The Maronite Church (27 August 2024)
Presented Online
Nicholas Hardwick
The Maronite Church, whose official name is the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church, is the major Christian denomination in Lebanon. It is an eastern rite Catholic Church and it is in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Its continued existence in Lebanon, despite the introduction of Islam to the region in the seventh century AD, means that it has always had an influential role in the history and the society of Lebanon. The people who live in the village of Toula belong to the Maronite Church.
Overall the church is headed by the Pope, who is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, while the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East is the head of the Maronite Church. The latter is currently Bechara Boutros Al-Ra'i (1940-), who was appointed Patriarch in 2011, and his principal seat is at Bkerké, north-east of Beirut. This is the winter residence, but the summer residence is at Dimane, above the Kadisha Valley in north Lebanon, which is not far from Toula.
The liturgy of the church is in Syriac, which is the ancient language of the region, and is from the Semitic family of languages, which includes Hebrew and Arabic. It was used in the region before the Arab conquest. However, Arabic is used for worship as the vernacular, that is, the everyday, language of Lebanon.
The form of worship differs from most Roman Catholic Churches and has an eastern rite, which is similar to that of the Orthodox Churches. Some of the principal features of the eastern rite in the Maronite Church are the vestments of the priests are of an eastern style, and the words which are sung when the bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ are in Aramaic, which was the language of Christ. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, married men are able to be ordained as priests in the Maronite Church, although not monks, and thus bishops, who are selected from monks.
Other eastern rite Catholic churches, which are called Uniate Churches, include the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, whose headquarters are in Damascus, and the Coptic Catholic Church of Egypt, which is distinct from the much larger Coptic Orthodox Church. Although these former two churches are in communion with the Roman Catholic Church and have eastern rites, they have significantly different origins.
Apart from the Maronite and Melkite Churches, the significant eastern rite churches in Lebanon are the Antiochian Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church.
The largest number of Maronites lives in the area of Mount Lebanon, the coastal areas in the north of Lebanon and east Beirut. This is largely because they moved to and remained in the mountainous region in order to escape the Muslim Arab Conquest in 637, or lived in parts of the coast which the Arabs did not occupy.
The Maronites are named after St Maron, the founder of the church, who was a Syriac monk of the early fifth century. He was a contemporary of St Assia, the patron saint of Toula, and came from the same cultural context. The latter was a friend of St John Chrysostom, the famous Bishop of Constantinople, who lived from c.347-407, and whose second name means ‘the golden mouth’ on account of his distinguished oratory. Indeed, St Assia is said to have visited Constantinople to meet the Roman Emperor Theodosius II ‘the Great’, who reigned 379-95.
St Assia lived until 377. In his lifetime, Christianity, which had been persecuted by the Roman Empire during the first centuries after the birth of Christ, had only relatively recently become the official religion of the Roman Empire from the reign of Constantine the Great, who was Roman emperor from 312-37. He tolerated Christianity from 312, was the first emperor to convert to Christianity and he moved the capital of the empire in 330 to Constantinople, present day Istanbul in Turkey.
The historical and the cultural context in which St Maron and St Assia lived was the Greek speaking eastern Roman Empire, whose culture was mainly Greek, but influenced by several centuries of Roman rule, and also had the influence of many near eastern cultures, such as, in the region of Lebanon, Phoenician and Aramaic.
St Assia’s father, Famtiros, was close to the Emperor Theodosius. Theodosius is famous for founding the Roman Empire as a Christian Catholic state, that is, he made Arianism, a heresy attributed to Arius (256–336), who preached in Alexandria, and other Christian heresies illegal, outlawed paganism and ended sacrifice, and established everywhere in the empire, which included Lebanon, the Christian religion in the form which has developed into the Roman Catholic Church.
Other saints and church fathers of this period came from families close to the imperial family. Many important saints in the eastern Mediterranean date from the Later Roman Empire (284-476), with other examples being St Basil and St George, both of whom were supposedly active in Asia Minor, modern day Turkey, which is not far from Lebanon.
Abraham of Cyrrhus (c.350-422), called the Apostle of Lebanon, was the first disciple of St Maron, and in 402 he went to Lebanon to convert the Phoenician population to Christianity.
Despite various divisions of the church about theological issues in the early centuries of Christianity, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean region and the Middle East, the Maronites remained in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.
The Maronites were important during the Crusades because they were in communion with the Roman Catholic Church, which was the church of the Crusaders from western Europe. The Crusades were a series of wars fought from 1095 until 1291, with the aim of freeing Jerusalem and the Holy Land, which is presently largely the region of Israel, from Islamic dominance. These campaigns were initiated by the Roman Catholic Church in western Europe. The Crusaders thus found a compatible ally in the region.
Since no official census has taken place in Lebanon since 1932, the precise numbers of adherents of each religious group is difficult to determine. However, it is estimated that about 21% of the population of Lebanon are Maronites.
Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christians are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and are the second largest Christian group in Lebanon after the Maronites. At about 8% of the population of Lebanon, there may be at least half as many adherents in the country as Maronites.
Lebanese Melkite Christians are about 5% of the population and are the third largest Christian group in the country. They trace their origins to the early Christians in the region and have an Eastern rite like the Orthodox churches. They resumed being in communion with the Roman Catholic Church in 1724.
The Maronite Church exists in the context of other religions in Lebanon apart from Christianity, of which the most significant ones are Sunni, Shia, Alawi and Isma’ili Muslim sects, and Druze, the latter of which do not identify themselves as Muslims. At about 27% of the population for each group, an approximately equal number of Sunnis and Shiites live in Lebanon and are the largest Muslim sects.
Sunni is the largest branch of Islam with 85-90% of the world’s Muslims. In Lebanon, they are tied closely with Saudi Arabia. West Beirut and Sidon have significant populations, and Tripoli is an important centre, in which 95% of the population are Muslim, and virtually all Sunni.
Shia is the second largest branch of Islam with 10-15% of the world’s Muslims. Concentrations of Shia Muslims in Lebanon are in southern Lebanon, southern Beirut and the northern and western parts of the Beqaa Valley.
The Alawites, who split from Shia Islam early in its history, are one of the official sects of Lebanon, with 50,000 adherents and they mostly live in Tripoli. They are important in neighbouring Syria, since, although they constitute only about 10% of the population, it is the sect of the ruling Assad family, and Alawites dominate the major positions in the government and the armed forces.
The Isma’ilis, a branch of Shia Islam, are a recognised religious sect in Lebanon. Early in the twentieth century, they formed a significant group of Muslims in Lebanon, but, their number has declined in recent years.
The Druze are an Abrahamic religion, that is, descended from the teachings of the prophet Abraham in the Old Testament of the Bible, like Judaism and Christianity. Although the religion emerged from Isma’ilism, its adherents are not Muslims. Their beliefs are influenced by Christianity, because they have lived closely with the Maronites for many centuries. Unlike Muslims, they adhere to monogamy, but, unlike Christians, they believe in reincarnation.
With a worldwide population of about 1 million, they largely live in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. Representing about 5% of the population of Lebanon, their concentration is in the Chouf District, the mountainous and rural area south-east of Beirut. They have been important in the history and politics of the Levant. Along with the Maronites, the Druze played an important role in the formation of the modern state of Lebanon from the early eighteenth century AD. They have been influential in the modern history of Lebanon, especially during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-90), and in more recent political developments. Walid Jumblatt (1949-) has been the major political leader of the Druze since the assassination of his father, Kamal Jumblatt (1917-77). In 2023, his son, Taymur Jumblatt (1982-), took over as the main political leader of the Druze.
The Jews have had a community in Lebanon since antiquity and in the past have made a considerable contribution to the society. Although in the early 1950s about 10,000 Jews lived in Lebanon, as a result of various recent wars, all except twenty-two have left the country.
The division of power in Lebanon reflects the population of the various religious groups. The President is a Maronite, whereas the Prime Minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of the National Assembly in a Shia Muslim. This reflects the National Pact, which is the unwritten agreement at the foundation of the country in 1943, for the division of power between the various religious groups. The representation in the 128 seats of the parliament is equal, that is, 64 seats, for Christians, who are predominantly Maronites with 34 seats, and for Muslims, whose number includes the Druze.
A Maronite family, which has been very influential in recent politics, is the Gemayal family. It includes Pierre Gemayel (1905-84), who founded the Kataeb, or Phalangist, Party, and his sons, Bachir (1947-82) and Amine (1942-), who were respectively President-elect (1982) and President (1982-8) of Lebanon.
Thus, Lebanon has a variety of religions, which contribute to its ethnic diversity and provide a basis for its rich culture.
In Lebanon, the church has very many important, and architecturally and historically significant, churches and other buildings. The monastery of Saint Anthony of Qozhaya, which is in the Zgharta District not far from Toula, is an important monastery for the Maronite Church. It dates from the thirteenth century and is significant for the history of the church.
There are many important Maronite churches in Lebanon. These include St George Maronite Cathedral, Beirut, which was built between 1884-94 in neo-classical style, that is, the style derived from classical Greco-Roman architecture. The interior is influenced by the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which is one of the major churches in Rome. Another significant church is St Michael Cathedral, Tripoli.
The church of St Assia in Toula is a Maronite church and the principal church of the village. It is a beautiful stone building of Romanesque style, with Gothic features, which shows the probable influence of either Byzantine or western European architecture brought to the region by the Crusaders in the Mediaeval Period.
Significant numbers of Maronites live in countries which neighbour Lebanon, that is, Syria, Cyprus, Israel and Palestine, as well as in countries where Lebanese communities exist, such as Australia, the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Their families left Lebanon at various times, but particularly during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-90).
Cyprus is a popular place for them to live because of its proximity to Lebanon and to where they migrated in the Mediaeval Period about a thousand years ago. Although historically they have lived in four villages in the northern, predominantly Turkish, area of the divided island, the great majority now live in the southern, predominantly Greek, area, and they largely speak Greek, although some speak a variety of Arabic called Cypriot Arabic.
As is noted above, Australia is a significant destination of people from Lebanon, who belong to the Maronite Church. They form significant groups in the major cities, such as Sydney, and, as a result, major institutions of the church have been established in Australia.
Some of the significant Maronite churches in Sydney are St Maroun’s Cathedral in Redfern, Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Harris Park and St Charbel’s Church in Punchbowl. The first is in the area near the city of Sydney, where the early Lebanese community settled, whereas the latter two are in areas with significant numbers of people from Lebanon, who have come to Australia in more recent years, and of Lebanese descent. The Maronite Heritage Centre, which was established in 2006, is located at the cathedral in Redfern, and has a significant collection of artefacts and documents which are related to Maronite culture.
Although the largest number of Maronites, and thus parishes, are in New South Wales, there are parishes in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. In Melbourne, Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Thornbury in north Melbourne is significant.
Some of the major Maronite schools in Sydney are the Maronite College of the Holy Family, Harris Park, and St Charbel’s College, Punchbowl.
Since 2013, Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay (1967-), who comes from Lebanon, has been the Bishop of the Eparchy of St Maron of Sydney, which has jurisdiction over all Maronites in Australia. This Eparchy was established in 1973 and its seat is at St Maroun’s Cathedral in Redfern. At the time of the founding of the museum in 2009, the bishop was Bishop Ad Abi Karam (1937-), also from Lebanon, who served from 2022-13, and was Patron of the Museum.
The Maronite Church is thus very significant in the history and the society of Lebanon and in the village of Toula. Its community plays a significant role in the political arrangements of Lebanon. Its adherents form a large group in the various countries where people from Lebanon have migrated, such as Australia.
Sources:
The Maronite Church in Australia: Growth of the Maronite Eparchy