St. Maron & his Disciples
(350 A.D. —- 452 A.D.)
The leader says:
Around 350 A.D., Maron “the little lord” was born in Cyrrhus, a small town near Antioch. When he grew
up, Maron heard God’s call for holiness and perfection. His heart was burning within him.[4]
A dialogue between God (the leader) and Maron (a young man):
– Maron, Maron.
– Yes, LORD. Who are you?
– I Am the compassionate Father. I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I Am your Consoler and
Comforter. You will be the father of a great people, a people who will bear your name. I, the Lord, will
be their God and they will be my people. They will be persecuted for their faith, but persecutions will
make them stronger. Their divisions will bring disasters and bitterness to them, because if they break
the commandment of love, we will deliver them to their enemies and scatter them over the earth.
However, their repentance will draw down my Grace and Mercy, and good will be brought out of evil.
– LORD, how can this be?
– “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on
the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine and you are the branch. If you
remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”[5]
– LORD, what do you want me to do now?
– Leave your town, and climb up to the mountain of Nabo. Remain in me in prayer, penance, and labor.
I will protect you. I will be with you. I will bestow my gifts upon you. Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies,
it produces much fruit.
– Here I am, LORD. May your will be fulfilled in me.
All recite the ‘Our Father.’
The woman says:
Maron left the world and ascended to the top of Mount Nabo, near Antioch. He lived in the open air,
converted a pagan temple into a church, and spent his time praying in solitude, fasting, and working.
The leader says:
“Maron did greater acts in order to reach perfect wisdom, for the militant soldier weighs between virtue
and acts… And since God is very generous with his saints, he bestowed upon him the gifts of healing the
sick. His fame spread to all the surrounding districts, so people flocked to him and witnessed the veracity
of his virtues and miracles. He could heal the sick and exorcise the devil by mere prayer. Physicians
prescribe a special medicine for each disease, but the prayer of the righteous is the remedy for all
diseases. St. Maron not only healed the ailments of the body but also those of the soul, by curing the
avarice of the covetous, the anger of the passionate, teaching some the wisdom of temperance, others
the principles of justice, others the happiness of chastity, and others the love of labor.”[6]
Maron attracted many disciples: James of Cyrrhus,[7] Limnaeus,[8] Domnina,[9] Cyra, Marana,[10]
Abraham the hermit (the apostle of Mount Lebanon),[11] and many others. Maron died around 410.
All recite a paragraph from the letter of St. John Chrysostom to St. Maron:
“[Dear Maron], we are bound to you by love and interior disposition, and see you here before us as if
you were actually present. For such are the eyes of love; their vision is neither interrupted by distance
nor dimmed by time… we address ourselves to your honor and assure you that we hold you constantly
in our minds and carry you about in our souls wherever we may be… please pray for us.”[12]
The leader says:
Following the request of Pope Leo I, Marcianus the Emperor built a great monastery near the Orontes
River in 452 A.D. called Bet Moroon, or the House of Maron. For 500 years, the disciples of St. Maron
gathered in this monastery supporting the teaching of the Catholic Church.
The followers of Bet Moroon were the first to be called Maronites.
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