THE APOSTOLIC MARONITE CHURCH
Rev. Antoine Bakh, July, 1999
When St. Peter and other Apostles founded the early church community in Antioch it was a major metropolis. The people there spoke Greek and Syriac. This great city quickly became the center of Christian activity up to hundreds of miles away. It became one of several Christian centers in the world along with Rome, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and beginning in the fourth century, Constantinople (formerly called Byzantium, present-day Istanbul.)
Over time, due to the influence of language, culture and other factors, there developed three main Liturgical and theological expressions of Christianity: the Syriac, the Greek, and the Latin. The Syriac expression is especially treasured because it is closest to the language and mind of Jesus and the Apostles, and because it is based on the Sacred Scriptures in their Semitic roots. All three expressions, however, are unique and beautiful and give witness to the universal (catholic) character of the Church.
The Bishop of each of the major metropolitan areas (Sees) mentioned above was referred to as “Patriarch” (“Father,”) or “Pope” (a more filial form of “Father.) They followed a line of succession going back to the Apostles. In the beginning they were united as one Church. The major divisions that exist today occurred in 1054 between Rome and Constantinople, forming the main Catholic-Orthodox Schism, and in the 16th century in the West with the Protestant Reformation.
However, in the Patriarchate of Antioch there were earlier divisions. The first division occurred in 431. During that year bishops from all over the world gathered in Ephesus to settle a dispute regarding the personhood of Christ; they affirmed that Mary can be called “Mother of God.” This title was not accepted by some bishops and for complex reasons a schism occurred which led to the formation of a separate Chaldean-Assyrian Church. The second schism occurred in 451 following the Council of Chalcedon which stated that Christ had two natures, Divine and human. Also for complex reasons, a portion of the Syriac Church (along with a portion of the Alexandrian and Armenian Church) rejected the Council. They were called “Monophysites” (“one-nature.”) since they believed that Christ had only one Divine-human nature. The Syriac-speaking “Monophysites” were later also called “Jacobites.” They eventually elected their own Patriarch of Antioch and claimed rightful Apostolic succession. Today this Church is called “Syrian Orthodox,” whereas the portion of this Church that has come into communion with Rome is called “Syrian Catholic.”
The rest of the Christians in the Antiochene Patriarchate supported Chalcedon. They remained in catholic communion largely due to the influence of a group of monasteries, the largest and most influential of which was called the Monastery of Saint Maron.
During the Islamic conquests of the 7th century, when the Emperor of Constantinople was in the habit of appointing the Patriarch of Antioch (who for reasons of safety used to reside in Constantinople,) there occurred a long period of vacancy in the See when no Patriarch was appointed. As a result, a portion of the Catholic bishops of the Near East, under the influence of the Monastery of Saint Maron, decided to elect their own Patriarch as rightful successor. This was John Maron. His election, and that of his successors, was not recognized by the remaining bishops. They instead awaited an appointment from the civil authority, the Emperor. When finally one was appointed, he continued to reside in Constantinople as did his successors. For this reason and because of political, economic, geographic, and other factors, the Chalcedonians who followed the Emperor-appointed Patriarch began to employ elements of the Byzantine Liturgical tradition increasingly from the 7th century until the 13th century when the Byzantine Liturgy was used in its entirety. Because of their Byzantine usage they are today referred to as Greek-Melkite or “Roum” Catholic and “Roum” Orthodox. (“Roum” is in reference to the Byzantine portion of the “Roman” Empire.) The remaining Chalcedonians retained the Syriac-based Antiochene Liturgical Tradition (along with some Edessan influence.) They came to be called “Maronite” because of the influence of the Monastery of Saint Maron in preserving allegiance to the 5th century Council and because of the monastery’s influence in the election of John Maron in the 7th century.
The term “Maronite,” therefore, was used to identify the Christians of the Near East who aligned themselves with the monastery of Saint Maron. The existence of this monastery, the largest in the Near East (purportedly having 800 rooms for monks,) was a critical factor in the preservation of the Syriac Antiochene Tradition in the Catholic Church. It was named after a priest-hermit called “Maron” who lived in the late 4th and early 5th century. He lived in the mountains of present-day Syria in the region of Apamea along the Orontes River. When he died, his disciples later built the monastery in his memory.
The monks of this monastery and its many sister monasteries were zealous evangelizers. They traveled throughout the lands strengthening the faithful wherever they lived and preaching to those who did not know the good news. Until the early Middle Ages Maronites were numerous throughout the whole Near East where monastic evangelization became very successful, surpassing even the eastern boundaries of the Euphrates, the northern and western boundaries of Antioch and Cyprus, and the southern boundaries of Lebanon and well beyond. This mountainous region became a fertile home for the Gospel and a refuge for Maronites during the terrible persecutions, especially from the 7th century on. At the time when St. John Maron, a Maronite bishop, was elected as Patriarch, he resided in the area of present-day Lebanon. Henceforth, the Maronites would shape the culture and history of Lebanon and its surrounding areas.
Thus, the roots of the Maronite Church, which go back to Christ and the Apostles, were strengthened by two great saints, Maron and John Maron. In the hearts of all Maronites they will always be revered among the great figures whose toil was far reaching beyond their time or geographical location. X