Lazarus Saturday was liturgically celebrated today in the Church of St. Nicholas in the Old Town of Kotor. The service was officiated by the Archbishop of Kotor-Tivat, the parish priest of Kotor, Archpriest – Stavrophor Nemanja Krivokapić, with the clergy of the Kotor Parish.

Vrbica – Lazarus Saturday, or Saturday of the Righteous Lazarus, on the eve of Palm Sunday, is dedicated to the resurrection of Lazarus of Bithynia, whom Jesus Christ raised from the dead after four days in the tomb.

“This holiday was established in Jerusalem at the end of the 4th century. After the resurrection, Lazarus was Bishop of Cyprus. Many Serbian families celebrate the holiday of Lazarus Saturday as a baptismal feast. On Lazarus Saturday, a special and very colorful custom known as Vrbica is celebrated. On this day, willow twigs were picked from the willow tree,” recalls Father Aleksandar Schmemann in his work “Secrets of the Holiday”.

Lazarus Saturday, or Vrbica, is a day of children’s joy, and that was the case today at the service, and then at the procession around the churches of St. Nicholas and St. Luke, whose special decoration was the numerous children who received bells on Lazarus Saturday.