The Maronite Church

The Maronite Church dates back to the early Christians of Antioch where “they were called Christians for the first time” (Acts 11:26). She still uses as her liturgical language, Syriac, a dialect of the Aramaic that Jesus Himself spoke, and takes her name from the hermit-priest, Saint Maron, who died in 410 AD.

Within a few years after Saint Maron’s death, over 800 monks became known as Maronites. By 687, Maronites, who were both missionaries and monks, organized themselves around Saint John Maron, whom they elected Patriarch of the vacant See of Antioch, and thus developed as a distinct Church within the Catholic Church.

The Maronite Church is one of Eastern Catholic Churches, She has her own hierarchy composed of a Patriarch who is her father and head, and over fifty Bishops who shepherd the many Eparchies (Dioceses) in Lebanon, the Middle East and throughout the world.

The Maronite Church is known for Her love and devotion to the See of Peter in Rome. This relationship has allowed Maronites to fully express the Catholic faith held from the beginning.

The Maronite Church has always been a Marian Church. From the beginning, Maronites have claimed a special devotion to the Mother of God. In the small villages, homes, mountains, hills and streets of Lebanon are found shrines of all types to Our Lady. Hymns, feast days and the liturgical life of the Maronite Church clearly express this great devotion to the Mother of Our Lord.