 Catholic Church in Lebanon | |
|---|---|
 Saint Maron, Founder of theMaronite Church | |
| Type | National polity |
| Classification | Catholic |
| Orientation | Latin andEastern |
| Theology | Catholic theology |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Patriarch | Bechara Boutros al-Rahi |
| Region | Lebanon |
| Language | Arabic,Aramaic |
| Founder | Saint Peter Saint Maron |
| Members | 1.34 million in 2020 |
TheCatholic Church in Lebanon (Arabic:الكنيسة الكاثوليكية في لبنان) is part of the worldwideCatholic Church under the spiritual leadership of thePope inRome.
There were approximately 1.34 million Catholics inLebanon in 2020,[1] the majority of whom are notLatin Catholics but instead followEastern Catholic rites as part of the Catholic Church - mostlyMaronite, but alsoMelkite as well as Catholic rites non-native to Lebanon likeArmenian,Chaldean, andSyriac.
The Maronite Church constitutes the largest Eastern Catholic church represented in both Lebanon, and theMiddle East. The "Land of the Cedars", as Lebanon is known, is the only one in the region where Catholics play an active role in national politics. Besides thePresident of the Republic, which by theConstitution of Lebanon must be a Maronite Catholic, in theLebanese Parliament there are 43 seats reserved to Catholics out of a total of 128 seats. Catholics are also well represented in thegovernment and in the public life.
Until the 1960s, Catholics were also the major component of the population and represented 43% of all Lebanese. By 2010, they were considered around 36% of the total population, beingMaronites 30%,Melkites 5% and non-native to Lebanon Catholic rites likeArmenian Catholics 1%.[2]
Muslim andChristian communities coexist in the country for centuries. Cohabitation was sanctioned by aNational Pact in 1943, which created a democracy based on religious communities. The country became a good example of religious and ethnic coexistence. But that lasted only a few decades. The larger communities, Christian and Muslim, were upset by the longLebanese Civil War that raged between 1975 and 1990. The religious geography of the capital Beirut was redrawn: 65,000Shiite Muslims abandoned their neighborhoods, and Nabaa chout; from interior regions, in contrast, to the capital flowed 80,000 Maronites and Druzes.[3] As a result of the Civil War, West Beirut was progressively abandoned by Christians.[citation needed] Also, a mass exodus fleeing saw tens of thousands of civilians, including Christians,Druze andSunni Muslims.[citation needed]
Not enough internal upheavals, during this period, tens of thousands ofPalestinian refugees entered the country. At the end of theLebanese Civil War, Christians, by majority, were discovered minority.
In 1995 it was held a Special Assembly of Bishops for the Lebanon, convened byPope John Paul II in Rome.
Since 1954 theHoly See has its own seat in Lebanon, theApostolic Vicariate of Beirut.[4] with 15,000 Latin Catholics, 161 priests and 8 parishes in 2010. In the same year, there were 1,382,400 Catholics[2] in Lebanon (mainlyEastern Catholics), with 23 episcopal sees, 1,603 priests and 1,253 parishes belonging to the six Catholic rites.[5] These numbers stayed consistent for the next ten years[6]
In addition to theLatin Church in Lebanon there are five other Catholic Churches sui iuris. Each is characterized by a liturgical rite specific differences. Among them, the main in Lebanon is the Syro-Antiochene. The Catholic Antiochian Rite form two distinct groups: theMaronite Church (main Catholic religious branch in Lebanon) andSyriac Catholic Church. Both churches have their patriarchal see in Lebanon. However, theMelkite Greek Catholic Church (second most important Catholic branch in Lebanon),Armenian Catholic Church andChaldean Catholic Church are also present.
List of religious institutes that have their mother house in Lebanon:
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