The Lazarus Church of Murom Monastery is one of the oldest preserved wooden religious buildings in Russia. It was located on the southeast shore of Lake Onega and, according to legend, was built in the 14th century by monk Lazarus, the founder of the monastery. In 1960, the church was moved to the Kizhi Museum-Reserve. This is a typical cell church, which were common in Zaonezhye until the early 18th century. The Lazarus Church is small: 8.8 meters long and 3.6 meters wide. It consists of three cells, each covered with a gable roof, and the middle cell is topped with a small dome. The walls of the church are hewn “in the round,” which gives it a resemblance to utility buildings. Such chapels in the southern Arkhangelsk and Vologda regions were often called “barn chapels,” differing from barns only by the presence of a drum with an onion dome on the ridge of the roof.

The interior decoration of the Lazarus Church has remained virtually unchanged, representing an interesting example of interior design in small spaces. Chapels of this type were likely common in the North in the 14th and 15th centuries, especially in small villages.

Upon entering the Lazarus Church, visitors immediately notice the wall with a door leading to the main room. In the dimly lit vestibule, it creates the impression that the wall is made of logs of enormous thickness, emphasized by the massive narrow door. This door, framed in a thick hewn frame and raised above the floor, is an important part of the interior. The main element of the interior decoration is the richly colored iconostasis, illuminated by side windows.

The iconostasis in the church is unusual: it consists of two tiers, the upper “Deesis” and the lower “local.” Most of the icons date back to the 15th and 16th centuries. The icons in the upper row stand out, depicting the archangels Michael and Gabriel, the apostles Peter and Paul, as well as miniature royal doors. To visually increase the height of the room, full-length figures of Basil the Great and John Chrysostom are depicted on the door leaves. The artist rejected the traditional motif with the four evangelists, as this would require dividing the leaves into square panels.