Maronites

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This article will give first the present state of the Maronite nation andChurch; after which their history will be studied, with a special examination of the much discussed problem of the origin of theChurch and the nation and their unvaryingorthodoxy.

Present state of the Maronites

Ethnographical and political

The Maronites (SyriacMarunôye; ArabicMawarinah) number about 300,000souls, distributed inSyria, Palestine,Cyprus, andEgypt. Of this number about 230,000 inhabit the Lebanon, forming nearly five-eighths of the population of that vilayet and the main constituent of the population in four out of seven kaïmakats, viz., those of Batrun, Kasrawan, Meten, and Gizzin (the Orthodox Greeks predominating in Koura, theCatholic Greeks in Zahlé, and the Druses in Shûf). They are ofSyrian race, but for many centuries have spoken only Arabic, though in a dialect which must have retained many Syriac peculiarities. In the mountain districts manners are very simple, and the Maronites are occupied with tillage and cattle-grazing, or the silk industry; in the towns they are engaged in commerce. Bloody vendettas, due tofamily and clan rivalries, are still kept up in the mountain districts. The population increases very rapidly, and numbers of Maronitesemigrate to the different provinces of theOttoman Empire, toEurope, particularlyFrance, to the French colonies, but most of all to theUnited States. The emigrants return with their fortunes made, and too often bring with them a taste for luxury and pleasure, sometimes also a decided indifference to religion which in some instances, degenerates into hostility.

For many centuries the Maronite mountaineers have been able to keep themselves half independent of theOttoman Empire. At the opening of the nineteenth century their organization was entirelyfeudal. The aristocraticfamilies — who, especially when they travelled inEurope, affected princely rank — elected the emir. The power of the Maronite emir preponderated in the Lebanon, especially when the Syrianfamily of Benî Shibâb forsookIslam forChristianity. The famous emir Beshîr, ostensibly aMussulman, was really a Maronite; but after his fall the condition of the Maronites changed for the worse. A merciless struggle against the Druses, commencing in 1845, devastated the whole Lebanon. Two emirs were then created, a Maronite and a Druse, both bearing the title of Kaïmakam, and they were held responsible to the Pasha of Saïda. In 1860 the Druses, impelled by fanaticism, massacred a large number of Maronites atDamascus and in the Lebanon. As theTurkish Government looked on supinely at this process of extermination,France intervened: an expedition led by General de Beaufort d'Hautpoult restored order. In 1861 the present system, with a single governor for all the Lebanon, was inaugurated. This governor is appointed by theTurkish Government for five years. There are no morefeudalrights; all are equal before thelaw, without distinction of race; each nation has itssheik, or mayor, who takes cognizance of communal affairs, and is a judge in the provincial council. Every Maronite between the ages of fifteen and sixty pays taxes, with the exception of theclergy, though contributions are levied on monasticproperty. In contrast to the rule among the other rites, the Maronite patriarch is notobliged to solicit his firman of investiture from the sultan; but, on the other hand, he is not the temporal head of his nation, and has no agent at the Sublime Porte, the Maronites being, together with the otherUniat communities, represented by the Vakeel of the Latins. Outside of the Lebanon they are entirely subject to theTurks; in these regions thebishops — e.g., theArchbishop ofBeirut — must obtain theirbérat, in default of which they would have no standing with the civil government, and could not sit in the provincial council.

Like the otherCatholic communities of theTurkish Empire, the Maronites are under the protection ofFrance, but in their case the protectorate is combined with more cordial relationsdating from the connection between this people and the French as early as the twelfth century. This cordiality has been strengthened by numerous French interventions, from the Capitulations ofFrancis I to the campaign of 1861, and by the wide diffusion of theFrench language and French culture, thanks to the numerous establishments in the Lebanon under the direction of French missionaries —Jesuits,Lazarists, and religiouswomen of different orders. It is impossible to foresee what changes will be wrought in the situation of the Maronites, national and international, by the accession to power of the "YoungTurks".

The Maronite Church

The Maronite Church is divided into ninedioceses: Gibail and Batrun (60,000souls); Beirut and one part of the Lebanon (50,000);Tyre and Sidon (47,000);Baalbek and Kesraouan (40,000); Tripoli (35,000);Cyprus and another part of the Lebanon (30,000); Damascus and Hauran (25,000); Aleppo and Cilicia (5000);Egypt (7000). The last-nameddiocese is under a vicar patriarchal, who also has charge of the Maronite communities in foreign parts — Leghorn,Marseilles,Paris — and particularly those in America.

(1) The Patriarch

The official title isPatriarcha Antiochenus Maronitarum. The Maronite patriarch shares the title of Antioch with three otherCatholicpatriarchs — theMelchite, the SyrianCatholic, and the Latin (titular) — oneschismatical (Orthodox), and oneheretical (Syrian Jacobite). The question will be considered later on, whether, apart from the concession of theHoly See, the Maronite patriarch can allege historical right to the title of Antioch. Since the fifteenth century his traditional residence has been thecloister of St. Mary of Kanôbin, where are thetombs of thepatriarchs. In winter he resides at Bkerke, below Beirut, in the district of Kesraouan. He himself administers the Diocese of Gibail-Batrun, but with the assistance of the titular Bishops of St-Jean d'Acre,Tarsus, andNazareth, who also assist him in the general administration of thepatriarchate. He has theright to nominate others, and there are also several patriarchal vicars who are notbishops. The patriarch is elected by the Maronitebishops, usually on the ninth day after thesee has been declared vacant. He must be not less than forty years of age, and two-thirds of the whole number of votes are required to elect him. On the next day theenthronization takes place, and then the solemn benediction of the newly elected patriarch. The proceedings of the assembly are transmitted toRome; thepope may either approve or disapprove the election; if he approves, he sends thepallium to the new patriarch; if not, he quashes the acts of the assembly and is free to name a candidate of his own choice. The chief prerogatives of the patriarch are: to convoke national councils; to choose andconsecratebishops; to hear and judge charges againstbishops; to visitdioceses other than his own once in every three years. Heblesses theholy oils and distributes them to theclergy andlaity; he grantsindulgences, receives thetithes and the taxes fordispensations, and may accept legacies, whether personal or for theChurch. Before 1736 he received fees for ordinations and the blessing ofholy oils; this privilege being suppressed,Benedict XIV substituted for it permission to receive asubsidium caritativum. The distinctive insignia of the patriarch are themasnaftô (a form of head-dress), thephainô (a kind of cape or cope), theorarion (a kind ofpallium), thetiara, ormitre (otherbishops wear only the orarion and themitre), thepastoral staff surmounted with a cross, and, in the Latin fashion, the pastoral ring and thepectoral cross. To sum up, the Maronite patriarch exercises over his subjects, virtually, the authority of ametropolitan. He himself is accountable only to thepope and theCongregation of Propaganda; he is bound to make his visitad limina only once in every ten years. The present (1910) occupant of the patriarchal throne is Mgr. Elias Hoysk, elected in 1899.

(2) The Episcopate

Thebishops are nominated by the patriarch. The title ofArchbishop (metropolitan), attached to the Sees ofAleppo,Beirut,Damascus,Tyre and Sidon, and Tripoli, is purely honorary. Abishop without adiocese resides at Ehden. It has been said above that the patriarch nominates a certain number oftitularbishops. Thebishop, besides his spiritual functions, exercises, especially outside of the Vilayet of the Lebanon, a judicial andcivil jurisdiction.

Thebishops are assisted bychorepiscopi,archdeacons, economi, and periodeutes (bardût). Thechorepiscopus visits, and can alsoconsecrate, churches. Thechorepiscopus of the episcopal residence occupies the first place in thecathedral in the absence of thebishop. The periodeutes, as his name indicates, is a kind of vicar forane who acts for thebishop in the inspection of the ruralclergy. The economus is thebishop's coadjutor for the administration ofchurch property and the episcopal mensa.

(3) The Clergy

Of the 300parishes some are given by thebishops to regulars, others to seculars. Priests withoutparishes arecelibate and dependent on the patriarch. The others are married — that is to say, they marry while inminor orders, but cannot marry a second time. There are about 1100secular priests and 800 regulars. Theeducation of theclergy is carried on in five patriarchal and ninediocesanseminaries. Many study atRome, and a great number inFrance, thanks to the "Œuvre de St Louis" and the burses supported by the French Government. Theintellectual standard of the Maroniteclergy is decidedly higher than that of theschismatical andhereticalclergy who surround them. The marriedpriests of the ruralparishes are often very simple men, still more often they are far from well-to-do, living almost exclusively on thehonoraria received for Masses and the presents of farm produce given them by the country people. Most of them have to eke out these resources by cultivating their little portions of land or engaging in some modest industry.

(4) The Religious

These number about 2000, of whom 800 arepriests. They all observe the rule known as that of St. Anthony, but are divided into three congregations: the oldest, that of St. Anthony, or of Eliseus, was approved in 1732. It was afterwards divided into Aleppines and peasants, or Baladites, a division approved byClement XIV in 1770. In the meantime another Antonian congregation had been founded under the patronage of Isaias, and approved in 1740. The Aleppines have 6monasteries; the Isaians, 13 or 14; the Baladites, 25. The Aleppines have aprocurator atRome, residing near S. Pietro in Vincoli. Thelay brothers give themselves up to manual labour; thepriests, tointellectual, with the care ofsouls, having charge of a great manyparishes. The monastic habit consists of a black tunic and a girdle of leather, a cowl, mantle, and sandals. — There are also sevenmonasteries, containing about 200 religious, under a rule founded by a formerBishop ofAleppo. At Aintoura, also, there are some Maronite sisters following the Salesian Rule.

(5) The Liturgy

The Maronite is aSyrian Rite, Syriac being theliturgical language, though the Gospel is read in Arabic for the benefit of the people. Many of thepriests, who are not sufficiently learned to perform the Liturgy in Syriac, use Arabic instead, but Arabic written in Syriac characters (Karshuni). The liturgy is of the Syrian type, i.e., the liturgy of St. James, but much disfigured by attempts to adapt it to Roman usages. Adaptation, often useless and servile, to Roman usages is the distinguishing characteristic of the Maronite amongOriental Rites. This appears, not only in the Liturgy, but also in the administration of all the Sacraments. The Maronitesconsecrate unleavened bread, they do not mingle warm water in the Chalice, and they celebrate many Masses at the same altar.Communion under both kinds was discouraged byGregory XIII and at last formally forbidden in 1736, though it is still permitted for thedeacon at high Mass.Benedict XIV forbade the communicating of newlybaptized infants. Baptism is administered in the Latin manner, and since 1736 confirmation, which is reserved to thebishop, has been given separately. The formula forabsolution is not deprecative, as it is in otherEastern Rites, but indicative, as in the Latin, and Maronitepriests can validly absolveCatholics of all rites. The orders are:tonsure,psalte, or chanter,lector, sub-deacon,deacon,priest. Ordination aspsalte may be received at the age of seven; asdeacon, at twenty-one; aspriest, at thirty, or, with adispensation, at twenty-five. Wednesday and Friday of every week are days of abstinence; a fast lasts until midday, and the abstinence is from meat and eggs.Lent lasts for seven weeks, beginning atQuinquagesima; the fast is observed every day except Saturdays,Sundays, and certain feast days; fish is allowed. There are neitherember days nor vigils, but there is abstinence during twenty days ofAdvent and fourteen days preceding the feast of Sts Peter and Paul. Latin devotional practices are more customary among the Maronites than in any otherUniatEastern Church — benediction of theBlessed Sacrament, the Way of the Cross, theRosary, the devotion to the Sacred Heart, etc.

(6) The Faithful

In the interior of the country thefaithful are strongly attached to theirfaith and very respectful to themonks and the otherclergy. Surrounded byMussulmans, schismatics, andheretics, they are proud to call themselvesRoman Catholics; buteducation is as yet but little developed, despite the laudable efforts of some of thebishops, and althoughschools have been established, largely through the efforts of the Latin missionaries and the support of thesociety of the Ecoles d'Orient, besides the Collège de la Sagesse atBeirut. Returning emigrants do nothing to raise the moral and religious standard. The influence of the Western press is outrageously bad. Wealthy Maronites, too often indifferent, if not worse, do not concern themselves about this state of affairs, which is a serious cause of anxiety to the more intelligent and enlightened among theclergy. But the Maronite nation as a whole remains faithful to its traditions. If they are not exactly the most important community of Eastern Uniats in point of numbers, it is at leasttrue to say that they form the most effective fulcrum for the exertion of aCatholic propaganda in the Lebanon and on theSyrian coast.

History of the Maronites

All competent authorities agree as to the history of the Maronites as far back as the sixteenth century, but beyond that period the unanimity ceases. They themselves assert at once the high antiquity and the perpetualorthodoxy of their nation; but both of these pretensions have constantly been denied by theirChristian — evenCatholic — rivals inSyria, theMelchites, whetherCatholic or Orthodox, theJacobite Syrians, and theCatholic Syrians. SomeEuropean scholars accept the Maronite view; the majority reject it. So many points in the primitive history of the nation are still obscure that we can here only set forth the arguments advanced on either side, without drawing any conclusion.

The whole discussion gravitates around a text of the twelfth century.William of Tyre (De Bello Sacro, XX, viii) relates the conversion of 40,000 Maronites in the year 1182. The substance of the leading text is as follows: "After they [the nation that had been converted, in the vicinity ofByblos] had for five hundred years adhered to thefalse teaching of an heresiarch named Maro, so that they took from him the name of Maronites, and, being separated from thetrue Church had been following their own peculiar liturgy [ab ecclesia fidelium sequestrati seorsim sacramenta conficerent sua], they came to thePatriarch ofAntioch, Aymery, the third of the Latinpatriarchs, and, havingabjured theirerror, were, with their patriarch and somebishops, reunited to thetrue Church. They declared themselves ready to accept and observe the prescriptions of theRoman Church. There were more than 40,000 of them, occupying the whole region of the Lebanon, and they were of great use to the Latins in thewar against theSaracens. Theerror of Maro and his adherents is and was, as may be read in the Sixth Council, that inJesus Christ there was, and had been since the beginning only one will and one energy. And after their separation they had embraced still other pernicious doctrines."

We proceed to consider the various interpretations given to this text.

The Maronite position

Maro, aSyrianmonk, who died in the fifth century and is noticed by Theodoret (Religionis Historia, xvi), had gathered together some disciples on the banks of the Orantes, between Emesa andApamea. After his death the faithful built, at the place, where he had lived, amonastery which they named after him. WhenSyria was divided byheresies, themonks of Beit-Marun remained invariably faithful to the cause oforthodoxy, and rallied to it the neighbouring inhabitants. This was the cradle of the Maronite nation. The Jacobite chroniclers bear witness that these populations aided the Emperor Heraclius in the struggle againstMonophysitism even by force (c. 630). Moreover, thirty years later when Mu‘awyah, the future caliph, was governor ofDamascus (658-58), they disputed with theJacobites in his presence, and theJacobites, being worsted, had to pay a large penalty. The Emperor Heraclius and his successors having meanwhile succumbed to theMonothelite heresy, which was afterwards condemned in the Council of 681, the Maronites, who until then had been partisans of the Byzantine emperor (Melchites), broke with him, so as not to be in communion with aheretic. From this event dates the national independence of the Maronites. Justinian II (Rhinotmetes) wished to reduce them to subjection: in 694 his forces attacked themonastery, destroyed it, and marched over the mountain towards Tripoli, to complete their conquest. But the Maronites, with theCatholicPatriarch ofAntioch, St. John Maro, at their head, routed the Greeks near Amiun, and saved that autonomy which they were able to maintain through succeeding ages. They are to be identified with the Mardaïtes ofSyria, who, in the Lebanon, on the frontier of the Empire, successfully struggled with theByzantines and theArabs. There theCrusaders found them, and formed very close relations with them.William of Tyre relates that, in 1182, the Maronites to the number of 40,000, were converted fromMonothelitism; but either this is anerror of information, due to William's having copied, without critically examining, the Annals ofEutychius, anEgyptianMelchite whocalumniated the Maronites, or else these 40,000 were only a very small part of the nation who had, throughignorance, allowed themselves to be led astray by theMonothelite propaganda of abishop named Thomas of Kfar-tas. Besides, the Maronites can show an unbroken list ofpatriarchs between the time of St. John Maro and that ofPope Innocent III; thesepatriarchs, never havingerred infaith, or strayed intoschism, are the only legitimate heirs of the Patriarchate of Antioch, or at least they have a claim to that title certainly not inferior to the claim of any rival. — Such is the case frequently presented by Maronites, and in the last place by Mgr. Debs,Archbishop ofBeirut (Perpétuelle orthodoxie des Maronites).

Criticism of the Maronite position

(1) The Monastery of St. Maro before the Monothelite Controversy

The existence since the sixth century of aconvent of St. Maro, or of Beit-Marun, between Apamea and Elmesa, on the right bank of the Orontes, is an established fact, and it may very well have been built on the spot where Maro the solitary dwelt, of whom Theodoret speaks. Thisconvent suffered for its devotion to thetruefaith, as is strikingly evident from an address presented by itsmonks to theMetropolitan ofApamea in 517, and to Pope Hormisdas, complaining of theMonophysites, who had massacred 350monks for siding with theCouncil of Chalcedon. In 536 the apocrisarius Paul appears at Constantinople subscribing the Acts of the Fourth Œcumenical Council in the name of themonks of St. Maro. In 553, this sameconvent is represented at the Fifth Œcumenical Council by thepriest John and thedeacon Paul. Theorthodox emperors, particularly Justinian (Procopius, "De Ædific.", V, ix) and Heraclius, gave liberal tokens of their regard for themonastery. The part played by themonks of St. Maro, isolated in the midst of an almost entirelyMonophysite population, should not be underrated. But it will be observed that in the texts cited there is mention of a singleconvent, and not by any means of a population such as could possibly have originated the Maronite nation of later times.

(2) St. John Maro

Thetrue founder of the Maronite nation, the patriarch St. John Maro, would have lived towards the close of the seventh century, but, unfortunately, his very existence is extremelydoubtful. All the Syriac authors and the Byzantinepriest Timotheus derive the nameMaronite from that of theconvent Beni-Marun. The words of Timotheus are:Maronîtai dè kèklentai àpò toû monasteríon aútôn Marò kalonménou èn Suría (in P.G. LXXXVI, 65 and note 53).Renaudot absolutely denies the existence of John Maro. But, supposing that he did exist, as may be inferred from the testimony of the tenth-centuryMelchite PatriarchEutychius (the earliest text bearing on the point), his identity has baffled all researches. His name is not to be found in any list ofMelchite Patriarchs of Antioch, whether Greek or Syriac. As thepatriarchs of the seventh and eighth centuries wereorthodox, there was no reason why St. John Maro should have been placed at the head of an allegedorthodox branch of theChurch of Antioch. The episcopal records of Antioch for the period in question may be summarized as follows: 685, election of Theophanes; 686, probable election of Alexander; 692, George assists at theTrullan Council; 702-42, vacancy of the See of Antioch on account ofMussulman persecutions; 742, election of Stephen. But, according to Mgr Debs, the latest Maronite historian, St. John Maro would have occupied the patriarchal See of Antioch from 685 to 707.

The Maronites insist, affirming that St. John Maro must have beenPatriarch ofAntioch because his works present him under that title. The works of John Maro referred to are an exposition of the Liturgy of St. James and a treatise on the Faith. The former is published by Joseph Aloysius Assemani in his "Codex Liturgicus" and certainly bears the name of John Maro, but the present writer has elsewhere shown that this alleged commentary of St. John Maro is no other than the famous commentary of Dionysius bar-Salibi, aMonophysite author of the twelfth century, with mutilations, additions, and accommodations to suit the changes by which the Maronites have endeavoured to make the Syriac Liturgy resemble the Roman (Dionysius Bar Salibi, "expositio liturgiæ", ed. Labourt, pref.). The treatise on the Faith is not likely to be any more authentic than theliturgical work: it bears a remarkable resemblance to atheological treatise ofLeontius of Byzantium, and should therefore, very probably, be referred to the second half of the sixth century and the first half of the seventh — a period much earlier than that which the Maronites assign to St. John Maro. Besides, it contains nothing aboutMonothelitism — which, in fact, did not yet exist. John Maro, we must therefore conclude, is a very problematicpersonality; if he existed at all, it was as a simplemonk, not by any means as aMelchitePatriarch ofAntioch.

(3) Uninterrupted Orthodoxy of the Maronites

It is to be remembered that before the rise ofMonothelitism, themonks of St. Maro, to whom the Maronites trace their origin, were faithful to theCouncil of Chalcedon as accepted by the Byzantine emperors; they wereMelchites in the full sense of the term — i.e., Imperialists, representing the Byzantine creed among populations which had abandoned it, and, we may add, representing the Byzantine language and Byzantine culture among peoples whose speech and manners were those ofSyria. There is no reason to think that, when the Byzantine emperors, by way of one last effort at union with their Jacobite subjects, Syrian andEgyptian, endeavoured to secure the triumph ofMonothelitism — a sort of compromise between Monophysistism and Chalcedonianorthodoxy — themonks of St. Maro abandoned the Imperialist party and faithfully adhered toorthodoxy. On the contrary, all the documents suggest that themonks of Beit-Marun embracedMonothelitism, and still adhered to thatheresy even after the Council of 681, when the emperors hadabjured it. It is not very difficult to produce evidence of this in a text of Dionysius of Tell-Mahré (d. 845) preserved to us in the chronicle of Michael the Syrian, which shows Heraclius forcing most of the Syrianmonks to accept his Ecthesis, and those of Beit-Marun are counted among the staunchest partisans of the emperor. One very instructive passage in this same chronicle, referring to the year 727, recounts at length a quarrel between the two branches of the Chalcedonians, theorthodox and theMonothelites, where the former are called Maximists, after St. Maximus the confessor, the uncompromising adversary of theMonothelites, while the latter are described as the "party of Beit-Marun" and "monks of Beit-Marun". We are here told how themonks of St. Maro have abishop in theirmonastery, how they convert most of theMelchites of the country districts toMonothelitism and even successfully contend with the Maximists (i.e., theCatholics) for the possession of a church atAleppo. From that time on, being cut off from communion with theMelchite (Catholic)Patriarch ofAntioch, they do as theJacobites did before them, and for the same reasons: they set up a separate Church, eschewing, however, with equal horror theMonophysites, who reject theCouncil of Chalcedon, and theCatholics who condemn theMonothelite Ecthesis of Heraclius and accept the Sixth Œcumenical Council. Why themonks of Beit-Marun, hitherto so faithful to the Byzantine emperors, should have deserted them when they returned toorthodoxy, we do notknow; but it iscertain that in this defection the Maronite Church and nation had its origin, and that the nameMaronite thenceforward becomes a synonym forMonothelite, as well with Byzantine as withNestorian orMonophysite writers. Says the Chronicle of Michael the Syrian, referring to this period: "The Maronites remained as they are now. They ordain a patriarch andbishops from theirconvent. They are separated from Maximus, in that they confess only one will in Christ, and say: 'Who was crucified for us'. But they accept the Synod of Chalcedon."St. Germanus of Constantinople, in his treatise "De Hæresibus et Synodis" (about the year 735), writes: "There are someheretics who, rejecting the Fifth and Sixth Councils, nevertheless contend against theJacobites. The latter treat them as men without sense, because, while accepting the Fourth Council, they try to reject the next two. Such are the Maronites, whosemonastery is situated in the very mountains ofSyria." (The Fourth Council was that of Chalcedon.)St. John Damascene, aDoctor of the Church (d. 749), also considered the Maronitesheretics. He reproaches them, among other things, with continuing to add the wordsstaurotheis dì emâs (Who didst suffer for us on the Cross) to the Trisagion, an addition susceptible of anorthodox sense, but which had eventually been prohibited in order to prevent misunderstanding [maronísomen prosthémenoi tô trisagío tèn staúrosin ("We shall be following Maro, if we join the Crucifixion to our Trisagion" — "De Hymno Trisagio", ch. v). Cf.perì òrthoû phronematos, ch. v.]. A little later, Timotheus I,Patriarch of theNestorians, receives a letter from the Maronites, proposing that he should admit them to his communion. His reply is extant, though as yet unpublished, in which he felicitates them on rejecting, as he himself does, theidea of more than one energy and one will in Christ (Monothelitism), but lays down certain conditions which amount to an acceptance of hisNestorianism, though in a mitigated form. Analogous testimony may be found in the works of theMelchite controversialist Theodore Abukara (d. c. 820) and the Jacobitetheologian Habib Abu-Raïta (about the same period), as also in the treatise "De Receptione Hareticorum" attributed to thepriest Timotheus (P.G., 86, 65). Thus, in the eighth century there exists a Maronite Church distinct from theCatholicChurch and from theMonophysite Church; this Church extends far into the plain ofSyria and prevails especially in the mountain regions about themonastery of Beit-Marun. In the ninth century this Church was probably confined to the mountain regions. The destruction of themonastery of Beit-Marun did not put an end to it; it completed its organization by setting up a patriarch, the first known Maronite patriarchdating from 1121, though there may have been others before him. The Maronite mountaineers preserved a relative autonomy between the Byzantine emperors, on the one hand, who reconquered Antioch in the tenth century, and, on the other hand, theMussulmans. TheCrusaders entered into relations with them. In 1182, almost the entire nation — 40,000 of them — were converted. From the moment when their influence ceased to extend over the hellenized lowlands ofSyria, the Maronites ceased to speak any language but Syriac, and used no other in their liturgy. It is impossible to assign a date to this disappearance of hellenism among them. At the end of the eighth century the Maronite Theophilus ofEdessaknew enough Greek to translate and comment on the Homeric poems. It is very likely that Greek was the chief language used in themonastery of Beit-Marun, at least until the ninth century; thatmonastery having been destroyed, there remained only country and mountain villages where nothing but Syriac had ever been used either colloquially or in the liturgy.

It would be pleasant to be able at least to say that theorthodoxy of the Maronites has been constant since 1182, but unfortunately, even this cannot be asserted. There have been at least partial defections among them. Nodoubt the patriarch Jeremias al Amshîti visitedInnocent III atRome in 1215, and he is known to have taken home with him some projects ofliturgical reform. But in 1445, after theCouncil of Florence, the Maronites ofCyprus return toCatholicism (Hefele, "Histoire des counciles", tr. Delare, XI, 540). In 1451,Pius II, in his letter to Mahomet II, still ranks them among theheretics. Gryphone, an illustriousFlemishFranciscan of the end of the fifteenth century, converted a large number of them, receiving several into the Order of St. Francis, and one of them, Gabriel Glaï (Barclaïus, or Benclaïus), whom he had caused to beconsecratedBishop of Lefkosia inCyprus, was the first Maronite scholar to attempt to establish his nation's claim to unvaryingorthodoxy: in a letter written in 1495 he gives what purports to be a list of eighteen Maronitepatriarchs in succession, from the beginning of their Church down to his own time, taken from documents which he assumes to come down from the year 1315. — It is obvious to remark how recent all that is. — TheFranciscan Suriano ("Il trattato di Terra Santa e dell' Oriente di fr. Fr. Suriano", ed. Golubovitch), who wasdelegated to the Maronites byLeo X, in 1515, points out many traits ofignorance and many abuses among them, and regards Maro as aMonothelite. However, it may be asserted that the Maronites never relapsed intoMonothelitism after Gryphone's mission. Since James of Hadat (1439-48) all theirpatriarchs have been strictlyorthodox.

The Maronite Church since the sixteenth century

The Lateran Council of 1516 was the beginning of a new era, which has also been the most brilliant, in Maronite history. The letters of the patriarch Simon Peter and of hisbishops may be found in the eleventh session of that council (19 Dec., 1516). From that time the Maronites were to be in permanent and uninterrupted contact withRome. Moses of Akbar (1526-67) received a letter fromPius IV. The patriarch Michael sought the intervention ofGregory XIII and received thepallium from him. That great pontiff was the most distinguished benefactor of the Maronite Church: he established atRome ahospital for them, and then the Maronite College to which thebishops could send six of their subjects. Many famoussavants have gone out of this college: George Amira, the grammarian, who died patriarch in 1633; Isaac of Schadrê; Gabriel Siouni, professor at the Sapienza, afterwards interpreter to King Louis XIII and collaborator in the Polyglot Bible (d. 1648);Abraham of Hakel (Ecchelensis), a very prolific writer, professor atRome and afterwards atParis, and collaborator in the Polyglot Bible; above all, the Assemani — Joseph Simeon, editor of the "Bibliotheca Orientalis", Stephanus Evodius, and Joseph Aloysius. Another Maronite college was founded atRavenna byInnocent X, but was amalgamated with that atRome in 1665. After theFrench Revolution the Maronite College was attached to theCongregation of Propaganda.

In thepatriarchate of Sergius Risius, the successor of Michael, theJesuit Jerome Dandini, by order ofClement VIII, directed ageneral council of the Maronites at Kannobin in 1616, which enacted twenty-one canons, correcting abuses and effecting reforms inliturgical matters; theliturgical reforms of the council of 1596, however, were extremely moderate. Otherpatriarchs were:Joseph II Risius, who, in 1606, introduced the Gregorian Calendar; John XI (d. 1633), to whomPaul V sent thepallium in 1610; Gregory Amira (1633-44); Joseph III of Akur (1644-47); John XII of Soffra (d. 1656). The last two of theseprelates converted a great manyJacobites. Stephen of Ehdem (d. 1704) composed a history of his predecessors from 1095 to 1699. Peter James II was deposed in 1705, but Joseph Mubarak, who was elected in his place, was not recognized byClement XI, and, through the intervention ofPropaganda, which demanded the holding of another council, Peter James II was restored in 1713.

Under Joseph IV (1733-42) was held a second national council, which is of highest importance.Pope Clement XII delegated Joseph Simeon Assemani, who was assisted by his nephew Stephanus Evodius, with an express mandate to cause theCouncil of Trent to bepromulgated in the Lebanon. TheJesuit Fromage was appointed synodal orator. According to the letter which he sent to his superiors (published at the beginning of Mansi's thirty-eighth volume), the chief abuses to be corrected by the ablegate were: (1) The Maronitebishops, in virtue of an ancient custom, had in their households a certain number of religiouswomen, whose lodgings were, as a rule, separated from thebishop's only by a door of communication. (2) The patriarch had reserved to himself exclusively theright toconsecrate theholy oils and distribute them among thebishops andclergy in consideration of money payments. (3) Marriagedispensations were sold for a money price. (4) TheBlessed Sacrament was not reserved in most of the country churches, and was seldom to be found except in the churches ofreligious communities. (5) Marriedpriests were permitted to remarry. (6) Churches lacked their becoming ornaments, and "the members of Jesus Christ, necessary succour", while, on the other hand, there were too manybishops — fifteen to one hundred and fiftyparishes. (7) The Maronites ofAleppo had, for ten or twelve years past, been singing the Liturgy in Arabic only.

With great difficultly, J. S. Assemani overcame the ill will of the patriarch and the intrigues of thebishops: the Council of the Lebanon at last convened in themonastery of St. Mary of Luweïza, fourteen Maronitebishops, one Syrian, and oneArmenian assisting. The abuses enumerated above were reformed, and measures were taken to combatignorance by establishingschools. The following decisions were also taken: the Filioque was introduced into the Creed; in the Synaxary, not only the first six councils were to be mentioned, but also the Seventh (Nicæa, 787), the Eighth (Constantinople, 869), theCouncil of Florence (1439), and theCouncil of Trent; thepope was to be named in the Mass and in other parts of the liturgy; confirmation was reserved to thebishop; theconsecration of theholy chrism and theholy oils was set forHoly Thursday; the altar bread was to take the circular form in use atRome, must be composed only of flour and water, and must contain no oil or salt, after the Syrian tradition; the wine must be mixed with a little water; communion under both species was no longer permitted except topriests anddeacons; theecclesiastical hierarchy was definitely organized, and the ceremonial ofordination fixed; the number ofbishoprics was reduced to eight.

The publication of the decrees of this council did not, of course, completely transform Maronite manners and customs. In 1743, two candidates for thepatriarchate were chosen.Clement XIV wasobliged to annul the election: he chose Simon Euodius,Archbishop ofDamascus (d. 1756), who was succeeded by Tobias Peter (1756-66). In the next patriarchal reign, that of Joseph Peter Stefani, a certain Anna Agsmi founded a congregation of religiouswomen of the Sacred Heart; theHoly See suppressed the congregation and condemned its foundress, who, by means of her reputation forsanctity, was disseminating graveerrors. Joseph Peter, who defended her in spite of everything, was placed underinterdict in 1779, but was reconciled some years later. After him came Michael Fadl (d. 1795), Peter Gemaïl (d. 1797), Peter Thian (1797-1809), and Joseph Dolci (1809-23). The last, in 1818, abolished, by the action of a synod, the custom by which, in many places, there were pairs ofmonasteries, one for men, the other forwomen. Under Joseph Habaïsch the struggles with the Druses (see I, above) began, continuing under his successor, Joseph Ghazm (1846-55). Peter Paul Massaad (1855-90) during his long and fruitful term on the patriarchal throne witnessed events of extreme gravity — the revolt of the people against the sheikhs and the massacres of 1860. The Maronite Church owes much to him: his firmness of character and the loftiness of his aims had the utmost possible effect in lessening theevil consequences and breaking the shock of these conflicts. The immediate predecessor of the present (1910) patriarch, Mgr. Hoyek, was John Peter Hadj (1890-99).

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