The Story of St Maroun and the Maronite Church
“Blessed are you, Saint Maroun, for you became a prayer on the lips of the faithful, and a living example for the peo-ple who bear your name and will be known as Maronites to the end of the age.” (Maronite Quorbono)
We have three available sources regarding St Maroun’s Life. The first and most detailed source is from his biographer, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, who wrote “A history of the Monks of Syria” in the fifth century. The second is from St John Chrysostom, the “Golden Mouth”. The third is the Maronite Liturgy, passed down for generations.
Mar Maroun “the little lord” was born in Cyrrhus, a small town near Antioch in about 350AD. When he grew up he left the world and went up to a hill to live in solitude. Theodoret explains that pagans previously worshiped on the hill. St Maroun converted the hill to a place of Christianity and his “soul received the words of the Gospel.” He chose the “poverty of Christ over the riches of this world.” His asceticism (a life of abstinence) was also marked by a continued attachment to people. They came to him and St Maroun prayed and healed “not only the infirmities of the body, but applied suitable treatment to souls as well.” He set examples of chastity, prayer, meditation, labor and of course love. St Maroun example inspired many disciples, both men and women. St Maroun died around 410AD.
The other source we have about St Maroun is St John Chrysostom. While in exile, and during one of the most difficult times of his life, St John Chrysostom wrote to St Maroun and asked him to pray for him. Below is an extract of the letter.
“[Dear Maroun], we are bound to you by love and interior disposition, and see you here before us as if you were actual-ly present. For such are the eyes of love; their vision is neither interrupted by distance nor dimmed by time… we ad-dress ourselves to your honour and assure you that we hold you constantly in our minds and carry you about in our souls wherever we may be… please pray for us.”
The First Maronites
After St Maroun’s death, a great monastery was built in the year 452AD called
Bet Moroun and the monastery flour-ished for 500 years. However, from the sixth century, things became dangerous for the first Maronites and they were persecuted for their obedience to the Catholic faith and the Council of Chalcedon. In the year 517AD, three hundred and fifty Maronites Monks were killed. The Maronites, elected their first Patriarch, St John Maroun in the year 685. He was affirmed by Pope Sergius I, highlighting that the Maronite Church was in communion with Rome since the begin-ning. In 694, five hundred Maronites were killed and by 938 Bet Maroun was completely destroyed and the Maronite Patriarch fled to the Mountains of Lebanon. The persecution resulted in many Maronites migrating from Syria to Mount Lebanon.
Maronites in the Mountains of Lebanon
The Maronite Church flourished in the rocky mountains under the Cedars of Lebanon and prospered in the hills and val-leys of Qannoubine and Qadisha. By the 13
th Century things once again became volatile for the Maronites. They were attacked in the north of Lebanon and in the Maronite villages of Ehden, Bsharre, Hadath El-Jibbe, Miefook and other villages. Patriarch Daniel El Hadsheeti was killed and in 1367 Patriarch Gabriel Hejola was burned alive. During that time many Maronites escaped to Cyprus where the Maronite Church. In 1440, to escape persecution, the Maronite Patriar-chate moved from Miefook to Wadi Qannoubine, where it took refuge.
In 1860, under the Ottoman rule, many villages, churches, and monasteries were completely destroyed. During this time many Maronites were martyred. On July 10, 1860, the Massabki brothers: Francis, Abed El-Moati, and Raphael were martyred in Damascus. They remained steadfast in the face of persecution and refused to deny their faith. Pope Pius XI beatified them on October 1, 1926.
The Maronites of the Expansion
By 1915, Ottomon rule, famine, disease and war created a great wave of migration in particular to the Americas. It is also at this time that Maronites first started to migrate to Australia seeking opportunity. Many Maronites became scattered throughout the world, which made the Church grow outside of Lebanon. The Maronite Church became inter-national. No longer were they Maronites of the Middle East, but also American, Brazilian, European, African and of course Australian Maronites. We are all witnesses to the flourishing of our Maronite Church in Australia.
The Importance of Maintaining our Maronite Traditions
As can be seen, our Maronite ancestors overcame great persecution to protect their Church and their faith. They re-mained steadfast in the face of persecution and committed to Christ. Their shield was prayer. Out of their experience developed a superb liturgy and many beautiful traditions. We are called by the Universal Catholic Church to protect those traditions. In his very beautiful Apostolic letter, Orientale Lumen, Blessed Pope John Paul II declared.
“…I listen to the Churches of the East, which I know are living interpreters of the treasure of tradition they preserve. In contemplating it, before my eyes appear elements of great significance for fuller and more thorough understanding of the Christian experience…the Christian East has a unique and privileged role as the original setting where the Church was born…
Tradition is the heritage of Christ’s Church…Tradition is never pure nostalgia for things or forms past, nor re-gret for lost privileges, but the living memory of the Bride, kept eternally youthful by the Love that dwells within her.”
Lord, through the intercession of our patron St Maroun, we pray for our Church, our Patriarch, our Bishops, priests and nuns. We ask that you nurture our children and bless our families, and protect those who are near and guide those who are far; console the grieving and grant rest to the faithful departed. Amen
