Church of St. Lazarus after sunset, a photo from Larnaca, East

Photographer's Note

‘Larnaca - Church of St. Lazarus after sunset’

Here I posted a blue hour picture of the most famous and impressive monument in the center of Larnaca:
the Church of St. Lazarus, or Ayios Lazaros in Greek.

This church was built in the 9th century to house the tomb of Lazarus, the man raised from the dead by Jesus, and it was recontructed in the 17th century.

The many small flags were decorations for the Easter festivities.

From http://www.sacred-destinations.com/cyprus/larnaca-ayios-lazaros.htm :

History:

According to Greek Orthodox tradition, after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the saint came to Cyprus and was later consecrated bishop of Kition by Paul and Barnabas.

Lazarus' tomb was located here in Larnaca, but during the Arab raids the place of his burial was forgotten. The remains of Lazarus were rediscovered in 890, and briefly enshrined here before they were sent to Constantinople by Emperor Leo VI in 901.

The Church of Ayios Lazaros was built in the late 9th century to house the tomb of the saint. The tomb eventually formed part of a catacomb for general use, as evidenced by several sarcophagi.

(Note: An alternate legend has Lazarus and his sister Mary landing in Provence, and having his tomb at the Cathйdrale St-Lazare in Autun, France. This was destroyed in the Revolution, but a church in Marseilles still claims to have his head.)

In 1589, the church had to be ransomed from the conquering Turks. From then until 1758, it was shared by Orthodox and Latin Catholic Christians. The church was reconstructed in the 17th century. A fire broke out in 1970, leaving the interior greatly damaged and more austere than most Cypriot churches.

What to See:

The Church of Ayios Lazaros has an open porch, from which steps descend into the church. The porch bears traces of Greek, Latin and French inscriptions.

The graceful bell tower was erected during the 17th century reconstruction, and was one of very few permitted by the Turks before 1857.
The Turks generally prohibited such structures out of fear that church bells could be used to summon a rebellion.

The impressive interior consists of a central nave, two aisles, and three domes that are now boarded in. The roof is supported by twin piers topped by reused Byzantine capitals. In one of the piers, steps ascend to an elaborate, 300-year-old Rococo pulpit. The fine iconostasis (18th century) was damaged by the 1970 fire and has been partly restored.

Notable icons in the church include one of the Virgin and Child on the north pier at the crossing; one of St. George and the Dragon (1717); a silver filigree icon of the Raising of Lazarus (1659); and another icon of the Raising of Lazarus in which a spectator is holding his nose at the stench. The silver icon is carried in procession in the presence of the Bishop of Kition on Easter Saturday.

The crypt, accessed by steps that descend from near the southern side of the apse, contains Lazarus' empty marble sarcophagus.

dta, yeln, raszid62, guytoc, jhm, kordinator, belido, Charo, danos, Fante, Fante, skippy007, josepmarin, adores, adramad, mkamionka, pierrefonds has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

aristo (3214) 2010-05-02 22:39

Hello Paul!
Amazing warm light on beautifull Church.Superb composition with splendid colors,great photo,compliments,

Arek

dta (98848) 2010-05-02 23:47

Bonjour Paul ,
Cette magnifique йglise bйnйficie d'un superbe йclairage du soir . La lune est le petit dйtail en bonus . Tout bon cadrage aussi .
Bravo

mikolaj_kawa (0) 2010-05-02 23:51

Hello Paul! Amazing church, wonderful architecture, excellent moon, superb lightness and brightness. excellent colours, ideal saturation. Very good exposure. Ideal frame. Well done!

yeln (11516) 2010-05-03 8:39

hello Paul
google
very interesting design. excellent sharpnes and the beautiful blue sky
Congratulations
Have a nice day
Vojko

raszid62 (18457) 2010-05-03 10:34

Hello
Beautiful old church, it reminds me of times of the crusaders. In this light the beautiful color of the walls against the evening sky. Perfect sharpness and brilliant composition frame.
Best regards
Joseph

ciakgiak (30) 2010-05-03 13:24

Hello Paul,
the light at this hour at sunset is very warm and pleasant, it gives a special feeling to your splendid composition. The architecture of the church is very interesting... with the special guest of the moon in the sky! The colors are really gorgeous.
best regards
Giorgio

mauro61 (53411) 2010-05-03 14:52

ciao Paul,
le luci hanno una valenza fondamentale in questo scatto con la bella chiesa che si staglia contro l'azzurro del cielo.
Ottima la presenza della luna all'interno dell'inquadratura e perfetta la resa
saluti
maurizio

lousat (138683) 2010-05-03 15:32

Hi Paul,what a beautiful blue hour whit the moon too,what a perfect time of exposure..and the result is the best in sharpness and colors,great atmosphere and no people inside..i like it! Thanks for share,have a nice day,LUCIANO

AiresSantos (56155) 2010-05-03 15:40

Hi Paul
Lovely colors in this beautiful night picture of the Church of St. Lazarus Church, in the blue hour
Very well handled the light
Have a nice evening
Aires

AKITA (15125) 2010-05-03 21:44

dear Paul,
an impressive evening view shot,
orange lighted old church and deep blue sky with white moon are beautifully contrasted and composed in your unique picture,
and flags are nicely set in it,
still and a little mysterious atmosphere is splendid,
thank you for your excellent shot,
Akihisa

Longroute (19600) 2010-05-04 7:26

Beside being a very fine church the colours are really so appealing here, I really like the wonderful contrast between the golden artificial light and the sky. Also the sharpness is excellent here and contributes to enahnce the lovely architecture details. The moon is really the icicle on the cake. An excellent work.
TFS,
Donato

P.S.
I wonder how come that Lazarus went to die in Cyprus... he lived in Palestine!

guytoc (3614) 2010-05-05 13:42

Hi Paul,

This is a very attractive blue hour which creates wonderful contrasts between the hot ochres of the church and the sweet blues of the sky. The smiling moon and the waving flag nicely complete the picture.
Good job indeed.
Have a good evening.
Guy.

sevy (58) 2010-05-06 2:14

Bonjour Paul,

Je suis impressionй par la qualitй de l exposition et l equilibre globale entre le ciel et l eclairage chaud sur l eglise. La prise de vue a vraiment йtй faite au bond moment. Un peu plus tot ou plus tard et le resultat aurait ete different.
En bonus, le croissant de Lune pour habiller le ciel uniforme.

Yves.

sacavem (18620) 2010-05-06 2:52

Olб Paul,

J'aime beaucoup cette chaude lumiиre et cette ambiance du soleil couchant.

Um abraзo,
Filipe

jhm (211734) 2010-05-06 4:34

Dag Paul,

Het allermooiste aan deze foto is de verlichting, het spel met licht en de kleuren van de kerk zijn uitzonderlijk aangenaam om naar te kijken.
Goede samenstelling en presentatie.

Mooi foto werk,
John

kordinator (8738) 2010-05-06 14:08

hello Paul...
beautiful golden color in architecture ...
excellent composition ...
very nice Church....
great photo,compliments...
regards Sasha

Ola_Kwiatek (0) 2010-05-07 11:48

Wonderful church. Superb point of view. Perfect capture. Good contrast and sharpness. Fine frame.
Cheers

jmdias (114360) 2010-05-07 16:12

paul

amazing note and photo. I liked the contrast of the golden light in the faзade against the blue sky. perfect job with light and colors. TFS

hugs

jorge

belido (19934) 2010-05-08 6:56

Bonjour Paul,

that's what I call an excellent blue hour shot. The contrast between the the warm tones of the beautiful church and the cool sky is something really attractive. The quality of the image is also good. Nicely done!
Amitiйs,
Carlos

Charo (51290) 2010-05-09 15:35

Hello Paul,
Magnificent architecture of this church, well iluninada to highlight their great detail.
I like that moon that appears to enjoy the place. Excellent detail and color.
Best wishes,
Charo

danos (110407) 2010-05-10 3:47

Hi Paul,
very nice presentation of St. Lazarus church with the falling 'golden' light to make the scene so dreamily.I like the great contrast of the colours, as the excellent management of the lighting conditions.Well done.

Have a nice week,danos

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2010-05-11 1:13

Hello Paul,
Nice capture of this church. The tone of your image really nice. Nicely done.
have a nice day,
Achim

jemaflor (146382) 2010-05-11 10:56

Hi Paul,
Very beautiful and interesting architecture with a great effect with this light well captured, good effect for the warm tone for the walls. Good result.

Fante (5429) 2010-05-12 12:24

Hi Paul,

real masterpiece. Just look those warm colors. Excelent. Perfect POV with great composition and professional light management. Bravo
TFS
Regards, Sasko

skippy007 (12510) 2010-05-16 6:23

Hello Paul, Amazing history this Church has, thank you for the informative note. Beautiful church well captured, excellent light & colour, the lovely warm tones contrast well with the cool blue of the sky, the moon adds interest to this lovely image.
Thank you
Regards
Santo

zanzi (13690) 2010-05-27 12:48

Hi Paul
Perfect light for this beautiful church.
Bravo
Chris

josepmarin (59385) 2010-10-30 12:12

Hi Paul,
Splendid capture at the blue hour!
I like the strong contrast created by the architecture of the church, beautifully illuminated, with the blue sky, where the moon tries to have a bit of protagonism.
The composition is very elegant and effective to a graphical level, with a great light and a few magnificent colors.
Well done!
Best regards,
Josep

bracasha75 (24591) 2010-11-21 21:59

Hey Paul
A wonderful photo from Cyprus and great scene of this church.Excellent light
TFS
Cheers,Braca

Schnappilic (9692) 2010-12-12 12:08

Hi Paul,

A very good picture captured in the right moment with shadows and lights.

Congratulation!

adores (46979) 2010-12-19 17:04

Hi Paul!
Very good night shot! The moon is very well placed and the illumination of the church really highlights its details!Great colours and exposure!

adramad (72592) 2013-02-23 9:28

Hi Paul.
A wonderful composition at the blue hour, with a beautiful sky that still retains very good light, superb construction of this church, we see under a beautiful night lighting.
Superb sharpness and good light.
Well done.
Enjoy the weekend.
Best wishes.
Luis.

mkamionka (73500) 2015-02-03 13:50

Hi Paul,
I have purchased tickets to Cyprus for May this year and planning my vacations I came across your photos from this lovely country. To be honest your photos are a bit discouraging: it seems like you have already used best POVs and even at the best light and timing so I will have a difficult job to find some original angle.
The only hope for me is that nobody will remember your photos as they are taken few years ago already. Just kidding.
Your gallery is great and this one here is no exception. Looking at this particular town I thought exactly that this church would be my favourite object to photograph, and I thought that the blue hour would be so original. Never mind, I will think of something else. Important to note that you have visited exactly same spots across the island which I have considered as well.
Excellent work,
M

ikeharel (112521) 2016-05-15 6:55

Hello Paul,
Combination of natural afternoon light and artificial illuminations brought out the smallest curve and details on the faзade, and the two rows of the flags. Still there was enough of daylight to show blue sky aloft, with the charming crescent.
Good afternoon,
Ike

pierrefonds (113676) 2021-04-03 14:50

Bonsoir Paul,

Les drapeaux attirent le regard. la prise de vue permet de voir les dйtails de l'йglise Saint-Lazare. La lumiиre de l'heure bleue a un effet spйcial sur les couleurs de l'image. Bonne soirйe.

Pierre