Saint Lazarus Zographos

Lazarus (Greek: Λάζαρος), surnamed Zographos (Ζωγράφος, "the Painter"), was a 9th-century Byzantine Christian saint. He is also known as Lazarus the Painter and Lazarus the Iconographer. Born in Armenia on November 17, 810, he lived before and during the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. Lazarus was the first saint to be canonized specifically as an iconographer. He was later followed by Saint Catherine of Bologna. Lazarus became a monk at an early age and is thought to have studied the art of painting at the Stoudios Monastery in Constantinople. Lazarus was noted to possess the following virtues: love for Christ, asceticism, prayer, and rejection of the vanities of the world. He was further recognized for his acts of self-control, discipline and alms-giving. He was ordained a priest. In his lifetime, he was highly regarded and well known for his frescos. He used faith and ritual as a means to transcribe his inner contemplation onto the images he painted. Thus, his ability to paint icons was seen as a gift given by God. During the reign of Theophilos (r. 829–842), an iconoclast emperor who was opposed to holy images, Lazarus stubbornly continued his craft of painting icons and began restoring images defaced by heretics. Theophilos sought out Lazarus, who was then famous for his painting, and intended to make an example of him. After being asked several times to stop painting, Lazarus was brought before the emperor, where he refused to destroy any of the images he painted. The emperor discovered that Lazarus was not affected by flattery and bribery. He was threatened with the death penalty, which at the time was not an uncommon outcome for those who favored icons (iconodules). However, Lazarus being a man of the cloth, could not be put to death and so he was instead thrown in prison. During his imprisonment, he was subjected to such "severe torture that the his flesh melted away along with his blood." He was left to die of his wounds but recovered.