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==Later Life==
According to Scripture and the tradition of the Cyprian Cypriot church, Lazarus was compelled to seek refuge away from Jerusalem to avoid the anger of the high priests and the pharisees, who wanted to kill him, ''...the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed in Jesus'' (John 12:10-11). Many christians too ''... were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about. Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch ...''; just like Stephen, Lazarus would have had to leave Judea to seek refuge in another country.
This location was [[Metropolis of Kittium|Kittium]] (today Kittium is called Larnaca) of [[Church of Cyprus|Cyprus]]. When [[Apostle Paul]] and [[Apostle Barnabas]] travelled to Cyprus, they ordained Lazarus as the first Bishop of Kitium. That is why all episcopal thrones in Larnaca have the icon of St. Lazarus instead of Christ, which is the standard custom of the church.
Little more is known about Lazarus after Our Lord's [[Pascha|Resurrection]] and [[Ascension]] except that during his thirty year he never smiled or joked except for one occcassionoccasion. One day, he saw someone stealing a clay pot and he laughed saying, "the clay steals the clay".
Another famous tradition connected to Lazarus is the discovery of [[Mount Athos]] in 52AD. Lazarus was very close to the [[Theotokos|Virgin Mary]] and he was very grieved that he could not return to Jerusalem to visit her (he was still in fear of the Jews). The Theotokos learned of his sorrow and sent him a letter to comfort him. She asked that he might send a ship to her that she might visit him in Cyprus. With great joy, Lazarus sent a ship to the [[Holy Lands]] to bring the Virgin Mary and [[John the Theologian|John]], the beloved disciple to Cyprus for a visit. On their journey, a great storm blew them off course and carried them to the shores of Ephesus and then the ship to the shores of [[Athos]], Greece. Unaware that divine providence had brought her to this area, the Virgin Mary completely taken by the beauty of the area, prayed to her son that this could be her garden devoted to prayer to "fight the good fight of faith". Having converted, blessed and established a new christian community from the local idolaters they set sail for Cyprus and met with Lazarus.