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96-892: The Maronite tradition is employed solely in the Maronite Church originating from the region of modern-day Lebanon . The Jacobite tradition is employed in the Syriac Orthodox Church based in Syria and its Maphrianate in India known as Jacobite Syrian Christian Church , the Syriac Catholic Church based in Lebanon, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church , the Malabar Independent Syrian Church and

192-761: A Doctor of the Church , often referred to as the Doctor of the Assumption due to his writings on the Assumption of Mary . He was also a prominent exponent of perichoresis , and employed the concept as a technical term to describe both the interpenetration of the divine and human natures of Christ and the relationship between the hypostases of the Trinity. John is at the end of the Patristic period of dogmatic development, and his contribution

288-505: A " Servant of God "), was able to find a middle ground between reformers and conservatives, and re-vitalized Maronite liturgical tradition. The Synod of Mount Lebanon sought to incorporate both traditions. It formalized many of the Latin practices that had developed, but also attempted to preserve ancient Maronite liturgical tradition. The Synod did not sanction the exclusive use of the Roman ritual in

384-522: A Georgian who died in 1028. John was born in Damascus , in 675 or 676, to a prominent Damascene Christian Arab family. His father, Sarjun ibn Mansur , served as an official of the early Umayyad Caliphate . His grandfather, Mansur ibn Sarjun , was a prominent Byzantine official of Damascus, who had been responsible for the taxes of the region during the reign of Emperor Heraclius and also served under Emperor Maurice . Mansur seems to have played

480-512: A Muslim can only marry and do trade in the presence of witnesses – and what biblical prophets and verses foretold Muhammad 's coming – since, John says, Jesus was foretold by the prophets and whole Old Testament. John claims that the Muslims answered that Muhammad received the Quran in his sleep. John claims that he jokingly answered, "You're spinning my dreams." Some of the Muslims, John says, claimed that

576-631: A companion's wife before outlawing adultery, and that the Quran is filled with stories, such as the She-Camel of God and God giving Jesus an "incorruptible table." It is believed that the homily on the Annunciation was the first work to be translated into Arabic. Much of this text is found in Manuscript 4226 of the Library of Strasbourg (France), dating to 885 AD. Later in the 10th century, Antony, superior of

672-553: A great price. As a refugee from Italy, Cosmas brought with him the scholarly traditions of Latin Christianity . Cosmas was said to have rivaled Pythagoras in arithmetic and Euclid in geometry . He also taught John's orphan friend, Cosmas of Maiuma . John possibly had a career as a civil servant for the Caliph in Damascus before his ordination. He then became a priest and monk at

768-657: A lesser degree Syria , Jordan and Palestine . Saint Maron spent his life on a mountain in Syria, generally believed to be "Kefar-Nabo" on the mountain of Ol-Yambos in the Taurus Mountains , contemporary Turkey , becoming the cradle of the Maronite movement established in the Monastery of Saint Maron . Following Maron's death in 410 AD, his disciples built Beth-Maron monastery at Apamea (present day Qalaat al-Madiq ). This formed

864-644: A more effective church structure and to gradual emancipation from the influence of Maronite families. Due to closer ties with the Latin Church, the Maronite Church is among the most Latinized of the Eastern Catholic Churches . Contacts between the Maronite monks and Rome were revived during the Crusades. The Maronites introduced to Eastern Churches Western devotional practices such as the rosary and

960-463: A plot to attack Damascus . The caliph then ordered John's right hand be cut off and hung up in public view. Some days afterwards, John asked for the restitution of his hand, and prayed fervently to the Theotokos before her icon: thereupon, his hand is said to have been miraculously restored. In gratitude for this miraculous healing, he attached a silver hand to the icon, which thereafter became known as

1056-482: A prologue not found in most other translations, and was written by an Arab monk, Michael, who explained that he decided to write his biography in 1084 because none was available in his day. However, the main Arabic text seems to have been written by an unknown earlier author sometime between the early 9th and late 10th century. Written from a hagiographical point of view and prone to exaggeration and some legendary details, it

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1152-408: A role in the capitulation of Damascus to the troops of Khalid ibn al-Walid in 635 after securing favorable conditions of surrender. Eutychius , a 10th-century Melkite patriarch, mentions him as one high-ranking official involved in the surrender of the city to the Muslims. The tribal background of Mansur ibn Sarjun, John's grandfather, is unknown, but biographer Daniel Sahas has speculated that

1248-510: A substantial payment and half the revenues of Cyprus. There they were conscripted as rowers and marines in the Byzantine navy . Additional resettlement efforts allowed Justinian to reinforce naval forces depleted by earlier conflicts. John Maron established himself in the remote Qadisha Valley in Lebanon. In 694, Justinian sent troops against the Maronites in an unsuccessful attempt to capture

1344-564: Is less one of theological innovation than one of a summary of the developments of the centuries before him. In Catholic theology , he is therefore known as the "last of the Greek Fathers". The main source of information for the life of John of Damascus is a work attributed to one John of Jerusalem, identified therein as the Patriarch of Jerusalem . This is an excerpted translation into Greek of an earlier Arabic text. The Arabic original contains

1440-430: Is not the best historical source for his life, but is widely reproduced and considered to contain elements of some value. The hagiographic novel Barlaam and Josaphat is a work of the 10th century attributed to a monk named John. It was only considerably later that the tradition arose that this was John of Damascus, but most scholars no longer accept this attribution. Instead much evidence points to Euthymius of Athos ,

1536-492: Is the first married man to be ordained to the Maronite priesthood in North America and will not be expected to remain continent. The Maronite church has twenty-six eparchies and patriarchal vicariates as follows: In the 12th century, about 40,000 Maronites resided in the area around Antioch and modern-day Lebanon. By the 21st century, estimates suggest that the Maronite diaspora population may have grown to more than twice

1632-795: Is to be given only to those who have attained the age of reason; priests were forbidden to give Communion to infants. In Orientale lumen , the Apostolic Letter to the Churches of the East, issued 2 May 1995, Pope John Paul II quotes Orientalium Ecclesiarum , the Second Vatican Council's Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches: It has been stressed several times that the full union of the Catholic Eastern Churches with

1728-519: The Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church ( Arabic : الكنيسة الأنطاكية السريانية المارونية ; Syriac : ܥܹܕܬܵܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ ܡܪܘܝܝܐ ܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ ), it is part of Syriac Christianity by liturgy and heritage. The early development of the Maronite Church can be divided into three periods, from the 4th to the 7th centuries. A congregation movement, with Saint Maron from the Taurus Mountains as an inspirational leader and patron saint , marked

1824-731: The Chalcedonian Schism . The Liturgy is associated with the name of James the Just , the "brother" of Jesus and patriarch among the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem . Saint James was martyred at the hands of a mob incensed at his preaching about Jesus and his "transgression of the Law" - an accusation made by the Jewish High Priest of the time, Hanan ben Hanan . Among the Eastern liturgies,

1920-718: The Church of the East and they were following the East Syriac Rite till the sixteenth century, when the interventions of the Portuguese Padroado missionaries led to a schism among them. Following the schism in 1665, one of the two factions that emerged (the Puthenkoor ) made contact with the Syriac Orthodox Church through Archbishop Gregorios Abdal Jaleel . Links with the Syriac Orthodox Church were further strengthened in

2016-647: The Liturgy of Saint James is one of the Antiochene group of liturgies, those ascribed to Saint James, to Saint Basil , and to Saint John Chrysostom . Most authorities propose a fourth-century date for the known form, because the anaphora seems to have been developed from an ancient Egyptian form of the Basilean anaphoric family united with the anaphora described in The Catechisms of St. Cyril of Jerusalem . A variant of

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2112-710: The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church an Oriental Orthodox Church, the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church , a reformed-oriental church in the Anglican Communion, and the Malabar Independent Syrian Church , an independent Oriental Orthodox Church in Communion with the Anglican Communion. Although the term Holy Qurbana is generally associated with the Eucharistic celebration in the East Syriac Rite ,

2208-641: The Mar Saba monastery near Jerusalem. One source suggests John left Damascus to become a monk around 706, when al-Walid I increased the Islamicisation of the Caliphate's administration. This is uncertain, as Muslim sources only mention that his father Sarjun (Sergius) left the administration around this time, and fail to name John at all. During the next two decades, culminating in the Siege of Constantinople (717-718) ,

2304-561: The Orontes River in modern-day Syria to lead an ascetic life, following the traditions of Anthony the Great of the Desert and of Pachomius . Many of his followers also lived a monastic lifestyle. Maron is considered the founder of the spiritual and monastic movement that evolved into what is now the Maronite Church. Maronite Christianity has had a profound influence on what is now Lebanon , and to

2400-592: The Ottoman Empire , indigenous concentrated religious communities dealt mainly with the provincial administration. Officially, Maronites had to pay the jizya tax as non-Muslims, but sometimes the monks and clergy were exempt because they were considered to be "poor". Fakhr-al-Din II (1572–1635) was a Druze prince and a leader of the Emirate of Chouf District in the governorate of Mount Lebanon. Maronite Abū Nādir al-Khāzin

2496-502: The Quran , which he criticizes harshly. Other sources describe his education in Damascus as having been conducted in accordance with the principles of Hellenic education , termed "secular" by one source and "classical Christian" by another. One account identifies his tutor as a monk by the name of Cosmas , who had been kidnapped by Arabs from his home in Sicily , and for whom John's father paid

2592-696: The Stations of the Cross . Late in the 16th century, Pope Gregory XIII sent Jesuits to the Lebanese monasteries to ensure that their practice conformed to decisions made at the Council of Trent . The Maronite College in Rome was established by Gregory XIII in 1584. The Maronite missal ( Qurbono ) was first printed between 1592 and 1594 in Rome, although with fewer anaphoras. Patriarch Stephan al-Duwayhî (1670–1704), (later declared

2688-708: The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church based in India. A reformed variant of the latter without intercession to saints and prayers for the departed, is used by the Mar Thoma Syrian Church , a Reformed Oriental Church. The Syriac word qurobo is derived from the Aramaic term qurbana ( ܩܘܪܒܢܐ ). When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, and sacrifices were offered, "qorban" was a technical Hebrew term for some of

2784-665: The Umayyad Caliphate progressively occupied the borderlands of the Byzantine Empire. An editor of John's works, Father Le Quien , has shown that John was already a monk at Mar Saba before the dispute over iconoclasm, explained below. In the early 8th century, iconoclasm , a movement opposed to the veneration of icons, gained acceptance in the Byzantine court. In 726, despite the protests of Germanus , Patriarch of Constantinople , Emperor Leo III (who had forced his predecessor, Theodosius III , to abdicate and himself assumed

2880-477: The paten and chalice are placed over it. It is consecrated with chrism by a bishop during the consecration of a church . The Holy Qurbono can be celebrated anywhere on a thabilitho, and cannot be celebrated without one. Maronite Church [REDACTED] Catholicism portal The Maronite Church ( Arabic : لكنيسة المارونية‎ ; Syriac : ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܡܪܘܢܝܬܐ ) is an Eastern Catholic sui iuris particular church in full communion with

2976-515: The plural "we" , whether in reference to himself, or to a group of Christians that he belonged to who spoke to the Muslims, or in reference to Christians in general. Regardless, John claims that he asked the Muslims what witnesses can testify that Muhammad received the Quran from God – since, John says, Moses received the Torah from God in the presence of the Israelites, and since Islamic law mandates that

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3072-664: The pope and the worldwide Catholic Church , with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches . The head of the Maronite Church is Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi , who was elected in March 2011 following the resignation of Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir . The seat of the Maronite Patriarchate is in Bkerke , northeast of Beirut , Lebanon . Officially known as

3168-631: The "Three-handed", or Tricherousa . That icon is now located in the Hilandar monastery of the Holy Mountain . Due to his commitment to iconodulism , he was condemned by anathema by the iconoclastic Council of Hieria in 754. He was later rehabilitated by the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. When the name of John of Damascus was inserted in the General Roman Calendar in 1890, it

3264-399: The Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (813–33). To eliminate internal dissent, from 1289 to 1291 Egyptian Mamluk troops descended on Mount Lebanon, destroying forts and monasteries. Following the Muslim conquest of Eastern Christendom outside Anatolia and Europe in the 7th century and after the establishment of secured lines of demarcation between Islamic Caliphs and Byzantine Emperors, little

3360-404: The Bible and, "likewise, it seems," spoke to an Arian monk that taught him Arianism instead of Christianity. John also claims to have read the Quran, or at least parts of it, as he criticizes the Quran for saying that the Virgin Mary was the sister of Moses and Aaron and that Jesus was not crucified but brought alive into heaven. John further claims to have spoken to Muslims about Mohammad. He uses

3456-402: The Byzantine emperor, but adopted a simplified style that allowed the controversy to be followed by the common people, stirring rebellion among the iconoclasts. Decades after his death, John's writings would play an important role during the Second Council of Nicaea (787), which convened to settle the icon dispute. Leo III reportedly sent forged documents to the caliph which implicated John in

3552-458: The Catholic Church are Alexandrian , Antiochene , Armenian , Chaldean , Constantinopolitan (Byzantine), and Latin (Roman). The Maronite Church follows the Antiochene Tradition. Any Catholic may attend any Eastern Catholic liturgy and fulfill his or her canonical obligations at an Eastern Catholic parish. Any Catholic may attend any Eastern Catholic parish or service and receive any sacrament from an Eastern Catholic priest since all belong to

3648-410: The Catholic Church. Maronites who do not reside within a convenient distance to a local Maronite Church are permitted to attend other Catholic churches while retaining their Maronite membership. The Maronite Patriarchal Assembly (2003–2004) identified five distinguishing marks of the Maronite Church: Maron , a fourth-century monk and a contemporary and friend of John Chrysostom , left Antioch for

3744-430: The Christian community in Antioch into three major factions. The Melkites , who supported the Emperor and the ecumenical council gradually adopted the Byzantine Rite . On the other side, the non-Chalcedonians (Jacobites), who rejected the council started developing their peculiar liturgical rite, the West Syriac Rite in Jacobite tradition, by translating Greek texts into Syriac. Meanwhile, a distinct West Syriac community

3840-556: The Church by Pope Leo XIII . Besides his purely textual works, many of which are listed below, John of Damascus also composed hymns, perfecting the canon , a structured hymn form used in Byzantine Rite liturgies. As stated above, in the final chapter of Concerning Heresy, John mentions Islam as the Heresy of the Ishmaelites . He is one of the first known Christian critics of Islam. John claims that Muslims were once worshipers of Aphrodite who followed after Muhammad because of his "seeming show of piety," and that Mohammad himself read

3936-416: The Church of Rome which has already been achieved must not imply a diminished awareness of their own authenticity and originality. Wherever this occurred, the Second Vatican Council has urged them to rediscover their full identity, because they have "the right and the duty to govern themselves according to their own unique disciplines. For these are guaranteed by ancient tradition and seem to be better suited to

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4032-409: The Church. The other sacraments are celebrated for individual members. Thus the Holy Qurobo is believed to be the sacrament that completes all the others. Hence it is called the "sacrament of perfection" or the "queen of sacraments". A similar term Holy Qurbana is used to denote the eucharistic celebration in the East Syriac Rite also. Although the term Holy Qurbana is generally associated with

4128-443: The Constantinople synods of 536 and 553 . An outbreak of civil war during the reign of Emperor Phocas brought forth riots in the cities of Syria and Palestine and incursions by Persian King Khosrow II . In 609, the Patriarch of Antioch, Anastasius II , was killed either at the hands of some soldiers or locals. This left the Maronites without a leader, which continued because of the final Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628 . In

4224-411: The Council of Chalcedon in 451. Monophysites of Antioch slew 350 monks and burned the monastery in an act of sectarian violence among Christians . Later, Justinian I restored the community. Correspondence concerning the event brought the Maronites papal and orthodox recognition, indicated by a letter from Pope Hormisdas (514–523) dated 10 February 518. Representatives from Beth-Maron participated in

4320-402: The Divine Liturgy in the West Syriac Churches in India is popularly referred to as Holy Qurbana and rarely, Holy Qurbono , due to the historical ties with the East Syriac Church which lasted until the sixteenth century. The anaphorae currently used by the Syro-Antiochene Rite (or West Syriac Rite ) are numerous and the main are: The Antiochene Maronite Church is one of the richest in

4416-418: The Druze founded modern Lebanon in the early Eighteenth Century, through a governing and social system known as the " Maronite-Druze dualism " in the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate . Maronite orientalist Joseph Simon Assemani presided as papal legate for Pope Clement XII . The synod drafted a Code of Canons for the Maronite Church and created the first regular diocesan structure. The Council of Luwayza led to

4512-427: The Eucharistic celebration in the East Syriac Rite, the Divine Liturgy in the West Syriac Churches based out of Kerala , in India is popularly referred to as Holy Qurbana and rarely, Holy Qurbono , due to their historical ties with the East Syriac Church which lasted until the sixteenth century. West Syriac liturgical rite is developed out of the ancient Antiochene Rite of the Patriarchate of Antioch , adapting

4608-457: The French opened a consulate in Beirut. The Khāzin sheikhs subsequently increased in power and influence. In 1662, with the mediation of Jesuit missionaries, Abū Nawfal al-Khāzin was named French consul, despite complaints by Marseille merchants that he was not from Marseille. The Church prospered from the protection and influence of the Khāzins, but at the expense of interference in church affairs, particularly ecclesiastical appointments, which

4704-409: The Jacobite tradition, probably by the following century. Sebastian P. Brock observes that it must have been from about the 7th century that the Maronite and Jacobite liturgical traditions began to diverge, with the Maronite tradition often retaining archaic elements lost in the Jacobite tradition. The Saint Thomas Christian community of India, who originally belonged to the Province of India of

4800-461: The Khāzins saw as an extension of their political influence. Bachir Chehab II was the first and last Maronite ruler of the Emirate of Mount Lebanon. The relationship between the Druze and Christians has been characterized by harmony and peaceful coexistence , with amicable relations between the two groups prevailing throughout history, with the exception of some periods, including 1860 Mount Lebanon civil war . The Maronite Catholics and

4896-519: The Maronite Church is the Patriarch of Antioch and the Whole Levant , who is elected by the Maronite bishops and resides in Bkerké , close to Jounieh , north of Beirut . He resides in the northern town of Dimane during the summer. There are four other claimants to the Patriarchal succession of Antioch: Clerical celibacy is not strictly required for Maronite deacons and priests of parishes outside of North America; monks, however, must remain celibate, as well as bishops who are normally selected from

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4992-415: The Maronites rejected the Third Council of Constantinople and accepted monothelitism, only moving away from it in the time of the Crusades in order to avoid being branded heretics by the crusaders. The Maronite Church, however, rejects the assertions that the Maronites were ever monothelites and broke communion with Rome; and the question remains a matter of controversy. Elias El-Hāyek attributes much of

5088-449: The Middle East to the United States began during the latter part of the nineteenth century. When the faithful were able to obtain a priest, communities were established as parishes under the jurisdiction of the local Latin bishops. In January 1966, Pope Paul VI established the Maronite Apostolic Exarchate for the Maronite faithful of the United States. In a decree of the Sacred Congregation for the Eastern Churches, Bishop Francis Mansour Zayek

5184-480: The Muslims that the black stone in Mecca was the head of a statue of Aphrodite. Moreover, he claims, the Muslims would be better off to associate Jesus with God if they say Jesus is the Word of God and Spirit. John claims that the word and the spirit are inseparable from that in which they exist and if the Word of God has always existed in God, then the Word must be God. John ends the chapter by claiming that Islam permits polygamy , that Muhammad committed adultery with

5280-425: The Old Testament that Christians believe foretells Jesus' coming is misinterpreted, while other Muslims claimed that the Jews edited the Old Testament so as to deceive Christians (possibly into believing Jesus is God, but John does not say). While recounting his alleged dialogue with Muslims, John claims that they have accused him of idol worship for venerating the Cross and worshipping Jesus. John claims that he told

5376-403: The Orthodox historian Jean Meyendorff , suppose that he might have been a lower-level tax administrator, a local tax collector who would not have needed to be mentioned in the archives, but who might not have necessarily been part of the court either. In addition, John's own writings never refer to any experience in a Muslim court. It is believed that John became a monk at Mar Saba , and that he

5472-423: The Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Los Angeles, California, where he served until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 80. In December 2000, Robert Joseph Shaheen succeeded Chedid as eparch. Eparchies operate in São Paulo in Brazil, as well as in Colombia, Mexico, France, Australia, South Africa, Canada and Argentina. Former Brazilian president Michel Temer , the first Lebanese Brazilian to have led

5568-469: The Patriarch. John Maron died in 707 at the Monastery of St. Maron in Lebanon. Around 749 the Maronite community, in the Lebanon mountains, built the Mar-Mama church at Ehden . Meanwhile, caught between the Byzantines and the Arabs, the monastery at Beth-Maron struggled to survive. After they came under Arab rule following the Muslim conquest of Syria (634–638), Maronite immigration to Lebanon, which had begun some time before, increased, intensifying under

5664-441: The Roman liturgical changes following Vatican II apply to the Maronite Church. Sancrosanctum Concilium says, "Among these principles and norms there are some which can and should be applied both to the Roman rite and also to all the other rites. The practical norms which follow, however, should be taken as applying only to the Roman rite, except for those which, in the very nature of things, affect other rites as well." The head of

5760-520: The Umayyad caliphs . John of Jerusalem claims that he also served as a senior official in the fiscal administration of the Umayyad Caliphate under Abd al-Malik before leaving Damascus and his position around 705 to go to Jerusalem and become a monk . However, this point is debated within the academic community as there is no trace of him in the Umayyad archives, unlike his father and grandfather. Some researchers, such as Robert G. Hoyland , deny such an affiliation, while others, like Daniel Sahas or

5856-415: The West Syriac Rite, the Malankara Rite , developed in the Malankara Church of India since the arrival of Archbishop Gregorios Abdul Jaleel in 1665 and is still used in its descendant churches. They are the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church) which is part of the Syriac Orthodox Church , the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church , a particular Church in the Catholic Communion,

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5952-404: The West Syriac Rite. Essentially, the West Syriac liturgical tradition that was introduced into India was the Tagrit usage of the Jacobite tradition. The Liturgy is related to the Mystagogic Catecheses of St Cyril of Jerusalem . The liturgy possibly dates back to the fourth century, originally composed in Greek language, while its Syriac version evolved after the fifth century, following

6048-410: The administration of Baptism. However, in the Eastern tradition, the oil of catechumens is blessed by the priest during the baptismal rite. This blessing was now reserved to the Chrism Mass of Holy Thursday. A practice common among all the Eastern Churches is to administer Baptism and First Communion together. Unlike in other Eastern Catholic churches and similar to the Latin Church, Holy Communion

6144-459: The aftermath of the war, the Emperor Heraclius propagated a new Christological doctrine in an attempt to unify the various Christian churches of the East, who were divided over accepting the Council of Chalcedon . This doctrine, called Monothelitism , held that Christ had two natures (one divine and one human) but only one will (not a divine will and also a human will), based on a phrasing of Pope Honorius I (see Controversy over Honorius I ), and

6240-529: The confusion to Eutyches of Alexandria, whose Annals El-Hāyek claimed contain erroneous material regarding the early Maronite Church, which was then picked up by William of Tyre and others. Robert W. Crawford concluded the same, pointing out that the heretic "Maro" mentioned in the Annals , which William of Tyre considers as the namesake of the Maronites, was a Nestorian from Edessa and could not have been Maron or John Maron . However, Donald Attwater , 20th Century historian of Eastern Christianity, affirmed

6336-538: The course of time, as other Syriac Orthodox prelates continued to work among them and to replace their original liturgical rite. Maphrian Baselios Yaldo and Baselios Shakrallah were prominent among them. In this way the West Syriac liturgical tradition was gradually introduced to them, and thus the descendants of the Puthenkoor which includes the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and Malabar Independent Church currently employ

6432-475: The crusaders and affirmed their affiliation with the Holy See of Rome in 1182. To commemorate their communion, Maronite Patriarch Youseff Al Jirjisi received the crown and staff, marking his patriarchal authority, from Pope Paschal II in 1100 AD. In 1131, Maronite Patriarch Gregorios Al-Halati received letters from Pope Innocent II in which the Papacy recognized the authority of the Patriarchate of Antioch . Patriarch Jeremias II Al-Amshitti (1199–1230) became

6528-432: The customs of their faithful and to the good of their souls." Cardinal Sfeir 's personal commitment accelerated liturgical reforms in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1992 he published a new Maronite Missal . This represents an attempt to return to the original form of the Antiochene Liturgy, removing the liturgical Latinization of past centuries. There are six Anaphoras. Patriarch Sfeir stated that Sacrosanctum concilium and

6624-445: The distinct but related Maronite ethno-religious group remains a principal grouping in Lebanon , with smaller minorities of Maronites in Syria , Cyprus , Israel , and Jordan . Emigration since the 19th century means that about two-thirds of the Maronite Church's roughly 3.5 million members in 2017 were located outside "The Antiochian's Range", where they are part of the worldwide Lebanese diaspora . The six major traditions of

6720-661: The estimated 2 million Maronites living in their historic homelands in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. According to the official site of the Maronite church, approximately 1,062,000 Maronites live in Lebanon , where they constitute up to 22 -23 percent of the population. Syrian Maronites total 51,000, following the archdioceses of Aleppo and Damascus and the Diocese of Latakia . A Maronite community of about 10,000 lives in Cyprus with approximately 1,000 speakers of Cypriot Maronite Arabic from Kormakitis. A noticeable Maronite community exists in northern Israel (Galilee), numbering 7,504. Immigration of Maronite faithful from

6816-431: The first Maronite Patriarch to visit Rome when he attended the Fourth Council of the Lateran in 1215. The Patriarchate of Antioch was also represented at the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438. Peter Hans Kolvenbach notes, "This contact with the Latin Church enriched the intellectual world of Europe in the Middle Ages. Maronites taught Oriental languages and literature at the universities of Italy and France." In

6912-591: The first period. The second began with the establishment of the Monastery of Saint Maroun on the Orontes , built after the Council of Chalcedon to defend the doctrines of the council. This monastery was described as the "greatest monastery" in the region of Syria Secunda , with more than 300 hermitages around it, according to ancient records. After 518, the monastery de facto administered many parishes in Syria Prima , Cole Syria and Phoenicia . The third period

7008-608: The monasteries. Around 50% of the Maronite diocesan priests in the Middle East are married . Due to a long-term understanding with their Latin counterparts in North America, Maronite priests in that area have traditionally remained celibate. However, in February 2014, Wissam Akiki was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the U.S. Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon at St. Raymond's Maronite Cathedral in St. Louis. Deacon Akiki

7104-404: The monastery of St. Simon (near Antioch) translated a corpus of John Damascene. In his introduction to John's work, Sylvestre patriarch of Antioch (1724–1766) said that Antony was monk at Saint Saba. This could be a misunderstanding of the title Superior of Saint Simon probably because Saint Simon's monastery was in ruins in the 18th century. Most manuscripts give the text of the letter to Cosmas,

7200-538: The name Mansur could have implied descent from the Arab Christian tribes of Kalb or Taghlib . The name was common among Syrian Christians of Arab origins, and Eutychius noted that the governor of Damascus, who was likely Mansur ibn Sarjun, was an Arab. However, Sahas also asserts that the name does not necessarily imply an Arab background and could have been used by non-Arab, Semitic Syrians. While Sahas and biographers F. H. Chase and Andrew Louth assert that Mansūr

7296-552: The nation, was the son of two Maronite Catholic Lebanese immigrants. 33°58′04″N 35°38′02″E  /  33.9678°N 35.6339°E  / 33.9678; 35.6339 John of Damascus John of Damascus ( Arabic : يوحنا الدمشقي , romanized :  Yūḥana ad-Dimashqī ; Greek : Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός , romanized :  Ioánnēs ho Damaskēnós , IPA: [ioˈanis o ðamasciˈnos] ; Latin : Ioannes Damascenus ; born Yūḥana ibn Manṣūr ibn Sarjūn , يوحنا إبن منصور إبن سرجون ) or John Damascene

7392-399: The nucleus of the Maronite Church. In 452, after the Council of Chalcedon , the monastery was expanded by the Byzantine emperor Marcian . The Maronite movement reached Lebanon when St. Maron's first disciple, Abraham of Cyrrhus , who was called the "Apostle of Lebanon", set out to convert the non-Christians by introducing them to St. Maron. The Maronites subscribed to the beliefs of

7488-514: The number of anaphorae contained in its Liturgy, most of them belong to the tradition of the Antiochene rites. There are at least seventy-two Maronite Anaphorae. Liturgy of Saint James is celebrated on Sundays and special occasions. The Holy Eucharist consists of Gospel reading, Bible readings , prayers, and songs. The recitation of the Liturgy is performed according to with specific parts chanted by

7584-427: The offerings that were brought there. It comes from a Hebrew root, "qarab", meaning "to draw close or 'near'". A required korban was offered morning and evening daily and on holidays (at certain times, additional 'korbanot' were offered), in addition to which individuals could bring an optional personal Korban. The Holy Qurobo is referred to as "complete" worship, since it is performed for the benefit of all members of

7680-581: The old Greek liturgy into Syriac , the language of the Syrian countryside. West Syriac liturgies thus represent one of the major families in Syriac Christianity , the other being the Edessan Rite (East Syriac Rite), the liturgy of the Church of the East and its descendants. According to historians, distinct West Syriac liturgies started developing after the Council of Chalcedon , which largely divided

7776-625: The patronage of Our Lady of Lebanon. The name of the Eparchy was modified to Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn. In 1994, the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon was established with the cathedral at Los Angeles, California, under the patronage of Our Lady of Lebanon. John George Chedid , auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, was ordained as the first Bishop of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles at

7872-425: The presider, the lectors, the choir, and the congregated faithful, at certain times in unison. Apart from certain readings, prayers are sung in the form of chants and melodies . Hundreds of melodies remain preserved in the book known as Beth Gazo , the key reference to Syriac Orthodox church music . The thabilitho is a wooden slab placed at the center of the altar and covered with cloth. During Holy Qurobo

7968-456: The throne in 717 immediately before the great siege) issued his first edict against the veneration of images and their exhibition in public places. All agree that John of Damascus undertook a spirited defence of holy images in three separate publications. The earliest of these works, his Apologetic Treatises against those Decrying the Holy Images , secured his reputation. He not only attacked

8064-577: The view that Maronites broke communion with Rome over monothelitism, however briefly. The Patriarch of Antioch Anastasius II died in 609, and Constantinople began to appoint a series of titular patriarchs, who resided in Constantinople. In 685, the Maronites elected Bishop John Maron of Batroun as Patriarch of Antioch and all the East. In 687, as part of an agreements with Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan , Byzantine emperor Justinian II sent 12,000 Christian Maronites from Lebanon to Armenia, in exchange for

8160-584: Was almost co-terminous with the Byzantine reconquest of parts of north Syria during 969–1084. Numerous liturgical and theological texts from Greek were massively translated into West Syriac and subsequently into Arabic, the emerging dominant language of the Levant . Several of the liturgical poetic texts, including those composed by John of Damascus , who belonged to the Melkite tradition, were subsequently taken over also into

8256-533: Was already growing around the monastery of Saint Maron , who eventually evolved into the Maronite Church , forming the West Syriac Rite in Maronite tradition. For the Chalcedonian faction, the 10th and 11th centuries witnessed the notable transition from an Antiochene Melkite tradition to the liturgical rite of Constantinople. The Byzantine Rite also has its roots in the ancient Antiochene Rite. This transition

8352-410: Was an Arab Christian monk , priest , hymnographer , and apologist . He was born and raised in Damascus c.  675 AD or 676 AD; the precise date and place of his death is not known, though tradition places it at his monastery, Mar Saba , near Jerusalem on 4 December 749 AD. A polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law , theology , philosophy , and music , he

8448-658: Was an Arabic name, Raymond le Coz asserts that the "family was without doubt of Syrian origin"; indeed, according to historian Daniel J. Janosik, "Both aspects could be true, for if his family ancestry were indeed Syrian, his grandfather [Mansur] could have been given an Arabic name when the Arabs took over the government." When Syria was conquered by the Muslim Arabs in the 630s, the court at Damascus retained its large complement of Christian civil servants, John's grandfather among them. John's father, Sarjun (Sergius) , went on to serve

8544-555: Was appointed the first exarch. The see, in Detroit, Michigan, with a cathedral under the patronage of Saint Maron, was suffragan to the Archdiocese of Detroit. In 1971, Pope Paul VI elevated the Exarchate to the status of an Eparchy, with the name of Eparchy of Saint Maron of Detroit. In 1977, the see of the Eparchy of Saint Maron was transferred to Brooklyn, New York, with the cathedral under

8640-516: Was assigned to 27 March. The feast day was moved in 1969 to the day of John's death, 4 December, the day on which his feast day is celebrated also in the Byzantine Rite calendar, Lutheran Commemorations, and the Anglican Communion and Episcopal Church. John of Damascus is honored in the Church of England and in the Episcopal Church on 4 December. In 1890, he was declared a Doctor of

8736-697: Was given the by-name of Chrysorroas (Χρυσορρόας, literally "streaming with gold", i.e. "the golden speaker"). He wrote works expounding the Christian faith, and composed hymns which are still used both liturgically in Eastern Christian practice throughout the world as well as in western Lutheranism at Easter. He is one of the Fathers of the Eastern Orthodox Church and is best known for his strong defence of icons . The Catholic Church regards him as

8832-523: Was heard from the Maronites for 400 years. Secure in their mountain strongholds, the Maronites were re-discovered in the mountains near Tripoli, Lebanon , by Raymond of Toulouse on his way to conquer Jerusalem in the Great Crusade of 1096–1099. Raymond later returned to besiege Tripoli (1102–1109) after the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, and relations between the Maronites and European Christianity were subsequently reestablished. The Maronites assisted

8928-537: Was meant as a compromise between supporters of Chalcedon, such as the Maronites, and opponents, such as the Jacobites . Monothelitism failed to settle the schism, however, and was declared a heresy at the Sixth Ecumenical Council in 680–681. The Council condemned both Honorius and Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople but did not explicitly mention the Maronites. Contemporary Greek and Arab sources suggest

9024-454: Was one of his foremost supporters and served as Fakhr-al-Din's adjutant. Phares notes that "The emirs prospered from the intellectual skills and trading talents of the Maronites, while the Christians gained political protection, autonomy and a local ally against the ever-present threat of direct Ottoman rule." In 1649, Patriarch Yuhanna al-Sufrari placed the Maronites under French protection, and

9120-599: Was ordained as a priest in 735. John was raised in Damascus, and Arab Christian folklore holds that during his adolescence, John associated with the future Umayyad caliph Yazid I and the Taghlibi Christian court poet al-Akhtal . One of the vitae describes his father's desire for him to "learn not only the books of the Muslims, but those of the Greeks as well." From this it has been suggested that John may have grown up bilingual. John does indeed show some knowledge of

9216-590: Was when Sede Vacante followed the Islamic conquest of the region and bishops of the Saint Maron Monastery elected John Maron as Patriarch circa 685 AD, according to Maronite tradition. The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch reestablished their patriarchate in 751 AD. Other centers of historical importance include Kfarhay , Yanouh , Mayfouq , and the Qadisha Valley . Although reduced in numbers today,

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