Maronite Festival in Lebanon
Description:
The history of the Lebanese Maronites dates back to the end of the IV century, when around St. Paul. Marona had a group of students.
John Maron - according to the legend of the Maronites - Patriarch of Antioch and Syria, nicknamed after the Syrian monastery of Marun on the Orontes.
He was bishop of Botrice or Votrun, and after the death of Patriarch Theophanes was elected to the patriarchal throne of Antioch, but only by Maronites. Died at 707.
At the beginning of the eighth century, the monks, along with a group of their followers, moved to a remote area of mountainous Lebanon, where they lived for several centuries in relative isolation. It was during this period that they became aware of themselves as a special Church and began to call their bishop Patriarch of Antioch and the whole East.
In the twelfth century, the Maronites came into contact with the Latin Church. In 1182, the Maronites formally confirmed their unity with Rome.
In 1736, the Cathedral of the Maronite Church was held on Mount Lebanon, where a set of canons was adopted, according to which the Church was first divided into dioceses, the rules of church life were established, the main of which have survived to this day.
Beginning in 1790, the Maronite patriarch’s residence is in Bkirki, 25 miles from Beirut. The Church has 10 dioceses, 770 parishes and 7 other jurisdictions in the Middle East. The Maronite Church is the largest in Lebanon, comprising 37% of Christians and 17% of the Lebanese population.
Maronite priests, like most Eastern Catholics, do not observe celibacy (the vow of celibacy), services are held according to a special Maronite rite, which is based on the West Syrian (Antiochian rite), with elements of the East Syrian and Latin rite. Divine services are held in Arabic, some communities still retain Aramaic.