What is Maronite? (Catholic Encyclopedia)
 Timeline of the History of the Maronites (-4BC ------- 2004 AD)
 Patriarchs throughout the History of the Maronites
 Identity of the Maronites
 The Maronite Church in its Worldwide Expansion
 Aspects of Maronite History by Chorbishop Seely Beggiani

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The History of the Maronites

 On the mountains of Lebanon, in this mystical land, in these deep valleys, among these white mountains,
 in the land of honey and milk, in the nation of the Cedar and the Alphabet, in the Phoenician land, there
 the Maronite Church, the smallest of all the churches, has grown like a mustard seed and became a tree,
 so that several churches and denominations have come to be sheltered in its branches. The history of the
 Maronites was sealed by persecution and martyrdom for the sake of Faith, Freedom, and Independence.

 Who are the Maronites? What is the Maronite Church?

 The Maronites are those Christians who gathered around a monastery called Bet Moroon or the House of
 Maron built in 452 on the Orontes River, after the Council of Chalcedon and the request of Pope Leo.
 Those Christians who defended their faith in Jesus Christ, human and divine, were called Maronites after
 a hermit priest, St. Maron, who was a great saint in that region of Syria.

 St. Maron

 St. Maron lived on the mountains of Cyrrhus, near Antioch, in the 4th century AD, in the open air.
 God bestowed on him the gift of healing, which made his fame spread in the entire region. St. Maron
 died around the year 410 AD. His disciples continued his mission. Abraham the hermit, the apostle of
 Lebanon, converted the Phoenician inhabitants of the mountains of Lebanon. Jebbet Bsharre and Mnaytra
 adopted Christianity. The Phoenician pagans became Maronite Christians.

 Bet Moroon

 In 451, the fathers of the Church held a meeting at the Council of Chalcedon. They clarified the teaching
 of the Church concerning the person of Jesus Christ. They proclaimed that Jesus Christ was both human
 and divine. The Maronites strongly defended the Council of Chalcedon, which made the Monophysites
 their bitter enemies. Pope Leo requested to build a monastery for the disciples of St. Maron on the
 Orontes River. The monastery was called Bet Moroon. The conflict between the Maronites and the
 Monophysites led to a strong persecution that left 350 martyrs and many refugees in 517. The Maronites
 informed Pope Hormizdes about their struggle for the sake of faith and their martyrs. The pope of Rome
 sent them a letter to strengthen the Maronites describing the Maronite martyrs as soldiers of Jesus Christ
 and members of his Living Body.

 St. John Maron

 Around 685, the Maronites appointed a Patriarch, St. John Maron, who became the first Patriarch on the
 Maronite Church, which made the Byzantine Emperor furious about that. The appointing of the Patriarch
 was a very important event in the history of the Maronites, which led to another persecution that left 500
 martyrs. The monastery of Bet Moroon was damaged. Many Maronites left their lands in Syria and joined
 their brethren in the mountains of Lebanon. In the valleys of Lebanon, the Maronite Church began to
 grow.

 The Mountains of Lebanon

 In 936, the monastery of Bet Moroon and other Maronite monasteries were completely destroyed in Syria
 . That persecution was aimed at Christians. They were persecuted for the sake of Jesus Christ. The
 Maronites and their Patriarch had to take a very difficult decision: to leave the rich plains of Syria and
 take the mountains of Lebanon as a refuge. The Aramaic/ Syriac Maronites joined the Phoenician
 Maronites and the Mardaites in Lebanon. Protected by the mountains of Lebanon, the Maronites and their
 Patriarch were organizing their Church away from persecution.

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