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Maronite Church

 

 

 

 

 

Maronite Church


 
 


Maronites (, , Syriac: ??????, LatinFacts About Latin

Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome....
: Ecclesia Maronitarum) are members of one of the Syriac Eastern Catholic Churches, with a heritage reaching back to MaronMaron

St. Maron was a 5th century Christian monk who founded the Maronite spiritual movement....
 in the early 5th century. The first Maronite patriarch, John MaronJohn Maron

John Maron was the first Maronite Patriarch....
, was appointed in the late 7th century. Although reduced in numbers and estimated to have lost their status as a majority in Lebanon itself, today, Maronites remain one of the principal religious groups in the country and they continue to represent the absolute majorityAbsolute majority

Absolute majority in American parlance is a supermajoritarian voting requirement which is stricter than a simple majority....
 of Lebanese people when the Lebanese diasporaDiaspora

The term diaspora is used to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional eth...
 is included.

Before the conquest by Arabian MuslimsHistory of Lebanon under Arab rule

The history of Lebanon under Arab traces the course of human events in the section of the Middle East now known as Lebanon....
 reached Lebanon, which resulted in the ArabizationArabization

Arabization is the gradual transformation of an area into one that speaks Arabic and is part of the Arab culture....
 of both those Lebanese who would become MuslimIslamization

Islamization or Islamification is a neologism coined to describe the process of a society's conversion to the religion...
 and the majority which would remain Christian, the Lebanese peopleLebanese people

The Lebanese people are an Arabic-speaking people originating from the region of Lebanon....
, including Maronites, spoke a dialect of AramaicAramaic language

Aramaic is a Semitic language with a 3,000-year history....
. Since at least the 15th century, however, the Lebanese people, be they Muslim, Christian, Jew or other, have been Arabic-speaking. SyriacSyriac language Overview

Syriac is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent....
 (Christian Aramaic) still remains the liturgical language of the Maronite Church.

Organization



The head of the Maronite Church is the Maronite Patriarch of AntiochList of Maronite Patriarchs

This is a list of the Maronite Patriarchs of Antioch, who have led the Maronite Catholic Church, one of the Eastern-rite chu...
, who is elected by the bishops of the Maronite church and now resides in Bkirki, north of BeirutBeirut

Beirut is the capital, largest city, and chief seaport of Lebanon....
 (the Maronite Patriarch resides in the northern town of DimaneDimane

Dimane is a mountainous village situated in the Northern region in Lebanon, in the Bsharri District....
 during the summer months). The current Patriarch (since 1986) is His Beatitude Mar Nasrallah Cardinal Boutros SfeirFacts About Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir

Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir is the patriarch of Lebanon's largest Christian body, the Maronites....
. When a new patriarch is elected and enthroned, he requests ecclesiastic communion from the PopePope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, and, as Successor of Saint Peter, is the head of the Catholic Church....
, thus maintaining their communion with the Catholic Church. As an Eastern-Rite patriarch, if invited to join the College of CardinalsCollege of Cardinals

The Sacred College of Cardinals is the body of all Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church....
, the Maronite Patriarch joins the order of Cardinal Bishops.

Maronites share the same doctrine as other Catholics, but they retain their own liturgyLiturgy Summary

A liturgy comprises a prescribed ceremony, according to the traditions of a particular group or event....
 and hierarchy. Strictly speaking, the Maronite church belongs to the Antiochene Tradition and is a West Syro-Antiochene RiteAntiochene Rite

Antiochene Rite designates the family of liturgies originally used in the Patriarchate of Antioch: that of the Apostolic Con...
. Syriac is the liturgical language, instead of LatinLatin

Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome....
 which was a tradition of the Roman Rite. Nevertheless, they are considered, along with the Syro-Malabar Church, to be among the most latinisedLiturgical Latinisation

Liturgical Latinisation is the process by which the liturgical practices of the Churches of Eastern Christianity were alter...
 of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

Cardinal SfeirCardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir

Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir is the patriarch of Lebanon's largest Christian body, the Maronites....
's personal commitment accelerated liturgical reforms in the 1980s and 1990s, bearing fruit in 1992 with the publication of a new Maronite MissalMissal Overview

Missal, in the Catholic Church, is a liturgical book containing all instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of ...
. This represents an attempt to return to the original form of the Antiochene Liturgy, removing the liturgical latinisationLiturgical Latinisation

Liturgical Latinisation is the process by which the liturgical practices of the Churches of Eastern Christianity were alter...
 of past centuries. The Service of the Word has been described as far more enriched than in previous Missals, and it features six AnaphoraAnaphora (liturgy)

The word "anaphora", which in rhetoric means the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several succe...
s (Eucharistic Prayers).

CelibacyClerical celibacy

Clerical celibacy is the practice of various religious traditions in which clergy, monastics and those in religious orders a...
 is not required for deacons and priests with parishParish

A parish is a type of administrative subdivision....
es (though they may not re-marry after the death of a spouse); monks must remain celibate, as well as bishops who are normally selected from the monasteries. Due to a long-term understanding with their Latin Rite counterparts in North America, Maronite priests in that area are expected to remain celibate. The bishops who serve as eparchs and archeparchs of the eparchies and archeparchies (the equivalent of diocese and archdiocese in the Roman Catholic Church) are answerable to the patriarch.

Population

The exact worldwide Maronite population is not known, although it is at least 8 million according to CNEWA. It is estimated that 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 remain in LebanonLebanon

Lebanon, officially the Lebanese democratic Republic , is a small, largely mountainous country in the Middle East, loc...
 where they constitute up to 25% of the population. According to a Lebanese agreement celebrated among the various religious leaders, the president must be a Maronite. Syrian Maronites total 40,000 and they follow the archdioceses of AleppoAleppo

Aleppo is a city and province in northern Syria....
 and DamascusDamascus

Damascus is the largest city and capital of Syria....
 and the DioceseDiocese

In some Christian churches, the diocese is an administrative territorial unit administrated by a bishop, hence also referred...
 of LatakiaLatakia

Latakia is the principal port city of Syria. Its population is 554,000....
. There is also a Maronite community in CyprusFacts About Cyprus

[[Akrotiri and Dhekelia|Base Areas]...
 which speaks Cypriot Maronite ArabicCypriot Maronite Arabic

Probably the most divergent of all Arabic varieties is Cypriot Maronite Arabic, still spoken by most of the 130 elderly Maro...
, They are a recognized religious minority on the island and the community elects a representative to sit in the house of representatives (parliament) to voice their interests. They are probably descended from those Maronites who accompanied the crusaders there. A noticeable Maronite community also exists in northern Israel.



The two residing eparchies in the United States have issued their own "Maronite Census". The Census is designed to estimate approximately how many Maronites reside in the United States due to their emigrations to that country. Many Maronites have been assimilated into American culture, often taking on Roman Catholicism as there were no Maronite parishes or priests available. The Census was designed to locate those people. There is also an eparchy in São PauloEparchy of Nossa Senhora do Líbano em São Paulo

The Eparchy of Nossa Senhora do L?bano em S?o Paulo is a diocese located in the city of S?o Paulo in the Ecclesiastical pr...
, BrazilBrazil

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest and most populous country in South America, and ...
.

Modern Maronites, like other ChristianFacts About Christian

A Christian is a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, referred to as Christ....
s in the LevantLevant

'Levant' or in Arabic ?????, Ash-Sham is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area...
, often adopt FrenchFrench language

French is the third-largest of the Romance languages in terms of number of native speakers, after Spanish and Portuguese, b...
 or other Western EuropeWestern Europe

Western Europe is mainly a socio-political concept coined, forged and used during the Cold War....
an given nameGiven name

A given name is a word which specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially a family, al...
s (with biblical origins) for their children like MichelMichel

Michel can refer to:* Michel, the name, meaning Michael in French...
, MarcMARC

The abbreviation MARC can stand for several things:...
, MarieMARIE

Marie may be:* a woman's name* Mars Radiation Environment Experiment - instrument designed to measure the radiation enviro...
, GeorgesGeorges

Georges can refer to:*Hurricane Georges...
, CaroleCarole

*Carole is a feminine given name.*A carole is a festive song or medieval dance....
, CharlesCharles

Charles is a given name, most common for males....
, ChrisFacts About Chris

Chris can be a nickname for the following first names:...
, AntoineAntoine

Antoine is French given name*Antoine, a Belgian automobile...
 and PierrePierre

Pierre is a French language form of the name Peter, and also occurs as surnames and place names. ...
.

Given nameGiven name

A given name is a word which specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially a family, al...
s of Arabic origins identical with those of their MuslimMuslim

A Muslim is an adherent of Islam....
 neighbors are also common, such as Khalil, Samir, Salim, Jameel, or Tawfik. Other common names are strictly Christian and are AramaicAramaic language

Aramaic is a Semitic language with a 3,000-year history....
, or Arabic, forms of biblical, HebrewHebrew Bible

Hebrew Bible is a term that refers to the common portions of the Jewish and Christian biblical canons....
, or Greek Christian names, such as Antun (Anthony, also Tanios,
Antonios or Tannous), Butros (Peter), Boulos (Paul), Semaan or Shamaoun (Simon), Jergyes (George), Elie (Ilyas or Elias), Iskander (Alexander) and Beshara (literally Good News in reference to the GospelGospel

In Christianity, gospel means "good news"....
). Other common names are Sarkis (Sergius) and Bakhos (Bacchus), while others are common both among Christians and Muslims, such as Yousseff (Joseph) or Ibrahim (Abraham).

Some Maronite Christians are named in honour of Maronite saints, including the Aramaic names Maroun (after their patron saint, Maron), Sharbel, Charbel and Rafqa.

See also


  • List of MaronitesList of Maronites

    This list of Maronites includes prominent Maronite figures who are notable in their areas of expertise....
  • MaronMaron

    St. Maron was a 5th century Christian monk who founded the Maronite spiritual movement....
  • Cypriot Maronite ArabicCypriot Maronite Arabic

    Probably the most divergent of all Arabic varieties is Cypriot Maronite Arabic, still spoken by most of the 130 elderly Maro...



  • Assyrians
  • SyriacsSyriacs

    Syriac or Syrian may refer to:People, self-appelations for:...


Books

  • Kamal Salibi - A House of Many Mansions - The History of Lebanon Reconsidered (University of California Press, 1990).
  • Father AJ Salim - Captivated by Your Teachings - A Resource Book for Adult Maronite Catholics (ET Nedder Publishing, Tucson, Arizona, 2002)
  • Maronite Church. New Catholic Encyclopedia, Second Edition, 2003.
  • Riley-Smith, Johnathan - The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1995)
  • Soffee, Anne Thomas - Snake Hips: Belly Dancing and How I Found True Love (Chicago Review Press, Chicago, 2002)

External links

  • (broken link)
  • — Maronite population discussed
  • Cornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection.


Media

  • Requires Google Earth