[16] Antoine Khoury Harb wrote in his book The Maronites History and Constants (p. 66, 68, 72):
“Between 660-690, a militant movement appeared in the mountainous region extending from Amanus and northern Syria to the
mountains of Galilee, with Lebanon as its stronghold. The Byzantines organized this movement to fight the Umayyad. It was
formed of groups of warriors known as the “Jarajima” (named after the city of “Jarjouma” near Antioch. The Jarajima, also known
as “Marada” (“Mardaites”, strong men) were “a ruthless Persian generation, called after by kings to defend their property because
they were well trained for wars”…
In 677, the Byzantines waged war against the Umayyads to regain the territory they had lost, taking advantage of the internal
conflicts among the Arabs particularly between Moawiya and Imam Ali. The Byzantine army gathered “a big group of the Jarajima
among whom were Maronites from Syria and Lebanon”. The Byzantines were able to dominate the mountainous region stretching
from the “Black Mountain” overlooking “Assouaydia” to Jerusalem. The Marada-Jarajima made of the Lebanese mountains their
stronghold; they raided the Umayyad causing them extensive damage. Consequently, Moawiya, the Umayyad Caliph, was forced to
sign a peace treaty with them and with the Byzantine emperor Constantine IV, by virtue of which he agreed to pay a ransom of
3000 golden dinars and fifty Arabian horses annually, and to set free 8000 Byzantine prisoners. This treaty endowed the Mardaites
with more authority and power. When Justinian II became emperor of Byzantium (685-695), he wanted to regain Levant region
from the Arabs. He mobilized large groups of the inhabitants of the northern borders and sent with them a division of the
Byzantine army. This army was able, with the support of the Jarajima, to conquer Syria, Lebanon, northern Palestine and the
Golan region…
The Mardaites formed with the Maronites a strong army. The merging of the natives (the Maronites) with the non natives (the
Mardaites) was accelerated because they shared the same language (Syriac), the same Chalcedonian faith which distinguished
the Maronites, and the same objectives of defending their land against the expansion of the Umayyad. The historian Ibn al-Qilai
talks about “the Maronites and their prince who lived in Baskinta… The Maronites lived in Mount Lebanon where they spread their
authority on the mountains and neighboring coasts. They were loyal to the Roman Church and to their Patriarch.”
…When Abdel Malek bin Marwan became Caliph in 685, the Marada [Mardaites] Maronites renewed their attacks from the
Lebanese mountain against the Umayyad 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.”
[17] John 15:20
[18] John 16:33
[19] February 10, 518
[20] Antoine Khoury Harb wrote in his book The Maronites History and Constants (p. 74,76):
“St. John Maron was born in the village of [Saroom] (or Sarmaniah), in Al-Souaidiah Mountain, 50 kms from Antioch and 40 kms
from St. Maron’s Monastery. When John was a small boy, he was sent to Antioch to pursue his studies in Syriac and Greek. Later
he was sent to the St. Maron monastery, and then he went to Constantinople to study Greek and patristics. When he learnt of the
death of his parents, he returned to Antioch. He retired to St. Maron’s Monastery, where he was ordained a priest. He started his
mission spreading the teachings of the Chalcedonian Council and the Roman Church. In his History, Patriarch Dwaihy relates how,
in 676, John Maron was consecrated bishop of Batroun and Mount Lebanon. “The Pope’s delegate came to Antioch to preach the
dogma of the two natures and two wills in Jesus Christ. In that time Macarius, the Antiochean Patriarch living in Constantinople,
professed the official dogma of the Byzantine Empire, that is to say the one will in Jesus Christ. John Maron attracted by his deeds
and faith the attention of the French prince Eugene who presented him to the Pope’s delegate. The Cardinal consecrated John
Maron bishop of Batroun and Mount Lebanon with the mission of preserving the Roman Catholic faith in Lebanon.” In the same
year that John Maron became bishop of Batroun and Mount Lebanon, the Jarajima-Mardaites extended their conquests to Mount
Lebanon, their main stronghold. It was no coincidence that in the same year that John Maron was made bishop the Mardaites
conducted their campaign. The main purpose of the Roman Church was to ensure that the Lebanese Maronites preserved their
Catholic faith and maintained their loyalty to Rome, and to protect the Mardaites against the Byzantine Empire influence. Patriarch
Dwaihy mentions that when John Maron was consecrated bishop, “he joined his flock in Lebanon, working with the zeal of
Apostles for the conversion of non-Catholics. Under the guidance of St. Maron, the Maronite community increased greatly in
number, and took possession of Mount Lebanon and the mountain range from Cilicia and Armenia to Jerusalem.”
[The Maronites elected John Maron as their first Patriarch in 685]… 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… Patriarch St. John Maron died, according to the Maronite traditions and historians, on the 9th of February of
the year 707 in St. Maron’s Monastery, in Kfarhai, Batroun-Lebanon, and was buried there. His feast used to be celebrated in the
Maronite calendar with that of St. Maron, i.e. on February 9th, until in 1787 Patriarch Youssef Estephan from Ghosta moved the
feast of St. John Maron to March 2nd.”
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