Sisters of Bethany

About Bethany


	Bethany
Bethany, the home of Jesus’ friends Martha, Mary and Lazarus is still known locally as El Azariyeh or Lazarus’ Place. Over the years the name “Bethany” has produced many explanations e.g. house of obedience, house of misery, house of dates, house of figs – one archaeologist identifies this village with ’Ananyah, one of the localities inhabited by the tribe of Benjamin after the return from the Exile (Nehemiah 11:32) thus equating Bethany with “House of ’Ananyah” (Beth ’Ananyah). The town of Bethany is now a small suburb of Jerusalem.
The Holy Land at the time of Jesus
	Bethany is about 4 km from Jerusalem on the Jericho road. It lies on the east side of the Mount of Olives, and can easily be reached by car, coach or bus from Jerusalem, the road skirting the base of the hill. Jesus’ own journeys on foot would have involved climbing and descending the Mount of Olives.
General view of Bethany

As the path enters the village of Bethany the tower on the right of the view marks the Greek Orthodox church. To its left is the minaret of the mosque, and further to the left are the ruins of the medieval tower of the grotto. Lower on the right is the entrance to Lazarus’ tomb. A narrow flight of 24 uneven stone steps leads down to a cool, dark, rock cave.
This used to be accessible from the Roman Catholic church, (on the left foreground) but when a mosque was built over the Tomb (Muslims also venerate Lazarus) this new access had to be made for Christians in the 16th century.	A tomb, traditionally held to be that of Lazarus
Church of St. Lazarus - Bethany	Lower on the right, steps lead down into the Roman Catholic church. The pillars in the courtyard bear traces of the 5th century Byzantine and 12th century Crusader churches on this site. The present marble-floored church dates from 1954 and portrays in bright mosaics the stories related in Luke 10 and John 11. (See under Spirituality for these stories). The large cupola is impressively covered with gold.
Whether or not these sites are authentic, they serve to celebrate the sacred incidents in the life of Our Lord which took place in Bethany. Bethany was the village where Martha, Mary and Lazarus lived – John 11:1 Jesus was a welcome visitor to the Bethany home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus – Luke 10:38-42 Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead at Bethany – John 11:1-44 Jesus stayed at Bethany after the triumphal entry into Jerusalem – Mark 11:1-11 Jesus was anointed by Mary at Bethany – Matthew 26:6-13 Mark 14:3-9 John 12:1-8 Jesus ascended into heaven from Bethany – Luke 24:50-51
	The Ascension is depicted in this 15th century fresco from Cyprus.
After giving final instructions to his disciples, Jesus took them to the outskirts of Bethany, where he ascended into heaven.