[14] Antoine Khoury Harb wrote in his book The Maronites History and Constants (p. 72,74,76):
“Following the Persian Sassanid invasion of Syria, to the falling of Antioch and the killing of Patriarch Anastasius II in 609, the
Patriarchal See of Antioch remained vacant for more than 36 years. The see remained vacant on account of the Persian invasions
on one hand, and the Arab occupation of the Levant region (Bilad Al-Sham) on the other.
The Patriarchs appointed by Constantinople were nominal and un-canonical because, according to Church law, bishops used to
convene in the patriarchal diocese and elect the Patriarch without any intervention. The king only had the right of confirming the
election, which took place in a legitimate and free way. After the Arab conquest, the patriarchs appointed by Constantinople never
stayed in Antioch because roads were cut between the Byzantine capital and Syria. Besides, they did not have any real authority
and were not recognized by the Roman Church…
When Abdel Malek bin Marwan became Caliph in 685, the Marada [Mardaites] Maronites renewed their attacks from the Lebanese
mountain against the Umayyads with an army of more than 30,000 men. The Umayyad Caliph and Justinian II then signed a treaty
in which the Byzantine Emperor pledged to remove the Mardaites from Lebanon. This treachery dealt the Maronites and
Christianity in the East a severe blow and deepened the Maronite resentment against the Byzantine Empire. It also augmented the
Maronites’ sense of independence and their desire to liberate Antiochean Church from Byzantine influence.
In 685 the Patriarch of Antioch Theophanus died. The Chalcedonian party of the Antiochean Church elected Youhanna (John)
Maroun, one of the monks of St. Maron’s Monastery, as Patriarch of Antioch. The Chalcedonians did not consult the Byzantine
court because of its former abuses of authority in nominating patriarchs who, because of the Persian and Arab invasions, could
never reside in Antioch. Thus, Youhanna Maroun, Bishop of Batroun and Mount Lebanon in 676, became the first Maronite
Patriarch and the sixty-third Patriarch of Antioch since St. Peter. With him, the Chalcedonian Church in the Levant began a new
era…
The Byzantine Emperor considered this election a violation of his authority. He sent an army to capture the new Patriarch residing
in St. Maron’s monastery and to put an end to the separatist movement. The army pillaged St. Maron’s monastery and killed 500
monks. Youhanna Maroun managed to escape to the castle of Smar Jbeil in Lebanon. In his diocese in Batroun, the Patriarch
prepared to fight the Emperor’s army.
According to the Maronite chronicles, the Patriarch’s nephew, Ibrahim, sent his uncle 12,000 men from Syria. They joined the
Lebanese Maronites and what was left of the Marada army under the leadership of Prince Massoud. The joint forces defeated the
Byzantine army in 694 [at Amyoun, north of Lebanon]… Youhanna Maroun transferred his patriarchal seat to Kfarhai, where he
built a monastery to house St. Maron’s skull. Later, Maronite Patriarchs stayed either in Kfarhai or in St. Maron’s Monastery in
Syria.”
[15] Antoine Khoury Harb wrote in his book The Maronites History and Constants (p. 78):
“Between the fall of the Umayyad and the rise of the Abbasids in 750, and the first Crusade in 1098, the East suffered from chaos
and instability. The regional states fought over this land and control passed from one hand to another several times.”
Father Michel Awit wrote in his book The Maronite Patriarchate, History & Mission (p.25):
“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 Dwaihy wrote of him. Finally, he settled in the vicinity
of Akoura .” (The Annals, 50)
Bet Moroon was destroyed by the Arabs in 938.
Antoine Khoury Harb wrote in his book The Maronites History and Constants (p. 78):
“The Maronites fled to the mountains and managed to maintain relative autonomy. “The owners of large estates in Lebanon,
urged by a desire to become the military leaders of their farmers, formed with the encouragement of the clergy a small Maronite
nation with a feudal hierarchy. This nation had a strong patriotic feeling often manifested itself in times of distress and when the
inhabitants rallied in support of their Patriarch… The Maronites tilled the land and turned the rugged terrain into a fertile one to
compensate the closing of the coastal maritime cities. This prosperity was also spiritual, for many hermits and anchorites lived in
Mount Lebanon, as attested by many historians such as Ibn Qutaiba, al-Maqdissi, and others.”
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