History of the Maronites
|
The Beginning · Antioch |
The Last Ten
Centuries · The Maronite
College of Rome · Bkerke · 1860
|
1900 in our Days |
Antioch
Antioch has always been a
city of openness, dialogue, and bold initiative. It was converted to Jesus
Christ by the preaching of certain of his disciples, and the believers were
strengthened in their faith, thanks to the labors of the apostles Paul and
Barnabas. The apostle Peter himself, the head of the Christian Church, was its
bishop until he set out for Rome. Subsequently, the Church of Antioch
prospered and extended its territory, finally becoming one of the great
original patriarchates, namely Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and
Jerusalem.
In the year 518, the
Patriarch of Antioch, Severius, was deposed from his see for having denied the
two distinct natures in Christ and for rejecting the decrees of the Council of
Chalcedon. A Catholic Patriarch succeeded him, by the name of Paul. However,
not all the Christians approved his appointment, and in consequence the Church
split into two groups, the Chalcedonians and the anti-Chalcedonians. Every
since that time, there has always been a Catholic Patriarch holding to the
faith as defined at Chalcedon and a non-Catholic Patriarch rejecting it.
A century later, another
division affected the Church of Antioch, leaving three groups of Christians,
the Syriacs, the Maronites, and the Melkites, and this division has continued
down to the present day. As from the seventh century, we find that the original
Church had given rise to five district communities, the Melkites, the
Maronites, the Syriacs, the Assyrians, and the Armenians, each of which had its
own Patriarch. In the twelfth century yet another Patriarch was added in the
person of the Latin Patriarch.
The Church of Antioch had
originally been one church encompassing the whole of Asia and the East, but
finally became several churches. Where there had been one Patriarch, now
there are several. One day, God’s mercy will bring it together again as one
flock under one shepherd.
The
Maronites and Lebanon
The Maronites are those
Christians who gathered round a certain priest by the name of Maron and adopted
his pattern of life.
Maron left the city and
made his abode on a mountain, intending thereby to leave behind the theological
strife and to worship God in solitude. But in his retreat, Maron found
that his true vocation was to live with others, so he resumed his parish duties
and set about teaching the true doctrine. His disciples increased in number, and
they began to call themselves Maronites after their teacher.
Maron died in the year 410,
but his disciples carried on his mission. In 451 at the Council of Chalcedon,
they held to the clear teaching that Christ was both God and man, having two
natures, one divine and one human. Afterwards the Maronites were loyal
defenders of the decrees of the Council. In the upshot, the opponents of
Chalcedon showed themselves bitter enemies of the Maronites, who started moving
to Lebanon in successive waves after 350 of them had been martyred.
Near the end of the fifth
century of the Christian era, the inhabitants of Mount Lebanon had been
converted by the disciples of St. Maron and had become Maronites themselves.
These now welcomed their brethren arriving from Antioch and the two groups, now
mingled, pursued their mission together. When the Arabs finally dominated the
area, and any regular contact with the patriarchate of Constantinople became
impossible, the Maronites had to appoint in 687 their own Patriarch, who was Saint
John-Maron.
The Emperor of Byzantium
acted as if his royal authority extended over the Church. He appointed
Patriarchs and in many ways interfered in ecclesiastical matters. The
Christians for their part got into the habit of turning to him to solve their
problems. When the Maronites chose a Patriarch for themselves, the authorities
at Byzantium withheld their consent. While invading the region, the imperial
army attacked the Maronites, and a battle was fought at Amioun, which resulted
in a victory for the latter. The Patriarch established himself at Kfarhay,
where he made the episcopal palace his seat.
A number of Patriarchs
resided at Kfarhay, among whom are John-Maron, Cyr, and Gabriel. They watched
over their flock and ensured the purity of their faith. The Anaphora of St
John- Maron, in daily use, is a brilliant testimony to the faith of the
Maronites in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The lure of the riches of the
world, which they had left, could not shake their firm belief, nor could the
assaults of their enemies disperse them. They loved their Creator and cherished
his Holy Word.
The
Patriarchs of Kfarhay
At Kfarhay the Patriarchs
lived through hard times. Numbers of their spiritual children flocked about
them, trudging to Kfarhay on weary feet, carrying in their arms their infant
children and staggering under the burden of such simple belongings as they had
been able to bring when driven from their houses, their lands, and their
property in Syria and the Bekaa. They now came to wrest a living from a rocky,
densely forested land, lacking every amenity. However, the district of Batroun
opened its arms to them like a mother welcoming her children.
Now the Maronites put behind
them the years of plenty and prepared for the years of hunger. They transformed
rock into fertile soil in which they grew wheat and other grains, planted olive
trees, grapevines and mulberry trees, and added to their traditional prayers a
beautiful one: ”By the intercession of your Mother, O Lord, turn your wrath
from the land and its inhabitants. Put an end to trouble and sedition, banish
from it war, plunder, hunger and plague. Have pity on us in our misfortunes.
Console those of us who are sick. Help us in our weakness. Deliver us from
oppression and exile. Grant eternal rest to our dead. Allow us to live in peace
in this world that we may glorify you”. In their prayers the Maronites spoke of
their hardships, hunger, disorders, and injustice, for these were things they
were familiar with.
Finally, after 251 years
spent by the Patriarchs in the region of Batroun, they had to find a new
refuge, facing new difficulties on new soil.
The thoughts of the
Patriarch kept turning to the city of Antioch, where he yearned to remain with
his flock during its days of torment.
Patriarch John II imagined
that he could fulfill this ambition. Once he had reached Antioch he made every
endeavor to bring all the Maronites together, but without any success.
Recurring difficulties and disorders obliged him to relinquish his plan and to
”take refuge in the heart of Mount Lebanon in 938” as Patriarch DOUAIHY wrote
of him. Finally, he settled in the vicinity of Aakoura. (The Annals, 50)
The
Patriarchs and Akoura
The sojourn of the Maronite
Patriarchs in the district of Jbeil lasted for 502 years, that is to say, from
938 to 1440 A.D. Thirty-four Patriarchs resided there, whose names are to be
found in a list compiled by Patriarch DOUAIHY and published in 1902 by Rashid
SHARTOUNI.
John-Maron II, Gregory,
Stephen, Mark, Eusebius, John, Joshua, David, Gregory, Theofelix, Joshua,
Dumith, Isaac, John, Simon, Joseph EL GERGESSI (1110-1120), Peter (1121-1130),
Gregory of Halate (1130-1141), Jacob of Ramate (1141-1151), John (1151 -1154),
Peter (1154-1173), Peter of Lehfed (1173-1199), Jeremiah of Amshit (1199-1230),
Daniel of Shamat (1230-1239), John of Jaje (1239-1245), Simon (1245-1277),
Daniel of Hadshit (1278-1282), Jeremiah of Dmalsa (1282-1297), Simon
(1297-1339), John (1339-1357), Gabriel of Hjula (1357-1367), John (1367- 1404),
John of Jaje (1404-1445).
What was the activity of
these prelates, and what did they achieve?
Of this, history has
nothing to record. They lived in inaccessible and trackless mountain fastness.
They lacked all means for the acquisition and storing of knowledge and
considered themselves happy if they were able to live in peace among their
faithful people, treasuring the Christian teaching that had been handed down to
them.
They did not even have any
fixed Patriarchal seat. They went from Yanuh down to Mayfuq, then to Lehfed, to
Habil, back to Yanuh, to Kfifan, to Kfarhay, to Kafre, to Yanuh again, and to
Hardine, and to Mayfuq again. If they accepted to live an austere life and to
be like Abraham ever on the move, it was because it was their will to follow in
the footsteps of St Maron, their master, and to say Yes to Jesus Christ.
Their dwellings were
extremely humble, and deprived of all show of riches and pomp, but magnificent
in their simplicity and detachment from the world. However, ”the devoted
inhabitants of Yanuh, being pious and good Apostles, insisted on building a
residence for the Patriarch, in green stone, very attractive and solidly
constructed”. (DOUAIHY, The Annals 50)
The Patriarchal seat at
Mayfuq, which still exists, is a true work of art. If the greater part of the
construction is devoted to the church, as was the case of the other residences
vestiges of which are scattered about, this was because the Patriarchs were
above all men of prayer and so wanted their places of residence to be in the
first place retreats for prayer.
The Years
of Difficulties
After the departure of the
Crusaders, the Maronites came under attack from the Mamlouks. They suffered
every humiliation, while their Churches were set of fire, their villages
plundered, and their vineyards destroyed.
”On Monday, the second day
of Muharram, Akush Pasha, governor of Damascus, marched at the head of a
military force into the mountains of Kesrouan. The soldiers invested these
mountains and, having dismounted scaled the slopes from all sides.
”The governor invaded the
hills, and his soldiers trampled underfoot a land whose inhabitants had
believed it impregnable. The enemy occupied the heights, destroyed the
villages, and wreaked havoc in the vineyards. They massacred the people and
made prisoners of them. The mountains were left deserted.” (The Annals, 288)
The Patriarchs themselves
had their share of the general misfortune, suffering as much as any. One was
tortured, another harassed, another compelled to flee, another put on trial,
and yet another burnt alive.
”In 1283 Patriarch Daniel
of Hadshit in person led his men in their defence against the Mamlouk soldiery,
after the latter had assaulted the Jubbeh of Bsharri. He succeeded in checking
their advance before Ehden for forty days, and the Mamlouks captured Ehden only
after they had seized the Patriarch by a ruse. ”In 1367, patriarch
Gabriel was conveyed from Hjoula, his home district where he had taken refuge
during the persecutions, down to Tripoli, where he was burnt alive at the
stake. His tomb still stands in Bab el Ramel, at the gates of Tripoli.”
”In 1402, there was great hardship. Many of the dead remained without burial,
many of which died of hunger. It was a tragedy without parallel.” (DOUAIHY, The
Annals, 338).
However, the Maronites bore
their trials patiently. They looked on the district of Jbeil, which had
sheltered their Patriarchs, as a fertile land which by its bounty and situation
invited them to meditation and prayer. They had drawn from its rough roads
patience in adversity, from its high mountains the ability to rise above the
outrages inflicted on them, and from the vastness of the sea reflecting the
azure vault of heaven the habit of turning their vision to distant horizons.
For them Jbeil was the Garden of Gethsemane, impressing on them its pure spirit
and endowing them with courage, wisdom and peace of mind. They read the Holy
Gospel, and in this way they were brought together again.
For they did not give up hope.
They put in the balance what they had gained and what they had lost as a result
of their alliance with the Crusaders and realized that God was their only
resort. In Him they placed all their trust and gathered round their Patriarch
as their leader, both spiritual and civil. After passing their situation in
review, they called on the civil chiefs of the villages, the muqaddams, to act
according to the instructions emanating from the Patriarch, and for their part
these notables accepted minor orders as sub-deacons to put themselves at his
disposition.
These initiatives bore good
fruit. The country knew some tranquillity and order. When they had invaded
Kesrouan, the main purpose of the Mamlouks, who were Sunni Muslims, had been to
eliminate the Shiites. But this gave the Maronites the opportunity to act as
mediators. To a considerable degree they reconciled the opposing points of view
of the two rival communities, acting as Apostles of peace and harmony in all
the villages where Sunnites and Shiites dwelt together, interposing between
them.
The Churches that have
survived from this period are small, but they testify to the renewal in our
mountains of the mission in Our Lord Jesus Christ, which began when he trod the
soil of Lebanon. The priests administered the sacraments and preached the word
of God. Miracles followed: wounds were healed, tears were wiped away, vendettas
were settled, and unity was restored.
The unity of the Maronites
owes much to their parochial life. It was this, which led them to enter into
relationships with the Shiites and the Druzes, serving the Sunnites Shehabi
dynasty, and working with all for the common good. All were united when it was
a matter of facing a common enemy. When finally they found themselves in a
situation, which knew no other solution, the Maronites moved into the valley of
Kannoubine.
The
Maronites and Rome
Pope Innocent III saw with
his own eyes what men of prayer the Maronite Patriarchs were on the day when
Patriarch Jeremiah of Amshit came to see him during the proceedings of the
Latran Council of 1215, in which the latter participated. ”The Pope ordered
that the Patriarch be depicted in a painting to be made for St Peter’s. When
over the centuries the painting had lost much of its radiance, Pope Innocent XIII
ordered that it be retouched. This painting represents the Patriarch raising
the host that had frozen in his hands while he was celebrating Mass, with the
Pope attending”. (DOUAIHY, Chronologie des Patriarches Maronites, 24).
These Patriarchs did not leave
behind them great works, such as fine Churches or castles or universities.
Nevertheless, they succeeded like the Apostles in watching over their flocks as
mothers and fathers do over their children, and to pass on to them the
teachings of Our Lord. They formed a people full of the faith, blessing when
insulted and enduring when persecuted. When at last they had completed their
labors in one place, they carried the torch and went elsewhere.
For three centuries the
Maronites were cut off from the rest of the world, blockaded with in their
mountains; and when the Crusaders swarmed into the East, their discovery of the
Maronites came as a surprise. The Holy See itself was astonished to learn of
their continued existence when their disappearance had been taken for granted.
Subsequently there were strong ties formed between the Maronites and the
Crusaders, particularly after the arrival in the East of St Louis, King of
France.
During the thirteenth
century, Lebanon knew some decades of relative peace. The Maronites were even
able to undertake the construction of a number of Churches, an activity which
Patriarch DOUAIHY recorded as follows: ”At that time, Christianity spread
throughout the East and was openly proclaimed. Bronze bells were rung to summon
the faithful to prayer and to the sacred services. Those who received the
outpourings of God’s grace founded convents and built Churches, for the people
yearned to serve the Almighty and to perform good deeds. Father Basil of
Bsharri had three daughters: Mariam, Thecla, and Salomeh. Mariam constructed
the shrine of St Saba in Bsharri in Mount Lebanon; Salomeh, that of St Daniel
in Hadath; and Thecla, that of St George in Bkerkasha as well as two churches
in Koura...” (The Annals, 104)
The Pallium
Although he had received an
invitation from Pope Eugene IV to attend the Council of Florence in person,
”the Maronite Patriarch sent Fra Juan as his delegate, being motivated by
concern about the risks of the voyage. Fra Juan had an audience with the Pope,
at that time presiding the works of the Council, after which he returned to
Lebanon bearing the Pallium.
”When the worthy friar
reached Tripoli, there was a large crowd who came to greet him; unfortunately
however, there were also soldiers sent by the governor to arrest him, the
official in question being persuaded that the Christians had met in Florence to
prepare the launching of another crusade against the Muslims of Syria. On
learning of the envoy’s misfortune, the Patriarch sent emissaries to reassure
the governor about Fra Juan’s intentions. After having pocketed a substantial
bribe, the governor set his prisoner free after the latter had promised to
return after completing his mission. Fra Juan made his way up to Our Lady of
Mayfuk, which was then the seat of the Patriarch, and delivered him the Pallium
together with a letter from Pope Eugene IV. But he then set off for Rome again,
this time passing through Beirut and ignoring his earlier promise to the
governor of Tripoli, who naturally enough flew into a rage and sent his
soldiers to arrest both the Patriarch and other leading personalities. Finding
nobody at the patriarchal residence, he plundered and set fire to the houses
around and even killed a number of the local inhabitants. Those of his men who
continued the search for the Patriarch destroyed the monastery, killing some of
the monks and taking the others in chains to Tripoli.” The Patriarch was
obliged to leave the monastery of Mayfuk and from then on lived under the
protection of Jacob, Mukaddam of Bsharri.” (DOUAIHY, The Annals, 210).
Wadi
Qannoubine
As one advances into the
deep-cut valley of Kannoubine, one is surrounded by mountains towering over the
gorge, leaving only a patch of the sky visible overhead. If one looks down from
the shoulder of one of the great mountains into the three-thousand-foot depths
of the gorge below, one is overwhelmed by a sense of power, and one wants to
seize some twisted tree- trunk or jutting crag so as not go falling into the
vast space between plunging cliffs. One European traveler recounted how the
Patriarch, like a second Moses risen from the pages of the Old Testament,
guided his people from his austere retreat among the rocks. Our Lady of
Kannoubine was the seat of 24 Patriarchs between 1440 and 1823. They were:
John of Jaj (1440-1445),
Jacob of Hadeth (1445-1468), Joseph of Hadeth (1468-1492), Symeon of Hadeth
(1492-1524), Moussa AKARI of Barida (1524-1567), Michael RIZZI of Bkoufa (1567-
1581), Sarkis RIZZI of Bkoufa (1581-1596), Joseph RIZZI of Bkoufa (1596-1608),
John MAKHLOUF of Ehden (1608-1633), George OMAIRA of Ehden (1633-1644), Joseph
HALIB of Akoura (1644-1648), John Bawab of Safra (1648-1656), George Rizkallah
of Bseb’el (1656- 1670), Stephen DOUAIHY of Ehden (1670-1704), Gabriel of
Blaouza (1704-1705), Jacob AWAD of Hasroun (1705-1733), Joseph DERGHAM Khazen
of Ghosta (1733-1742), Symeon AWAD of Hasroun (1743-1756), Toubia EL KHAZEN of
Bekaata Kanaan (1756-1766), Joseph STEPHAN of Ghosta (1766-1793), Michael FADEL
of Beirut (1793-1795), Philip GEMAYEL of Bikfaya (1795-1796), Joseph TYAN of
Beirut (1796-1808), John HELOU of Ghosta (1808-1823).
All of those named above
were God-fearing men, servants of their people. The valley stands witness to
their holiness and the sincerity of their quest for God through austerity and
frugality. People said of them, ”Their crosses are of wood, but their hearts
are of gold.”
If must be said here that
the hardships endured by the Maronites were not entirely to their disadvantage.
Their sufferings united the people under their leaders, in turn under the
authority of the Patriarch. The Mukaddam of Bsharri was the chief of his whole
region. In this way some semblance of peace and order was established.
But even the times of peace
were not without trouble, as may be seen from this report made by a traveler
who visited Kannoubine in 1475: ”The Maronite nation has lived under occupation
enduring continuous oppression and tyranny. All over Lebanon one finds ruin,
tears, and terror. Under the pretext of gathering a certain tax called the
”Gezia”, the authorities strip the peasants of all their belongings and beat
them with sticks, and torture them in order to extract from them all that they
possess. Many would have perished had not their aged patriarch, Peter son of
Hassan, come to their rescue. Terrified by the perils that threatened his
people, the Patriarch gave away all the revenues of the Church to satisfy the
rapacity of the tyrants. "The door of the patriarchal monastery was
sealed, and the Patriarch sometimes had to hide in caves as did Popes Urban and
Sylvester." (Marcellin de Civezza, Histoire universelle des missions
franciscaines, Paris 1858, vol. 3, p. 209)
In Wadi Kannoubine, the
Maronites heard the Gospel and lived by it. Theirs was a life of sacrifice
inspired by the true faith and by hope, and so their lives were directed. They
were an example of unity and love. In Wadi Kannoubine the Maronites had no need
to be urged to pray. Wadi Kannoubine is in itself an invitation to the
forgetfulness of self, to meditation, and to prayer, an invitation that the
Maronites did not refuse. ”They spent their time as the first Christians did,
learning from the Apostles”. (Acts II:42) Some of them felt the need to live a
life more fully devoted to prayer; many men and women sought God away from the
haunts of men, and soon the caves in the valley became the retreats of hermits
devoted to the inner life of union with the Creator.
The Maronites at that time
were always under the threat of famine through failure of the crops. They were
also under the threat of attack on their persons whenever they went out to
their fields. But they lived without hate towards any, anxious only to fulfill
their mission in this world. They were the Apostles of Jesus Christ. They
labored in patience and in hope. They looked on their enemies as people for
whom Jesus had died, people to whom they must convey the message of the Gospel.
They made such progress in virtue that in 1515 Pope Leo could write them a
letter of encouragement in which he said: ”You have acted without allowing the
persecutions and the hardship inflicted on you by the infidels, enemies of Our
Savior, and from the heretics and schismatic, to turn you away from the faith
of Christ.”
The
Maronite College of Rome
On July 5th, 1584, Pope
Gregory inaugurated the Maronite College in Rome, satisfying the aspirations of
the community and opening to its students the way to success. In his bull the
Pope declared:
“We hope that the students
of this college during the days ahead, after being formed in piety and the true
religion, which are of the tree of Sion and of the teaching of the Roman
Church, head of all the Churches, will return home to the cedars of Lebanon to
serve their community, renewing in their country faith in God.
”This is why, with full
knowledge of the facts and by virtue of our apostolic authority, we establish
the Maronite College, where the students of this community may learn good
behavior, devotion, the true doctrine, and all the virtues which every
Christian must have.”
With the arrival of the
first students in Rome, the dreams of the Pope became a reality, and the whole
Maronite community began to emerge from the shadows. More than that, the Maronite
community now had means of access to Europe and to the world beyond, and was
able to play its role as an intermediary between East and West.
Many eminent clerics were
trained in the Maronite College, the most famous being Patriarch DOUAIHY, ”who
visited every diocese to choose holy and educated priests. He examined the
liturgical books, corrected the errors introduced into them by the copyists,
read and adapted the works of historians, both eastern and western, and wrote
books some of which are still unpublished.” (Patriarch Jacob AWAD) Others
worthy of note include Joseph Assemani, appointed archivist in the Vatican
Library, Gabriel SIONITE, professor first in Rome and then in Paris in the
Royal College as well as interpreter to King Louis XIII, Echellensis, whose
career exactly paralleled that of Gabriel SIONITE, and Mirhej Ben Namroun, also
professor and interpreter.
The Patriarchs were now in
a position to encourage the education of their people. As the famous Lebanese
Synod said:
”In the name of Jesus
Christ we urge you all, the ordinaries of the dioceses, of the towns, villages
and hamlets, and of the convents, to work together to encourage this
undertaking, which will bear much fruit. The chiefs of the people must find
teachers wherever they can, and take the names of all the children able to
learn, and order the parents to bring their children to school even against
their will. If they are orphans or if they are poor, let the church or the
monastery feed them, and if it cannot, let it contribute one half of the cost
and the parents the other.” (The Lebanese Synod, 529)
Now western religious
communities began to settle in Lebanon. The Capuchins were the first in 1626,
followed in 1635 by the Carmelites and in 1656 by the Jesuits. The process went
steadily ahead.
These religious orders came
in order to serve the Lebanese. They opened schools in which the youth of the
country were formed, schools whose academic level was on a par with those of
Europe itself.
Schools were opened one
after the other, until there was one adjoining every Maronite Church. Some,
such as those of Ain Warka, Mar Abda, and Haouka, flourished and gained a
reputation for themselves. Once the Lebanese, at that time mostly Maronites,
had acquired a good education, they were at the forefront of Arab intellectual
progress, and played a leading role in the cultural Renaissance of the Middle
East.
First
Maronite Order
”In 1694, Gabriel HAWA,
Abdallah BEN ABDEL-AHAD Qara’li, and Youssef BEN ALBETEN, approached Patriarch
DOUAIHY to request his permission to establish a religious community that
follows a religious rule and constitutions under the authority of superiors who
would be under a superior general. The members would take vows of poverty,
chastity, and obedience, under the patronage of St Anthony, the father of
hermits. The Patriarch looked favorably on their demand, thanked them, and
blessed their enterprise.” (Debs, 253)
Bkerke
The beginning of the
eighteenth century found the Maronites divided by two currents. One group
wanted to preserve the Maronite traditions, while the others were in favor of
the Latinization. The holding of a synod became necessary to heal the divisions
and to restore to
the community its previous
luster. This synod opened at Louaizeh in 1736 and was the most comprehensive to
be held in modern times.
It was useful to the
community, as it provided guidelines for the ending of chaos and the healing of
divisions. But it also limited the authority of the Patriarch and favored the
liberal Latinizing tendency. It did not provide definitive solutions and left
the community in a condition that was by no means entirely healthy. In the
region of Jbeil, the Maronites suffered from famine, hardship, and privation,
bearing with their lot in patience and silence. When pursued by enemies, they
took to flight, and history speaks of no protest on their part, as if they had
acknowledged their guilt. Their wretched condition was accepted as a punishment
for sin. When the Mamlouks vented their wrath on the Maronites, no murmur rose
from their victims. Their muqaddams received the subdiaconate as a way of
turning a page on the past and accepting the authority of the Patriarch.
In Wadi Kannoubine, too,
the Maronites endured famine and privation, and were pursued by enemies. But
here they made themselves heard. In Jbeil they had kept silence, but in Wadi
Kannoubine they did not accept to be downtrodden. Was this because something
around them had changed? Was it because they were in a place of surer refuge,
unlike Jbeil? Wadi Kannoubine was indeed their last stronghold, and it was lost
all would be lost. Now the Maronite people reacted with vigour and initiative.
Men and women devoted to prayer, and particularly to the life of the hermitage,
increased in number. Schools were opened and the pupils flowed in. Religious
orders were founded, and after division a synod was held.
Such a brief summing-up is not
without truth. The fact is that Nature has a force of its own. Jbeil is a
region of serenity and a school of wisdom, where the Maronites learnt peace of
mind. The adjoining sea extended in tranquil vastness. Wadi Kannoubine,
however, is all crag and mountain rock, soaring heights and plunging depths. It
is a land still bearing the imprint of its Creator, and is a source of
revelation and inspiration to action. There the Maronite has been schooled in
forcefulness and obstinacy, to become a man of bold initiative.
In Wadi Kannoubine one
feels a force conducive to prayer and meditation, to thought and to action.
There, a man can realize that he is both dust and spirit. He feels the force of
the soil and its attraction, and remembers the words to Holy Scripture: ”Dust
and ashes art thou, O man, and to dust and ashes thou shalt return”. He feels
also the force of the spirit, and again recalls the words of Holy Scripture:
”In the beginning God created heaven and earth. And the earth was void and
empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved
over the waters”. (Genesis I, 1, 2) At Wadi Kannoubine the poet is a poet, the
husbandman is a husbandman, and the Christian is a Christian. At Wadi
Kannoubine, a man is known for what he is, either cold or hot, as is said in
the Apocalypse of St John: ”I know what you have done; I know that you are
neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either one or the other. But because
you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my
mouth”. (Apocalypse III: 15 -16). The Maronites of Wadi Kannoubine had
not been at all cold. Their difficulties and their sufferings had marked them.
They mourned but they took stock of themselves, and entered on a new life. As
Jbeil was the Maronites’ Garden of Olives, so Wadi Kannoubine was their road to
Golgotha, and there remained for them only the triumph of the Resurrection. In
1823 the patriarchal seat was transferred to Dimane for the summer and Bkerke
for the winter. The Maronites stood now in expectation of finding glory after
their long history of suffering and tribulation. Wadi Kannoubine was where the
Patriarch took refuge during the period of great hardship, which lasted 383
years, from 1440 to 1823. As peace slowly returned, the Patriarchs envisaged
the transfer of their seat to Dimane. The first Patriarch to consider such a
move was Youssef HOBAISH, who occupied a house overlooking the valley and
belonging to a partner in ownership of a farm west of the village. But the
first to act on the idea was Patriarch Hanna EL HAJJ, who built the Patriarchal
residence in Dimane now known as the Old Residence, in the center of the
village, while near it he erected the church of St John-Maron, now the parish
Church. The present residence was the work of Patriarch Elias HOAYEK, who laid
the foundation stone on September 28, 1899. The architect was the Lazarist
Brother Leonard, who had previously planned the residence at Bkerke
The Patriarch had no winter
residence, and therefore considered the construction of one at Bkerke.
In 1703, cloister of Bkerke
was built by Sheikh Khattar EL KHAZEN. It had a little Church with a presbytery
alongside. In 1730, it was taken in charge by the Antonine order. In 1750,
Bishop Germanos SAKR and Sister Hindyieh Oujaymeh took it as a house for the
Congregation of the Sacred Heart. In 1779, an apostolic decree was issued dissolving
the Congregation of the Sacred Heart and putting the house at the disposition
of the Maronite community for any useful purpose. In 1786, the Maronite Synod
of Bishops declared that Bkerki should be a dependency of the residence at
Kannoubine. In 1890, Patriarch Hanna EL HAJJ restored it, adding part of the
ground floor and the whole of the upper story. Brother Leonard, the Lazarist,
was the architect. In 1970, Patriarch Paul MEOUSHI had various repairs made.
In 1982, Patriarch Anthony
KHORAISH had the main gate made. In 1995, patriarch Nasrallah SFEIR enlarged
the residence with a new building for the archives and for the patriarchal
exhibition. He also made a cemetery for the Patriarchs and embellished the
church with fine stained-glass windows. Nine Patriarchs have used Dimane as a
summer residence and Bkerki as a winter one: Youssef HOBAISH of Sahel Alma
(1823-1845), Youssef EL KHAZEN ofAjaltoun (1845-1854), Boulos MASSAD of Ashkout
(1854-1890), Hanna EL HAJJ of Dlebta (1890-1898), Elias HOAYEK of Hilta
(1898-1931), Antoun Arida of Bsharri (1932-1955), Boulos MEOUSHI of Jezzine
(1955-1975), Anthony KHORAISH of Ain Ibl (1975-1986), Nasrallah SFEIR of
Reyfoun (1986)
All these Patriarchs bore a
heavy burden of responsibility, working for the unity of their flock. Their
main concern has been the independence of Lebanon.
In fact, despite the
Mamlouk occupation and the especially redoubtable Ottoman occupation, the
Maronites have always managed to preserve a certain degree of autonomy. Their
Patriarch refused the decree by virtue of which the Sublime Porte used to
recognize the Patriarch, and so they have always been leading their country
towards total independence and seeking to preserve all that they achieved.
1860
Events followed in rapid
succession. After the troubles of 1860 between the Maronites and the Druzes,
there came massive emigration, World War I, and then conflicts with brother
against brother. The tragedy of 1860 resulted in the death of some ten thousand
Maronites, and in a deep division between the Maronites and the Druzes. Many
Maronites were forced to leave their homeland and seek their fortune abroad.
The coexistence of the communities was called into question.
Then during World War I a
blockade was imposed on the Lebanese Mountains and hundreds of thousands
starved. The Church opened its doors to the poor. Patriarch Anthony ARIDA set
up a cement-making factory and also the Kadisha Electricity Company. These
provided jobs for hundreds of young men. Such initiatives had a positive effect,
helping forward the process of reconciliation to strengthen national unity.
After the war, there was a return to the traditional pattern of life. Now that
the Maronites had a more normal existence, there were two tendencies dividing
them. Conflict was renewed, and the enemy outside entered the house. Coming to
the most recent part of the contemporary history of our community, we find
selfishness as the dominating force driving the hearts of the faithful.
Division reached the point where members were finally at each other’s throats
and carrying out massacres. This egoism has inevitable repercussions on the lives of the faithful.
There was a moral collapse, and many people went abroad, as their predecessors
had done after the events of 1860.
The Independent
Lebanon
Independence was not easy
to achieve. After the Ottoman withdrawal, the diverging political orientations
of the seventeen Lebanese communities made agreement among them
difficult. However, every one of the Maronite Patriarchs knew his mission
as an Apostle of peace. His presence could be felt everywhere, supporting every
effort for the public good and opposing injustice. All the Lebanese would trust
him, for they knew he could be relied on as working for national unity and
independence. In 1919, patriarch Elias HOAYEK as delegated by the Lebanese
people to go to the Peace Conference at Versailles, and to demand independence
on their behalf. The Patriarch went to Versailles explained the problems of
Lebanon, negotiated effectively, and accomplished his mission. He thus put the
future of Lebanon on a firm footing and obtained satisfaction for the national
aspirations.
The Patriarchs who
succeeded Elias HOAYEK all followed his example. ”No to monopolies!” said
Patriarch ARIDA. ”No to injustice!” said Patriarch AFEOUSHI. ”No to fratricidal
strife!” said Patriarch KHORAISH. ”No to hegemony!” said Patriarch SFEIR. But
it was always ”Yes!” For sovereignty and freedom of decision. The Patriarchs
looked beyond narrow confines and worked not only on behalf of their community
but on behalf of all the Lebanese. Acting in this spirit, they helped
strengthen national unity and mutual understanding among the communities. This
proved to be a source of wealth for the country, as Lebanon swung into an era
of development.
When the worst period of
trial came to an end, the Patriarch moved to Dimane in summer and to Bkerke in
winter. The Maronites thought that glory now awaited them and happiness
unalloyed. However, they were to learn that they had a long road to tread
before they could achieve their ambitions.
The
Maronite Diaspora
Did this mark the end of
all the aspirations of the Maronites? Let us turn back to the very beginnings
of the Church. ”That very day the Church in Jerusalem began to suffer cruel
persecution. All the believers, except the Apostles, were scattered throughout
the provinces of Judea and Samaria... The believers who were scattered went
everywhere, preaching the message”. (Acts Vlll. 1/4).
A similar movement in the
history of the Maronites in Lebanon paralleled this development in the early
history of the Church in Jerusalem. The Maronites set out for foreign parts and
in doing so spread the message of St Maron throughout the world. The Maronites
of the Diaspora, estimated to number some four million, played a humanistic
role wherever they went, and wherever they went they succeeded, the most famous
among them being Khalil GIBRAN. However, they did not forget the suffering land
of Lebanon, which they had once left; they helped it financially and
politically with a view to their future return. Emigration meant no setback for
the community, and the Maronites were by no means doomed to extinction.
At the same time, the papal
bulls, received by the Patriarchs over many hundreds of years and jealously
kept in the Patriarchal archives in Bkerke, the manuscripts written by bishops,
priests, and hermits in the valley of Kannoubine, in the Churches of the
mountains of Lebanon and elsewhere, kept the historical documents numbering over
a million, all these are a testimony to the achievements of the Maronites in
passing their message down the ages and to the witness they have borne for
Christ down generations of cruel suffering. Their mission has been clearly
fulfilled despite the challenges they faced.
The New
Maronite Saints
Saint Charbel Makhlouf,
whom Pope Paul Vl canonized on October 9th, 1977, and Blessed Rafca Rayess,
whom Pope John-Paul II beatified on November 17th, 1985, may help us as
examples of that multitude of Maronites who followed Jesus Christ in silence,
doing his will, and forgetting themselves for the sake of their Savior and of
His Gospel. Charbel and Rafca represent those Maronites who said ”No!” to evil
and who incarnated that Maronite spirituality whose youth is ever renewed.
Self- seeking has hampered this mission, assumed by the Maronites down the
centuries. It may be thought to have been enfeebled to the point where it
appears non-existent. However, there can be no doubt that it will revive, that
love will prevail, and that the Maronites will once again play their leading
role.
