. In every rule the church had new additions to the exterior and interior designs. On the upcoming centuries the church became Roman Catholic under the rule of Francs and Venetes and under the Ottoman rule became a Mosque. The transferred relics were later looted by the fourth crusade in early 13th century ans were brought to Marseilles but subsequently lost.Ĭhurch of Saint Lazarus is one of the three Byzantium Churches which survived in Cyprus. The transfer was apostrophized by Bishop of Ceasarea Arethas, and is commemorated by the Orthodox church each year on October 17. The remains were transfered to Constantinople in 898 by Emperor Leo VI of Byzantium. After 240 years in 890, a tomb was found in Larnaca bearing the inscription "Lazarus, four days dead, friend of Christ". Tradition says that the place of Lazarus tomb was lost during the period of Arab rule. The church of Agios Lazaros was built over the reputed (second) tomb of Lazarus. Here he was appointed by Paul and Barnabas as the first Bishop of Kition (present-day Larnaca) he is said to have lived for thirty more years and on his death was buries here for the second and last time. According to Orthodox tradition, sometime after the Resurrection of Christ, Lazarus was forced to flee Judea because of rumored plots on his life and came to Cyprus. It is named from Lazarus of Bethany in which Jesus raises him from the dead. Saint Lazarus Church is a late 19th century church located in the heart of Larnaka City.
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