Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn (Maronite) Eparchia Sancti Maronis Bruklyniensis Maronitarum | |
|---|---|
 Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Ecclesiastical province | Immediately Subject to the Holy See |
| Statistics | |
| Population |
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| Parishes | 34 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Sui iuris church | Maronite Church |
| Rite | West Syro-Antiochene Rite |
| Established | January 10, 1966 (59 years ago) |
| Cathedral | Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Patriarch | Bechara Boutros al-Rahi |
| Eparch | Gregory John Mansour |
| Bishops emeritus | Stephen Youssef Doueihi |
| Map | |
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| Website | |
| www | |
TheEparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn (Latin:Eparchia Sancti Maronis Bruklyniensis Maronitarum)[2] is aAntiochene Syriac Maronite Church eparchy of theCatholic Church headquartered inBrooklyn, New York for theEast Coast of the United States. In conformity with theCode of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO), the eparchy is under the direct jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff. In 2017 there were 33,000[3] baptized. It is led by eparchGregory John Mansour.
The eparchy includes the Maronite Catholic faithful in the eastern coast states of the United States.
It borders in the north with theMaronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Montreal, which covers Canada, and to the west with theMaronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, which covers thirty-four states of the United States.
Its eparchial seat is the city of Brooklyn, where is located theOur Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral.[4] The Saint Maron Maronite church[5] in Detroit, dedicated to Saint Maron, is the former cathedral church of the eparchy.
The territory is divided into 34 parishes and in 2017 had 33,000 Lebanese Maronite Catholics.
The diocese has its roots in the establishment of a Maronite Apostolic Exarchate (the equivalent in theEastern Churches of anApostolic Vicariate) byPope Paul VI'spapal bull Cum supremi[6] on 10 January 1966. Its object was to provide a unified structure to serve theLebanese Maronite Catholics scattered around the country, who were subject, up to that point, to the local Roman Catholic diocese.[7]
At that time, Pope Paul appointedFrancis Mansour Zayek as the firstexarch of the Maronites in the United States. The eparchate was based inDetroit,Michigan. Zayek, who had just spent several years in a similar post in Brazil, arrived in the United States with a rudimentary knowledge of English, only to find an unfinished cathedral andrectory.[8] He took office on 27 January 1966.[7]
Zayek had to face many challenges. First was the very identity of the church. Arguments raged as to whether it was to be a transplant of Lebanese life or an American institution rooted in its Lebanese heritage. In this he remained guided by the advice which Pope John had given him on his original appointment, "What you Maronites have does not pertain to you alone but is part of the treasure of the Catholic Church". Additionally, he had to deal with the liturgical changes mandated by theSecond Vatican Council, in which he had participated. He had the Maronite Divine Liturgy translated into English for the first time, creating a standardized service for use in every parish of the exarchate.[8]
In theApostolic ConstitutionQuae spes, issued on 29 November 1971,Pope Paul VI elevated the exarchate to a fulleparchy, or diocese, and appointed Zayek as the first bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Detroit.[9] Zayek was installed as its first bishop on June 4, 1972. The seat of the eparchy was moved from Detroit to the Church of Saint Maron in Brooklyn on 27 June 1977[10] by theCongregation for the Oriental Churches and it also renamed the name of the Eparchy to Saint Maron of Brooklyn.[11]
Zayek retired in 1996, with the personal title ofArchbishop, and was succeeded by BishopStephen Youssef Doueihi, who himself retired on 10 January 2004 and was succeeded byGregory J. Mansour.[11]
A part of its territory, which encompassed the entire United States, was lost on 19 March 1994 to the newly establishedMaronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles byPope John Paul II'spapal bull Omnium Catholicorum.[12]
As of 2010[update], the eparchy counts 43parishes, served by 51 priests and 17deacons.[11] Parishes are located in the following states:
