View source for Maronite Church

{{Short description|Eastern Catholic church}}
{{distinguish|Marcionite Church}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox religion
| icon               = Coat of Arms of the Maronite Patriarchate.svg
| icon_width         = 45px
| icon_alt           = 
| name               = Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church
| native_name        = 
| image              = Bkerke.jpg
| imagewidth         = 270px
| alt                = 
| caption            = Seat of the [[Maronite Patriarch of Antioch|patriarchate]] in [[Bkerké]], [[Lebanon]]
| abbreviation       = 
| type               = 
| main_classification = [[Eastern Catholic]]
| orientation        = [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac]]
| scripture          = [[Peshitta]]<ref>[https://phoenicia.org/assemani.html Assemani, Maronite Light from the East for the Church and the World]</ref><ref>[http://studiahumana.com/pliki/wydania/2(3)-5.pdf Studia Humana Volume 2:3 (2013), pp. 53—55 ]</ref>
| theology           = [[Catholic theology]]
| polity             = [[Episcopal polity|Episcopal]]
| governance         = {{Interlanguage link|Holy Synod of the Maronite Church|ar|المجمع المقدس الكنيسة المارونية|v=ib}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/conference/205.htm |title=Synod of the Maronite Church Patriarchal Synod |access-date=22 November 2019 |archive-date=4 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104071649/https://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/conference/205.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| structure          = 
| leader_title       = [[Pope]]
| leader_name        = {{incumbent pope}}<!-- this is updated automatically when there is a new pope -->
| leader_title1      = [[Maronite Patriarch of Antioch|Patriarch]]<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2019/05/20/cardinal-nasrallah-boutros-sfeir-head-maronite-church-steered/ Cardinal Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, head of the Maronite Church who steered a difficult course between factions in the Middle East – obituary]</ref><ref>[https://detroitcatholic.com/news/daniel-meloy/maronite-patriarch-elevates-st-maron-pastor-to-chorbishop-during-detroit-visit Maronite patriarch elevates St. Maron pastor to chorbishop during Detroit visit]</ref>
| leader_name1       = [[Bechara Boutros al-Rahi]]
| leader_title3      = 
| leader_name3       = 
| fellowships_type   = 
| fellowships        = 
| fellowships_type1  = 
| fellowships1       = 
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| division           = 
| division_type1     = 
| division1          = 
| division_type2     = 
| division2          = 
| division_type3     = 
| division3          = 
| associations       = 
| area               = [[Lebanon]] (approximately one third), [[Syria]], [[Israel]], [[Cyprus]], [[Jordan]], [[Palestine]] and [[diaspora]]
| language           = [[Arabic language|Arabic]],<ref>[https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/eastern-catholic-churches/maronite-church/maronite-worship Maronite liturgy draws from Eastern and Western traditions, Catholics and cultures]</ref><ref>[https://www.olol.org.au/the-maronite-tradition/the-maronite-divine-liturgy The Maronite Divine Liturgy, By Dr Margaret Ghosn, Our Lady of Lebanon parish Australia]</ref> [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] ([[Syriac language|Classical Syriac]])
| liturgy            = [[West Syriac Rite]]
| headquarters       = [[Bkerké]], [[Lebanon]]
| origin_link        = 
| founder            = [[Maron]]; [[John Maron]]
| founded_date       = 410 AD
| founded_place      = [[Deir Mar Maroun|Monastery of Saint Maron]], [[Phoenicia under Roman rule|Phoenicia]], [[Roman Empire]]|
| parent             = 
| merger             = 
| absorbed           = 
| separations        = 
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| defunct            = 
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| members            = 3,498,707<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cnewa.org/source-images/Roberson-eastcath-statistics/eastcatholic-stat17.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=15 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024215818/http://www.cnewa.org/source-images/Roberson-eastcath-statistics/eastcatholic-stat17.pdf |archive-date=24 October 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| ministers_type     = 
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| missionaries       = 
| churches           = 
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| primary_schools    = 
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| other_names        = 
| publications       = 
| website            = 
| slogan             = 
| logo               = [[File:Coat of Arms of the Maronite Patriarchate.svg|40px]]
| footnotes          = 
}}
{{Maronites}}
{{Eastern Catholicism}}

The '''Maronite Church''' ({{langx|ar|الكنيسة المارونية‎}}; {{langx|syr|ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܡܪܘܢܝܬܐ}}) is an [[Eastern Catholic]] ''[[sui iuris]]'' [[particular church]] in [[full communion]] with the [[pope]] and the worldwide [[Catholic Church]], with self-governance under the [[Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches]].<ref>Richard P. Mc Brien, ''The Church: The Evolution of Catholicism'' (New York: Harper One, 2008), 450. O'Brien notes: The Vatican II document, ''Orientalium Ecclesiarum'', "acknowledged that the Eastern Catholic communities are true Churches and not just rites within the Catholic Church."</ref> The head of the Maronite Church is [[Maronite Patriarch of Antioch|Patriarch]] [[Bechara Boutros al-Rahi]], who was elected in March 2011 following the resignation of Patriarch [[Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir]]. The seat of the Maronite Patriarchate is in [[Bkerké]], northeast of [[Beirut]], [[Lebanon]]. Officially known as the '''Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church''' ({{langx|ar|الكنيسة الأنطاكية السريانية المارونية}}; {{langx|syr|ܥܹܕܬܵܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ ܡܪܘܝܝܐ ܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ}}), it is part of [[Syriac Christianity]] by [[liturgy]] and heritage.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Book of Offering: According to the Rite of the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church |publisher=Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East |year=2012 |location=Bkerké, Lebanon}}</ref>

The early development of the Maronite Church can be divided into three periods, from the 4th to the 7th centuries. A [[Church (congregation)|congregation]] movement, with Saint [[Maron]] from the [[Taurus Mountains]] as an inspirational leader and [[patron saint]], marked the first period. The second began with the establishment of the [[Deir Mar Maroun|Monastery of Saint Maroun on the Orontes]], built after the [[Council of Chalcedon]] to defend the doctrines of the council.<ref>[http://www.maronite-heritage.com/History.php History of the Maronites], Maronite Heritage.com, 13 April 2016.</ref> This monastery was described as the "greatest monastery" in the region of ''[[Roman Syria|Syria Secunda]]'', with more than 300 [[hermitage (religious retreat)|hermitage]]s around it, according to ancient records.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stmaron.org/spirituality/online-articles/aspects-of-maronite-history-part-two/ |title=Aspects of Maronite History&mdash;Monastery of St. Maron |publisher=Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn |first=Seely |last=Beggiani |access-date=4 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010302045428/http://www.stmaron.org/marhist2.html |archive-date=2 March 2001 |url-status=dead }}</ref> After 518, the monastery ''[[de facto]]'' administered many parishes in ''[[Syria Prima]]'', ''Cole Syria'' and ''[[Phoenicia]]''. The third period was when ''[[Sede Vacante]]'' followed the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|Islamic conquest of the region]] and bishops of the Saint Maron Monastery elected [[John Maron]] as Patriarch circa 685 AD, according to Maronite tradition. The [[Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch]] reestablished [[List of Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch|their patriarchate]] in 751 AD.{{Sfn | No'man| 1996| p = 22}} Other centers of historical importance include [[Batroun District|Kfarhay]], [[Yanouh, Byblos|Yanouh]], [[Mayfouq]], and the [[Qadisha Valley]].

Although reduced in numbers today, the distinct but related [[Maronite]] ethno-religious group [[Demographics of Lebanon|remains a principal grouping in Lebanon]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Music and Minorities from Around the World: Research, Documentation and Interdisciplinary Study|first=Adelaida|last=Reyes|year= 2014| isbn=9781443870948| page =45|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|quote=The Maronites are an ethnoreligious group in the Levant.}}</ref> with smaller minorities of Maronites in [[Syria]], [[Cyprus]], [[Israel]], [[Palestine]], and [[Jordan]]. [[Emigration]] since the 19th century means that about two-thirds of the Maronite Church's roughly 3.5 million members in 2017<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cnewa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2017-Statistics-Worldwide-pie-chart.pdf|title=Eastern Catholic Churches Worldwide 2017|date=2017|access-date=25 October 2021|publisher=[[Catholic Near East Welfare Association]]}}</ref> were located outside "The Antiochian's Range", where they are part of the worldwide [[Lebanese diaspora]].

== History ==
===Origin===
<!-- Commented out: [[File:Saint Maron.JPG|thumb|left|150px|[[Maron]] (died sometime between 406 and 423 AD), founder of the Maronite spiritual movement. Since the 17th century, his feast day has been celebrated on 9 February. Statue, [[St. Peter's Basilica]], [[Rome]].]] -->
{{Main|Maron}}
[[File:St. Maron.jpg|thumb|left|St. Maron: Russian orthodox icon]]
[[File:Brad_Northern_Basilica.jpg|thumb|Remains of the arch of Brad Cathedral north of Aleppo, where Saint Maron's tomb was attached]]
[[Maron]], a fourth-century [[monk]] and a contemporary and friend of [[John Chrysostom]], left Antioch for the [[Orontes River]] in modern-day Syria to lead an [[ascetic]] life, following the traditions of [[Anthony the Great]] of the Desert and of [[Pachomius]]. Many of his followers also lived a monastic lifestyle. Maron is considered the founder of the spiritual and monastic movement that evolved into what is now the Maronite Church. Maronite Christianity has had a profound influence on what is now [[Lebanon]], and to a lesser degree [[Syria]], [[Jordan]] and [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. Saint Maron spent his life on a mountain in Syria, generally believed to be ''"Kefar-Nabo"'' on the mountain of ''Ol-Yambos'' in the [[Taurus Mountains]], contemporary [[Turkey]], becoming the cradle of the Maronite movement established in the [[Monastery of Saint Maron]].

Following Maron's death in 410 AD, his disciples built Beth-Maron monastery at [[Apamea, Syria|Apamea]] (present day [[Qalaat al-Madiq]]). This formed the nucleus of the Maronite Church. In 452, after the [[Council of Chalcedon]], the monastery was expanded by the [[Byzantine emperor]] [[Marcian]].<ref name=Gervers>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=te2Jg-RTi4YC|title=Conversion and Continuity|year=1990|isbn=9780888448095|via=books.google.com}}</ref>

The Maronite movement reached Lebanon when St. Maron's first disciple, [[Abraham of Cyrrhus]], who was called the "Apostle of Lebanon", set out to convert the non-Christians by introducing them to St. Maron.<ref name="www.maronite-heritage.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.maronite-heritage.com/LNE.php?page=Statistics |title=There are 3,198,600 Maronites in the World |publisher=Maronite-heritage.com |date=3 January 1994 |access-date=3 January 2015}}</ref>

The [[Maronites]] subscribed to the beliefs of the Council of Chalcedon in 451. [[Monophysites]] of Antioch slew 350 monks and burned the monastery in an act of [[sectarian violence among Christians]]. Later, [[Justinian I]] restored the community. Correspondence concerning the event brought the Maronites papal and orthodox recognition, indicated by a letter from [[Pope Hormisdas]] (514–523) dated 10 February 518.<ref>[[Donald Attwater|Attwater, Donald]]; ''The Christian Churches of the East''</ref> Representatives from Beth-Maron participated in the Constantinople synods of [[Council of Constantinople (536)|536]] and [[Council of Constantinople (553)|553]].

An outbreak of civil war during the reign of Emperor [[Phocas]] brought forth riots in the cities of Syria and Palestine and incursions by Persian king [[Khosrow II]]. In 609, the Patriarch of Antioch, [[Anastasius II of Antioch|Anastasius II]], was killed either at the hands of some soldiers or locals.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 1454219|title = Who Killed Anastasius II?|journal = The Jewish Quarterly Review|volume = 72|issue = 3|pages = 202–204|last1 = Frendo|first1 = J. D.|year = 1982|doi = 10.2307/1454219}}</ref> This left the Maronites without a leader, which continued because of the final [[Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628]].

In the aftermath of the war, the emperor [[Heraclius]] propagated a new Christological doctrine in an attempt to unify the various Christian churches of the East, who were divided over accepting the [[Council of Chalcedon]]. This doctrine, called [[Monothelitism]], held that Christ had two natures (one divine and one human) but only one will (not a divine will and also a human will), based on a phrasing of [[Pope Honorius I]] (see [[Monothelitism#Controversy over Honorius I|Controversy over Honorius I]]), and was meant as a compromise between supporters of Chalcedon, such as the Maronites, and opponents, such as the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Jacobites]]. [[Monothelitism]] failed to settle the schism, however, and was declared a heresy at the [[Third Council of Constantinople|Sixth Ecumenical Council]] in 680–681. The Council condemned both Honorius and Patriarch [[Sergius I of Constantinople]] but did not explicitly mention the Maronites.<ref name=Gervers/>

Contemporary Greek and Arab sources suggest the Maronites rejected the [[Third Council of Constantinople]] and accepted monothelitism,{{sfn|Moosa|1986|pp=195–216}} only moving away from it in the time of the [[Crusades]] in order to avoid being branded heretics by the crusaders. The Maronite Church, however, rejects the assertions that the Maronites were ever monothelites and broke communion with Rome;<ref name="monks">{{cite web|url=http://maronitemonks.org/wp/story-maronite-catholics/|title=The Story of the Maronite Catholics - The Maronite Monks of Adoration|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-date=22 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160622170850/http://maronitemonks.org/wp/story-maronite-catholics|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the question remains a matter of controversy.{{sfn|Moosa|1986|pp=195–216}} Elias El-Hāyek attributes much of the confusion to Eutyches of Alexandria, whose ''Annals'' El-Hāyek claimed contain erroneous material regarding the early Maronite Church, which was then picked up by [[William of Tyre]] and others.<ref name=Gervers/> Robert W. Crawford concluded the same, pointing out that the heretic "Maro" mentioned in the ''Annals'', which William of Tyre considers as the namesake of the Maronites, was a [[Nestorian]] from Edessa and could not have been [[Maron]] or [[John Maron]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Crawford |first1=Robert W. |title=William of Tyre and the Maronites |journal=Speculum |date=1955 |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=222–228 |doi=10.2307/2848470 |jstor=2848470 |s2cid=163021809 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2848470 |issn=0038-7134|url-access=subscription }}</ref> However, [[Donald Attwater]], a 20th-century historian of Eastern Christianity, affirmed the view that Maronites broke communion with Rome over monothelitism, however briefly.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Christian Churches of the East: Volume I: Churches in Communion With Rome|author=[[Donald Attwater]]|publisher=Bruce Publishing Company|editor=Joseph Husslein|location=[[Milwaukee]]|date=1937|pages=165–167}}</ref>

=== First Maronite Patriarch ===
{{Main|John Maron}}
[[File:Maronite monk and pilgrims, Mount Lebanon.jpg|thumb|left|Maronite monk and [[pilgrims]], [[Mount Lebanon]]]]
The Patriarch of Antioch [[Anastasius II of Antioch|Anastasius II]] died in 609, and Constantinople began to appoint a series of titular patriarchs, who resided in Constantinople. In 685, the Maronites elected Bishop John Maron of [[Batroun]] as Patriarch of Antioch and all the East.<ref name=Gervers/>

[[File:Le Levant sous les Omeyyades vers 700 EC.jpg|thumb|The Eastern Mediterranean under Umayyad rule, with the Mardaites zones showed in Mount Lebanon and the Amanus]]

In 687, as part of an agreements with [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan]], Byzantine emperor [[Justinian II]] sent 12,000 Christian Maronites from Lebanon to Armenia,<ref>Bury, J.B., A History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene, Vol. II, MacMillan & Co., 1889, p. 321</ref> in exchange for a substantial payment and half the revenues of Cyprus.<ref name=Gervers/> There they were conscripted as rowers and [[marine (military)|marines]] in the [[Byzantine navy]].<ref>Treadgold, Warren T., ''Byzantium and Its Army, 284–1081'', 1998, Stanford University Press, p. 72, {{ISBN|0-8047-3163-2}},</ref> Additional resettlement efforts allowed Justinian to reinforce naval forces depleted by earlier conflicts.<ref>Ostrogorsky, George, ''History of the Byzantine state'', (Joan Hussey, trans.), 1957, Rutgers University Press, pp. 116–122, {{ISBN|0-8135-0599-2}}</ref>

John Maron established himself in the remote [[Kadisha Valley|Qadisha Valley]] in Lebanon. In 694, Justinian sent troops against the Maronites in an unsuccessful attempt to capture the Patriarch.<ref name=Beggiani/> John Maron died in 707 at the Monastery of St. Maron in Lebanon. Around 749 the Maronite community, in the Lebanon mountains, built the Mar-Mama church at [[Ehden]]. Meanwhile, caught between the Byzantines and the Arabs, the monastery at Beth-Maron struggled to survive.<ref name="Kolvenbach">{{Cite web|url=http://www.stmaron.org/spirituality/online-articles/maronites-between-two-worlds/|title=Maronites Between Two Worlds – Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn|website=www.stmaron.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-08-18|archive-date=22 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822222604/http://www.stmaron.org/spirituality/online-articles/maronites-between-two-worlds/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Islamic rule ===
[[File:NunofLebanon.jpg|thumb|right|1779 painting of a Maronite nun from Mount Lebanon, with brown [[jilbab]], blue headscarf and black [[hijab]]]]
After they came under Arab rule following the [[Muslim conquest of Syria]] (634–638), Maronite immigration to Lebanon, which had begun some time before, increased, intensifying under the Abbasid caliph [[al-Ma'mun]] (813–33).<ref name=Beggiani>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stmaron.org/marhist2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520200602/http://www.stmaron.org/marhist2.html|url-status=dead|title=PureHost|archive-date=20 May 2015|website=www.stmaron.org}}</ref>

To eliminate internal dissent, from 1289 to 1291 Egyptian Mamluk troops descended on Mount Lebanon, destroying forts and monasteries.<ref name=Frazee>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iepJAgAAQBAJ&q=maronite+church&pg=PT883|title=Encyclopedia of Monasticism|first=William M.|last=Johnston|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136787164|via=Google Books}}</ref>

=== Crusades ===
Following the Muslim conquest of Eastern Christendom outside [[Anatolia]] and Europe in the 7th century and after the establishment of secured lines of demarcation between Islamic [[caliphs]] and Byzantine emperors, little was heard from the Maronites for 400 years. Secure in their mountain strongholds, the Maronites were re-discovered in the mountains near [[Tripoli, Lebanon]], by [[Raymond IV of Toulouse|Raymond of Toulouse]] on his way to conquer Jerusalem in the [[First Crusade|Great Crusade]] of 1096–1099. Raymond later returned to [[Siege of Tripoli|besiege Tripoli]] (1102–1109) after the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, and relations between the Maronites and European Christianity were subsequently reestablished.<ref name=eastern>{{Cite web|url=http://www.maryourmother.net/Eastern.html|title=THE EASTERN CHRISTIAN CHURCHES|website=www.maryourmother.net|access-date=10 October 2009|archive-date=18 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418160255/http://www.maryourmother.net/Eastern.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Maronites assisted the crusaders and affirmed their affiliation with the [[Holy See]] of Rome in 1182.<ref name=CNEWA/> To commemorate their communion, Maronite Patriarch Youseff Al Jirjisi received the crown and staff, marking his patriarchal authority, from [[Pope Paschal II]] in 1100 AD. In 1131, Maronite Patriarch Gregorios Al-Halati received letters from Pope [[Innocent II]] in which the Papacy recognized the authority of the [[Patriarchate of Antioch]]. Patriarch [[Jeremias II Al-Amshitti]] (1199–1230) became the first Maronite Patriarch to visit Rome when he attended the [[Fourth Council of the Lateran]] in 1215.<ref name=CNEWA/> The Patriarchate of Antioch was also represented at the [[Council of Florence|Council of Ferrara-Florence]] in 1438.<ref name=vanr>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5VQUdZhx1gC&q=maronite+church&pg=PA171|title=[[The Oxford History of Christian Worship]]|editor-first1=Geoffrey|editor-last1=Wainwright|editor-link1=Geoffrey Wainwright|editor-first2=Karen B.|editor-last2=Westerfield Tucker|editor-link2=Karen B. Westerfield Tucker|date=23 March 2006|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=New York|isbn=9780195138863|chapter=Excursus: The Maronites|first=Lucas|last=Van Rompay|page=171}}</ref> [[Peter Hans Kolvenbach]] notes, "This contact with the Latin Church enriched the intellectual world of Europe in the Middle Ages. Maronites taught Oriental languages and literature at the universities of Italy and France."<ref name=Kolvenbach/>

During the Mamluk rule over Lebanon the Maronites were persecuted, with many being killed and others emigrating to Cyprus. Maronite Patriarch Gabriel II was burned alive in 1367 by the Mamluks and after a Mamluk campaign against the patriarch residence in Ilig (close to Byblos), the patriarchal seat was moved to the [[Qannoubine|Monastery of Our Lady of Qannubin]], where it remained until the nineteenth century.{{sfn|Mourkazel |2020|page=294}}

=== Ottoman rule ===
In the [[Ottoman Empire]], indigenous concentrated religious communities dealt mainly with the provincial administration. Officially, Maronites had to pay the ''[[jizya]]'' tax as non-Muslims, but sometimes the monks and clergy were exempt because they were considered to be "poor".<ref name=vanl>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IFDkfiE-ZUcC&q=maronite+church|title=Notables and Clergy in Mount Lebanon: The Khāzin Sheikhs and the Maronite Church, 1736-1840|first=Richard Van|last=Leeuwen|date=23 March 1994|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9004099786|via=Google Books}}</ref>

[[Fakhr-al-Din II]] (1572–1635) was a [[Druze]] prince and a leader of the Emirate of [[Chouf District]] in the governorate of Mount Lebanon. Maronite Abū Nādir al-Khāzin was one of his foremost supporters and served as Fakhr-al-Din's adjutant. Phares notes that "The emirs prospered from the intellectual skills and trading talents of the Maronites, while the Christians gained political protection, autonomy and a local ally against the ever-present threat of direct Ottoman rule."<ref name=Mccallum/> In 1649, Patriarch Yuhanna al-Sufrari placed the Maronites under French protection, and the French opened a consulate in Beirut.<ref name=phan>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nfva8m7UOboC&q=maronite+church&pg=PA247|title=Christianities in Asia|first=Peter C.|last=Phan|date=21 January 2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9781444392609|via=Google Books}}</ref>

The Khāzin sheikhs subsequently increased in power and influence. In 1662, with the mediation of [[Jesuit]] missionaries, Abū Nawfal al-Khāzin was named French consul, despite complaints by Marseille merchants that he was not from Marseille.<ref name=vanl/> The Church prospered from the protection and influence of the Khāzins, but at the expense of interference in church affairs, particularly ecclesiastical appointments, which the Khāzins saw as an extension of their political influence.<ref name=Mccallum/>

[[Bashir Shihab II|Bachir Chehab II]] was the first and last Maronite ruler of the Emirate of Mount Lebanon.{{sfn|Moosa|1986|p=283}}

The relationship between the Druze and [[Christians]] has been characterized by [[harmony]] and peaceful [[Plurinationalism|coexistence]],<ref>
*{{cite book|title=The Druze Community and the Lebanese State: Between Confrontation and Reconciliation| first=Yusri|last=Hazran|year= 2013| isbn= 9781317931737| page = 32|publisher=Routledge|quote= the Druze had been able to live in harmony with the Christian}}
*{{cite book|title=Confrontation and Coexistence| first=Pinḥas |last=Artzi|year= 1984| isbn= 9789652260499| page =166 |publisher=Bar-Ilan University Press|quote=.. Europeans who visited the area during this period related that the Druze "love the Christians more than the other believers," and that they "hate the Turks, the Muslims and the Arabs [Bedouin] with an intense hatred.}}
*{{cite book|title= The Druzes and the Maronites|last=CHURCHILL|year= 1862| page =25 |publisher=Montserrat Abbey Library|quote= ..the Druzes and Christians lived together in the most perfect harmony and good-will..}}
*{{cite book|title= Near East/South Asia Report|last=Hobby|year=1985| page =53|publisher=Foreign Broadcast Information Service|quote= the Druzes and the Christians in the Shuf Mountains in the past lived in complete harmony..}}</ref> with amicable relations between the two groups prevailing throughout history, with the exception of some periods, including [[1860 Mount Lebanon civil war]].<ref name="google">{{cite book |title=An Occasion for War: Civil Conflict in Lebanon and Damascus in 1860 |author=Fawaz, L.T. |date=1994 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=9780520087828 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_nE7RjS91_E4C |access-date=2015-04-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Vocke |first=Harald |title=The Lebanese war: its origins and political dimensions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fvu6AAAAIAAJ&q=The+Lebanese+war:+its+origins+and+political+dimensions |year=1978 |publisher=C. Hurst |isbn=0-903983-92-3 |pages=10 }}</ref>

The Maronite Catholics and the Druze founded modern Lebanon in the early eighteenth century, through a governing and social system known as the "[[Christianity and Druze|Maronite–Druze dualism]]" in the [[Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah: The Unholy Alliance and Its War on Lebanon| first=Marius|last=Deeb|year= 2013| isbn= 9780817916664|publisher=Hoover Press|quote= the Maronites and the Druze, who founded Lebanon in the early eighteenth century.}}</ref>

====Synod of Mount Lebanon (1736)====
{{main|Synod of Mount Lebanon}}
[[File:Tobia Aoun 4.jpg|thumb|Archbishop of Beirut [[Tobia Aoun]] (1803–1871)]]

Due to closer ties with the Latin Church, the Maronite Church became one of the most [[liturgical Latinisation|Latinized]] of the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]]. Contacts between the Maronite monks and Rome were revived during the Crusades. The Maronites introduced to Eastern Churches Western devotional practices such as the [[rosary]] and the [[Stations of the Cross]].<ref name=Kolvenbach/> Late in the 16th century, [[Pope Gregory XIII]] sent Jesuits to the Lebanese monasteries to ensure that their practice conformed to decisions made at the [[Council of Trent]].<ref name=Frazee/> The [[Roman Colleges|Maronite College]] in Rome was established by Gregory XIII in 1584.<ref name=Mccallum>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XzOMAgAAQBAJ&q=maronite+church&pg=PA27|title=Eastern Christianity in the Modern Middle East|first1=Anthony|last1=O'Mahony|first2=Emma|last2=Loosley|date=16 December 2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135193713|via=Google Books}}</ref> The Maronite missal (''[[Holy Qurobo|Qurbono]]'') was first printed between 1592 and 1594 in Rome, although with fewer anaphoras.

Patriarch [[Estephan El Douaihy|Stephan al-Duwayhî]] (1670–1704), (later [[beatification|beatified]]), was able to find a middle ground between reformers and conservatives, and re-vitalized Maronite liturgical tradition.<ref name=vanr/>

The Synod of Mount Lebanon (also Council of Luwayza) sought to incorporate both traditions and become a major turning point in the history of the Maronite Church. Maronite orientalist [[Giuseppe Simone Assemani|Joseph Simon Assemani]] presided as papal legate for [[Pope Clement XII]]. The synod drafted a Code of Canons for the Maronite Church and created the first regular diocesan structure.<ref name=CNEWA/> The Council of Luwayza led to a more effective church structure and to gradual emancipation from the influence of Maronite families.<ref name=Hakim>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TfVeq_fNoMwC&q=maronite+church&pg=PA19|title=The Origins of the Lebanese National Idea: 1840–1920|first=Carol|last=Hakim|date=19 January 2013|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520954717|via=Google Books}}</ref> The council also formalized many of the Latin practices that had developed, but also attempted to preserve ancient Maronite liturgical tradition. Among the changes it decreed where the separation of baptism and confirmation, performing baptism by pouring water over the head instead of full immersion and the use of [[unleavened bread]] in the [[eucharist|eucharistic service]].{{sfn|Moosa|2005|pages=271-272}}

[[File:Charbel.jpg|thumb|Saint Charbel]]

===French rule===
{{main|Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon}}
{{empty section|date=March 2021}}

===Independent Lebanon===
{{main|Christianity in Lebanon}}

Following the first decades of independence, the Maronite patriarchs [[Anthony Peter Arida|Antun ‘Arıdah]] and his successor [[Paul Peter Meouchi|Bolos Meouchi]] placed a crucial role (among other things in establishing relations with the state of Israel), a role that increased due to the failure of the Lebanese state and its institutions in the later half of the 20th century.

Clerics of the Maronite Church, led by Archbishop [[Pietro Sfair]], participated in the [[Second Vatican Council]] as Council Fathers, and had an instrumental role in the drafting of 'Nostra Aetate' and promoting fraternal relations with both Judaism and Islam.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Stackaruk |first=Christian |date=2022 |title=Retrieving MENA Catholics' Contributions to 'Nostra Aetate' |url=https://utoronto.scholaris.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/50b94051-501a-456c-bfb6-83118062f124/content  |work=thesis  |degree=PhD in Theological Studies |location=Toronto, Ontario  |publisher=University of St. Michael's College and the University of Toronto  |access-date=April 16, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=George-Tvrtkovic |first=Rita |date=Autumn 2017 |title=Merye Ana Evi, Marian Devotion and the Making of "Nostra aetate" 3| url=https://www.jsotr.org/stable/45178778 |journal=The Catholic Historical Review |volume=103 |issue=4 |pages=755–781|doi=10.1353/cat.2017.0186|access-date=June 30, 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) consumed the Maronite Church with some 670,000 Christians being replaced as a result of the war.{{sfn|O’Mahony|2008|page=522}}

In ''Orientale lumen'', the Apostolic Letter to the Churches of the East, issued 2 May 1995, [[Pope John Paul II]] quotes ''[[Orientalium Ecclesiarum]]'', the Second Vatican Council's Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches:<blockquote>It has been stressed several times that the full union of the Catholic Eastern Churches with the Church of Rome which has already been achieved must not imply a diminished awareness of their own authenticity and originality. Wherever this occurred, the Second Vatican Council has urged them to rediscover their full identity, because they have "the right and the duty to govern themselves according to their own unique disciplines. For these are guaranteed by ancient tradition and seem to be better suited to the customs of their faithful and to the good of their souls."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cin.org/jp2ency/orielume.html|title=CIN - Orientale Lumen Pope John Paul II|website=www.cin.org}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir|Patriarch Sfeir]]'s personal commitment accelerated liturgical reforms in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1992 he published a new Maronite [[Missal]].<ref name=vanr/> This represents an attempt to return to the original form of the Antiochene Liturgy, removing the liturgical Latinization of past centuries. There are six Anaphoras.

Between 2003 and 2006 the largest Maronite synod since the Lebanese Council of 1736 took place. One of the most important outcomes was the decision to strengthen relations between local, Lebanese institutions and the Maronite institutions and communities abroad.{{sfn|Mourkazel |2020|page=297}}{{sfn|O’Mahony|2008|pages=522-523}} Patriarch Sfeir stated that ''[[Sacrosanctum concilium]]'' and the Roman liturgical changes following Vatican II apply to the Maronite Church. ''Sancrosanctum Concilium'' says, "Among these principles and norms there are some which can and should be applied both to the Roman rite and also to all the other rites. The practical norms which follow, however, should be taken as applying only to the Roman rite, except for those which, in the very nature of things, affect other rites as well."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080221180735/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html|url-status=dead|title=Sacrosanctum concilium|archive-date=21 February 2008|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref> There has also been a revival of the eremitic tradition of the Maronite Church which also resulted in a repopulation of the Qadisha valley by Maronites and other Christians.{{sfn|O’Mahony|2008|page=523}}

== Organization ==
[[File:Peshitta464 (The S.S. Teacher's Edition-The Holy Bible - Plate XIII).jpg|thumb|The [[Peshitta]] is the standard Syriac Bible, used by the Maronite Church, amongst others. The illustration is of the Peshitta text of [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 13:14–16 produced in [[Diyarbakır|Amida]] in the year 464.]]
[[File:Qozhaya01072003.jpg|left|thumb|The Monastery of Saint Anthony of Qozhaya, in the Zgharta district, North Lebanon]]

=== Patriarchate of Antioch ===
The head of the Maronite Church is the [[List of Maronite Patriarchs|Patriarch of Antioch and the Whole Levant]], who is elected by the Maronite bishops and resides in [[Bkerké]], close to [[Jounieh]], north of [[Beirut]]. He resides in the northern town of [[Dimane]] during the summer.<ref name=olp>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourladyofpurgatory.org/aremaronitecatholics.html|title=Maronite Church|access-date=16 June 2016}}</ref>

There are four other claimants to the Patriarchal succession of Antioch:
* two other [[Eastern Catholic]], also in full communion with the Papal [[Holy See]] of Rome :
** the [[Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Alexandria and Jerusalem]] of the [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church]] ([[Byzantine Rite]])
** the [[Patriarch of Antioch and All the East of the Syriacs]] of the [[Syriac Catholic Church]] ([[Antiochian Rite]])
* two Orthodox :
** [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, of the [[Antiochian Orthodox Church]], in communion with the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople]]
** [[Oriental Orthodoxy]], the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Supreme Head of the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]]

[[Clerical celibacy]] is not strictly required for Maronite deacons and priests of parishes outside of North America; monks, however, must remain celibate, as well as bishops who are normally selected from the monasteries. Around 50% of the Maronite [[diocesan priests]] in the Middle East are [[Clerical marriage|married]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Galadza|first=Peter|chapter=Eastern Catholic Christianity|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fWp9JA3aBvcC&pg=PA303|page=303|editor1-last=Parry|editor1-first=Kenneth|title=The Blackwell companion to Eastern Christianity|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4443-3361-9|location=Malden, MA|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|series=Blackwell companions to religion}}</ref> Due to a long-term understanding with their Latin counterparts in North America, Maronite priests in that area have traditionally remained celibate. However, in February 2014, Wissam Akiki was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the U.S. Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon at St. Raymond's Maronite Cathedral in St. Louis. Deacon Akiki is the first married man to be ordained to the Maronite priesthood in North America and will not be expected to remain continent.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/first-married-man-ordained-priest-us-maronite-catholic-church|title=First married man ordained priest for U.S. Maronite Catholic Church|date=2014-02-28|work=National Catholic Reporter|access-date=2018-08-18|language=en|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305072535/http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/first-married-man-ordained-priest-us-maronite-catholic-church|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Episcopates ===
The Maronite church has twenty-eight eparchies and patriarchal [[vicariate]]s.{{sfn|Mourkazel |2020|page=297}} These are:
[[File:MaroniteEparchies.png|thumb|A map depicting the dioceses of the Maronite Church by number of faithful]]

==== Middle East ====
* [[Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch]] see above

; Worldwide Immediately subject to the Patriarch
* In [[Lebanon]]:
** [[Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Antelias]]
** [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Baalbek-Deir El Ahmar]]
** [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Batroun]]
** [[Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut]]
** [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Jbeil]]
** [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Joubbé, Sarba and Jounieh]] (sole Suffragan of the Patriarch of Antioch)
** [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Sidon]]
** [[Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tripoli]]
** [[Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Tyre]]
** [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Zahleh]]
* In the [[Holy Land]]:
** [[Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land]], in Israel whose Archeparch holds the offices of Patriarchal Vicar of: 
*** Patriarchal Exarch of the [[Maronite Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jerusalem and Palestine]] in the [[Palestinian Territories]] and 
*** [[Maronite Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate of Jordan]] in (Trans)[[Jordan]] 
* In [[Syria]]:
** [[Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Damascus]]
** [[Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Aleppo]]
** [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Latakia]]
* In [[Cyprus]]: [[Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Cyprus]] in [[Nicosia]]
* In [[Egypt]]: [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Cairo]]

==== Elsewhere ====
;'' Exempt, i.e. immediately subject to the [[Holy See]]:''
** In [[Africa]]: [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Annunciation of Ibadan]], with cathedral see being Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation, in [[Ibadan]], in [[Nigeria]]
** In [[South America]]: [[Maronite Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Colombia]], with pro-cathedral see being Church of Our Lady of Lebanon, in [[Bogotá]], in [[Colombia]]

;''Subject to the Synod in matters of liturgical and particular law, otherwise exempt, i.e. immediately subject to the [[Holy See]] and its [[Dicastery for the Eastern Churches]]:''
* In [[Europe]]:
** [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Paris]] in France
* In North and Central America:
** [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Montreal]], in [[Canada]]
** [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles]] in the United States<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eparchy.org/|title=MARONITE EPARCHY OF OUR LADY OF LOS ANGELES|last=Soumen|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-date=4 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604200728/http://eparchy.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref> (Central US, US West Coast)
** [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn]] in the United States<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stmaron.org/|title=Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn|access-date=16 June 2016}}</ref> (US East Coast)
** [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of the Martyrs of Lebanon in Mexico]] in [[Mexico]]
* In [[Oceania]]: 
** [[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Sydney]], in [[Australia]]

;''Suffragan Eparchies in the [[ecclesiastical province]]s of Latin Metropolitan Archbishops; both in [[South America]]:''
* ''[[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of San Charbel in Buenos Aires]] in Argentina, suffragan of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Buenos Aires|Archdiocese of Buenos Aires]]''
* ''[[Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of São Paulo]] in Brazil, suffragan of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Paulo|Archdiocese of São Paulo]]''

=== Titular sees ===
* Four [[Titular archbishopric]]s (none Metropolitan): [[Cyrrhus of the Maronites]], [[Laodicea in Syria of the Maronites]], [[Nazareth of the Maronites]], [[Nisibis of the Maronites]]
* Nine [[Titular bishopric]]s : [[Apamea in Syria of the Maronites]], [[Arca in Armenia of the Maronites]], [[Arca in Phoenicia of the Maronites]], [[Callinicum of the Maronites]], [[Epiphania in Syria of the Maronites]], [[Hemesa of the Maronites]], [[Ptolemais in Phœnicia of the Maronites]], [[Sarepta of the Maronites]], [[Tarsus of the Maronites]].

=== Religious institutes (orders) ===
* [[Lebanese Maronite Order]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.olm.org.lb/|title=Home|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-date=20 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120074023/http://www.olm.org.lb/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Antonin Maronite Order]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.antonins.org/indexen.htm|title=OAM - Accueil|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-date=26 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126033947/http://www.antonins.org/indexen.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Mariamite Maronite Order]]<ref>[http://www.omm.org.lb/ Mariamite Maronite Order (O.M.M.)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128143503/http://www.omm.org.lb/ |date=28 January 2016 }} '''''Arabic'''''</ref>
* [[Congregation of Maronite Lebanese Missionaries]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lebanesemissionaries.org/|title=Congregation Of Maronite Lebanese Missionaries|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-date=11 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611134439/http://www.lebanesemissionaries.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Population ==
{{main|Maronites|Maronite Christianity in Lebanon}}
In the 12th century, about 40,000 Maronites resided in the area around Antioch and modern-day Lebanon.<ref name=CNEWA>{{cite web|url=https://cnewa.org/magazine/profiles-33192/|title=Profiles: The Maronite Church|last=La Civita|first=Michael J.L.|work=ONE Magazine|publisher=[[CNEWA]]|date=September 2005|access-date=18 October 2022}}</ref> By the 21st century, estimates suggest that the Maronite diaspora population may have grown to more than twice the estimated 2 million Maronites living in their historic homelands in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.<ref>"Maronites" in ''Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East'' ([[Infobase Publishing|Infobase]], 2009), p. 446.</ref>

According to the official site of the Maronite church, approximately 1,062,000 [[Maronite Christianity in Lebanon|Maronites]] live in [[Lebanon]], where they constitute up to 22 -23 percent of the population. Syrian Maronites total 51,000, following the archdioceses of [[Aleppo]] and [[Damascus]] and the [[Diocese]] of [[Latakia]].<ref name="annuario">[http://www.cnewacanada.ca/source-images/Roberson-eastcath-statistics/eastcatholic-stat08.pdf Annuario Pontificio : ''The Eastern Catholic Churches 2008''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706173351/http://www.cnewacanada.ca/source-images/Roberson-eastcath-statistics/eastcatholic-stat08.pdf |date=6 July 2011 }}. Retrieved 25 January 2010.</ref> A [[Maronites in Cyprus|Maronite community]] of about 10,000 lives [[Maronites in Cyprus|in Cyprus]]<ref name="annuario"/> with approximately 1,000 speakers of [[Cypriot Maronite Arabic]] from Kormakitis.<ref>Maria Tsiapera, ''A Descriptive Analysis of Cypriot Maronite Arabic'', 1969, Mouton and Company, The Hague, 69 pages</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://moi.gov.cy/new/admin/sections/filedepot/uploaded/file/PDF_FILES/EuropeanCharterForRegionalMinorities.pdf |title=Cyprus Ministry of Interior : European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages : Answers to the Comments/Questions Submitted to the Government of Cyprus Regarding its Initial Periodical Report |date=28 July 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126204758/http://moi.gov.cy/new/admin/sections/filedepot/uploaded/file/PDF_FILES/EuropeanCharterForRegionalMinorities.pdf |archive-date=26 November 2010 |url-status=dead |access-date=25 January 2010}}</ref> A noticeable [[Maronites in Israel|Maronite community]] exists in northern Israel (Galilee), numbering 7,504.<ref name="annuario" />

=== Diaspora ===
[[File:MaronitePastoralCenter.jpg|thumb|left|Maronite Pastoral Center in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.]]
Immigration of Maronite faithful from the Middle East to the United States began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. When the faithful were able to obtain a priest, communities were established as parishes under the jurisdiction of the local Latin bishops. In January 1966, Pope Paul VI established the Maronite Apostolic Exarchate for the Maronite faithful of the United States. In a decree of the Sacred Congregation for the Eastern Churches, Bishop Francis Mansour Zayek was appointed the first exarch. The see, in Detroit, Michigan, with a cathedral under the patronage of Saint Maron, was suffragan to the Archdiocese of Detroit. In 1971, [[Pope Paul VI]] elevated the Exarchate to the status of an Eparchy, with the name of Eparchy of Saint Maron of Detroit. In 1977, the see of the Eparchy of Saint Maron was transferred to Brooklyn, New York, with the cathedral under the patronage of Our Lady of Lebanon. The name of the Eparchy was modified to Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn.<ref name=stanthony>{{cite web|url=http://www.stanthonydanbury.com/maronite-resources/maronite-history/|title=MARONITE HISTORY & SAINT MARON - St. Anthony Maronite Catholic Church|access-date=16 June 2016}}</ref>

In 1994, the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon was established with the cathedral at Los Angeles, California, under the patronage of Our Lady of Lebanon.<ref name=stanthony/> [[John George Chedid]], auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, was ordained as the first Bishop of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles at the Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Los Angeles, California, where he served until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 80. In December 2000, [[Robert Joseph Shaheen]] succeeded Chedid as eparch.

Eparchies operate in [[Eparchy of Nossa Senhora do Líbano em São Paulo|São Paulo]] in Brazil, as well as in Colombia, Mexico, France, Australia,<ref>M. Ghosn, Maronite institutional development across Australia, [http://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/pdfs/ACHS%20journal%202010-2011.pdf ''Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society'' 31/2 (2010/11)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215001128/http://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/pdfs/ACHS%20journal%202010-2011.pdf |date=15 February 2017 }}, 15-26.</ref> South Africa, Canada and Argentina.<ref name="annuario" />

Former Brazilian president [[Michel Temer]], the first [[Lebanese Brazilian]] to have led the nation, was the son of two Maronite Catholic Lebanese immigrants.<ref>{{cite news |title=Son of Lebanese immigrants, Brazil's new president is friend to Jewish community |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/son-of-lebanese-immigrants-friend-to-jewish-community-named-brazils-president/ |access-date=7 September 2021 |work=Times of Israel |agency=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Tharoor |first1=Ishaan |title=The enduring success of Latin American politicians of Arab origin |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/05/16/the-enduring-success-of-latin-american-politicians-of-arab-origin/ |newspaper=Washington Post |date=2016}}</ref>

== Other ==
{{expand section|date=September 2020}}
* The Maronite Church awards medals,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conseilmaronite.org/CrossOfHonor.aspx|title=The Maronite Central Council Medal, About Us - Central Council of the Maronite Societies|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403082503/http://conseilmaronite.org/CrossOfHonor.aspx|archive-date=3 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Great Crosses,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conseilmaronite.org/GreatCross.aspx|title=Great Cross of the Maronite Central Council, About Us - Central Council of the Maronite Societies|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403082750/http://conseilmaronite.org/GreatCross.aspx|archive-date=3 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the Golden Order of the Maronite General Council of the Maronite Church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kingdom.com.sa/the-king-of-morocco-mohamad-vi-awards-prince-alwaleed-his-60th-honorary-medal|title=The King of Morocco Mohamad VI Awards Prince Alwaleed His 60th Honorary Medal - Kingdom Holding Company|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531130924/http://www.kingdom.com.sa/the-king-of-morocco-mohamad-vi-awards-prince-alwaleed-his-60th-honorary-medal|archive-date=31 May 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Christianity|Catholicism|Lebanon}}
* [[Charbel Makhlouf]]
* [[Cross of All Nations]]
* [[Kitab al-Huda]]
* [[Our Lady of Lebanon]]
* [[Phoenicianism]]
* [[Saint George in devotions, traditions and prayers]]
* [[St Thomas Christians]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|35em}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Ogp94y8CJgC&q=The+Maronites+in+History|first=Matti|last=Moosa|title=The Maronites in History|location=Syracuse, N.Y.|publisher=Syracuse University Press|date=1986|isbn=9781593331825}}{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{cite book |last1=Moosa |first1=Matti |title=The Maronites in History |date=2005 |publisher=Gorgias Press |location=New York |isbn=1-59333-182-7 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Mourkazel |first1=Joseph |editor1-last=Raheb |editor1-first=Mitri |editor2-last=Lamport |editor2-first=Mark A. |title=The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook of Christianity in the Middle East |date=15 December 2020 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-2418-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I1cBEAAAQBAJ |access-date=23 March 2025 |language=en |chapter=Maronite Christians}}
* {{cite book|last=No'man|first=Paul|title=The Yesterday of the Maronite Church and it's Tomorrow|location=Ghosta|publisher=Books|year=1996|language=ar}}
* {{cite book |last1=O’Mahony |first1=Anthony |editor1-last=Angold |editor1-first=Michael |title=The Cambridge History of Christianity - Volume 5: Eastern Christianity |date=2008 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-81113-2 |language=en |chapter=Syriac Christianity in the modern Middle East}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* Michael Breydy: Geschichte der syro-arabischen Literatur der Maroniten vom VII. bis XVI. Jahrhundert. Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen 1985, {{ISBN|3-531-03194-5}}
* R. J. Mouawad, ''Les Maronites. Chrétiens du Liban'', Brepols Publishers, Turnhout, 2009, {{ISBN|978-2-503-53041-3}}
* Kamal Salibi, ''A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered'' ([[University of California Press]], 1990).
* ''Maronite Church''. ''New Catholic Encyclopedia'', Second Edition, 2003.
* Riley-Smith, Johnathan. ''The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades'' ([[Oxford University Press]], Oxford, 1995)
* Suermann, Harald. ''Histoire des origines de l'Eglise Maronite'', PUSEK, Kaslik, 2010, {{ISBN|978-9953-491-67-7}}
* Barber, Malcolm. ''Letters from the East: Crusades, Pilgrims and Settlers in the 12th–13th centuries'', Ashgate Press, Reading, United Kingdom, 2013, {{ISBN|978-1-4724-1393-2}}

== External links ==
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[[Category:Maronite Church| ]]
[[Category:4th-century establishments in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Christian denominations established in the 4th century]]
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