The custom of lazarokoulouri was revived today in Anogeia, according to which the living honor, bear witness and recall the memories of the people who have passed away. This is an age-old custom of mountainous Crete, emphasizes Protopresbyter Andreas Kefalogiannis.

Black-clad Anogean women knead small and larger buns which they decorate with crosses, wreaths and flowers. The Lazarus scrolls are placed all over the temple, they are read during the Divine Liturgy of Lazarus, and then a piece is cut from all of them, which is kept by the family of the deceased. The remaining pieces of the rolls are placed on trays and panerias and distributed by the priest in the village square, in cafes and shops. The other pieces from the Lazarus rolls are distributed by those dressed in black in their neighborhoods, in the homes of relatives and friends of the dead. Always with hope but also with confidence, many women, nuns, sisters, of the Resurrection, grant the wish for the reunification of the living and the dead as well as, as Father Andreas Kefalogiannis reported to APE-MPE “today there is a very intense not only the emotional as well as the spiritual presence of those who have passed away, in the places where they moved and existed. This happens because on today’s Lazarus day, thought and speech are about the memory of the dead, their deeds and the imprint of their lives”.

Women want the sweet lazarokouloura to coincide with the sweet memory, while the custom and what concerns preparation, kneading, decorating, is taught to the little girls with the command to always honor the dead in the family. As the protopresbyter explained, the initials of names on the lazaro coils indicate which coil among the multitude of those inside the church, belongs to which person. He also characterized as important the fact that even the visitors of the village accept the gift of memory from the lazarokouloures, a fact that testifies, as he said, that just as the acquaintance between people is important for the living, the acquaintance that concerns the testimony is also important of their memory to the foreigners of the place.

The Sabbath of Lazarus sends the message of the Resurrection and prepares the faithful for Holy Week. The Anogeans consider today very important for friendship between people since Lazarus was a good friend of Jesus.

Sources: APE-MPE/ NEAKRITI.GR