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Welcome to the Maronite
Church
The Maronite Family of
faith welcomes you with
peace, joy and love.
The Maronite
spirituality, liturgy,
and traditions come from
Antioch-Edessa, Syria.
The Aramaic language,
used in the liturgy, is
the same language Jesus
spoke during his earthly
life and ministry.
The Maronite Church, one
of the oldest churches
of Catholicism, was led
by Maron, a priest
(350-410 A.D.) who
devotedly taught the
Catholic faith, and
ministered to many
people with his gifts of
healing and counsel.
Today, there are two
eparchies (dioceses) in
the USA made up of about
75,000 Maronite
Catholics.
This packet offers
information on the
Maronite Church,
catholic yet unique.
Blessings in Jesus
Christ, the Lover of
humankind!
Maronite History
The history of the
maronite Church is a
story of a people who
were continually willing
to sacrifice their lives
and possessions for
religious convictions
and human liberties. Its
origins can be traced to
the hermit Maron
(350-410 AD), who
converted a pagan temple
for worship. Over 800
monks later followed in
his footsteps, adopted
the lifestyle and way of
St. Maron, and became
known as Maronites.
Later with the Arab
invasions (7th-10th
centuries) and the
continuing faith
conflicts, the Maronites
migrated to Mt. Lebanon,
finding natural
protection in the
mountain havens. By 687
AD, the Maronite
community organized and
established an
autonomous church with
St. John Maron as its
patriarch of Antioch.
The Syriac Maronite
Church was enriched and
influenced by three
centers of learning and
culture:
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Antioch - A center of
commerce and education
in West Syria, now
Turkey, which
represented Greek and
Syriac influence. This
city, where followers
of Jesus were first
called Christians,
gave the Maronite
Church its biblical
theology and its
unique sense of
scripture.
-
Edessa - A prominent
city where St. Ephrem
lived, in ancient
Mesopotamia, of
Semitic culture and
Syriac poetry. Both
informed and shaped
the prayer and hymnody
of the Maronite
Church.
-
Mt. Lebanon - A region
in present day
Lebanon. It provided a
haven for the Maronite
monastic life, worship
and traditions begun
by Maron, and nurtured
by John Maron, its
first Patriarch, and
many others.
From these three
centers, the theology,
spirituality and liturgy
developed and reflected
concrete scriptural
images and symbolic,
poetic themes.
Maronite Catholics live
in many nations and
cultures. Presently, the
Mother Church is in
Lebanon, and daughter
communities exist in
different nations. Often
the sons and daughters
of St. Maron are called
by the name Beit
Maroun, the house of
Maron.
Churches of Catholic
Faith
As Jesus commissioned
the apostles to make
disciples of all
nations, the early
Church grew out from
Jerusalem. It
experienced other
traditions, cultures,
customs, languages, art
forms, architecture and
music.
Eastern and Western
Christians express the
same basic truths of the
Catholic faith in unique
ways, and worship
differently. In short,
they use what is
familiar to express
their faith in Jesus the
Risen Lord.
All the churches of the
Catholic Church are one
and the same in their
unity of faith,
celebration of the
seven mysteries, and
communion with the
Bishop of Rome and the
hierarchy.
Catholics share three
essential aspects of
faith:
-
Profession of Faith
-
Mysteries / Sacraments
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Unity with Bishop of
Rome
There are 22 autonomous
churches. Each church
celebrates the faith as
handed on by one of the
six major rites of the
Catholic Church:
-
Antiochene
-
Alexandrian
-
Constantinopolitan
-
Chaldean
-
Armenian
-
Roman
Each church:
-
encompasses a unique
liturgy, theology,
spirituality and
discipline.
-
is characterized by
its own cultural and
linguistic traditions.
-
Enjoys an autonomy
from its sister
churches, and is
guided by its
patriarch and/or
bishops in unity with
the successor of
Peter.
Each church has four
unique aspects:
-
Liturgy
-
Theology
-
Spirituality
-
Discipline
A church is defined as a
community of faith
having a distinct
tradition founded by an
apostle and guided by an
autonomous hierarchy by
which various peoples
have been converted to
and nurtured by the
teachings of Jesus
Christ.
A Maronite View of God
The Syriac Maronite
Church views God as
mystery. Since there is
a great distance between
Creator and creation, no
person can fully grasp
God. All language about
God is limited. The
process leads to
mystical union - the
more one loves God, the
more one encounters him.
Two aspects account for
this notion of mystery:
-
the Jewish Christian
origins of the
Maronite Church
-
the familiarity with
the scriptures and
poetry
Maronite Approach to
Prayer
Prayer is cultivating an
awareness of God as
always beyond our reach
yet always present to
us. To pray means to see
God's "fingerprints" in
humanity and in all
creation.
For the Maronite to pray
is to live, and to live
is to pray. This
process, called lucidity
or "inner vision", sees
all created things as
transparent, God-touched
and divinized.
A Maronite Spirituality
The Maronite perspective
of prayer develops
naturally into a way of
life permeated with and
formed by the bible
called biblical
spirituality. Moreover,
the monastic spirit
permeates the Maronite
prayer and liturgical
life.
Genesis indicates that
God, the hidden Mystery,
revealed himself by
speaking His word into
creation - a great
symbol of the Creator.
This God "speaking" or
unveiling occurs in:
-
Creation
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Humanity
-
Scripture
God imprints upon
nature, humanity and
scripture his images
which reveal Jesus. Thus
the purpose of the
universe is to prepare
creation for the coming
of Christ in the flesh
and in glory.
The Maronite Liturgy
The Maronite liturgy of
Antioch-Edessa is called
the Service of the Holy
Mysteries. It invites
the worshiper to stay
awake on the
life-journey so as to
undergo a progressive
transformation in God,
called divinization.
In the Maronite Church,
the Holy Spirit is the
Principal Minister, and
the celebrant is the
instrument. Before the
Holy Mysteries begin, an
ordained minister
prepares the bread and
wine at a side table as
he recites a few
prayers.
Then the Holy Mysteries
begin - composed of the
Word Service and the
Eucharistic Service
(Anaphora) which are
celebrated at 3 key
focal points: Bema,
Altar and East Apse.
The Service of the Word
takes its form from an
ancient Jewish liturgy.
It is celebrated at the
Bema, a raised platform.
It includes prayers,
hymns, psalms, scripture
readings, homily and
creed.
The Hosoyo,
Prayer of Forgiveness, a
unique feature in the
Maronite Word Service,
recalls God's mercy to
sinful humankind. The
priest incenses the
community to symbolize a
sin-offering for
forgiveness.
-
The Quorbono or
Eucharistic Service
begins as the priest
moves from the Bema to
the Altar. In the
Maronite Church, the
Anaphora is a
prayer of praise to
the Trinity during
which, by the
overshadowing of the
Spirit, bread and wine
are transformed into
the Sacred Mysteries.
There are more than 16
Anaphoras in use.
-
In the maronite
Church, the East Apse
is significant since
it symbolizes the
kingdom, and focuses
the community's
attention on Christ's
coming in glory. Some
Maronite temples
reflect this ancient
tradition in their
architecture.
The Liturgical Year
includes two main
cycles:
-
Temporal: Sundays of
the year
-
Seasons of :
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Announcement
-
Epiphany
-
Great Lent
-
Resurrection
-
After
Pentecost
-
Holy Cross
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Sanctoral: Feasts of
Saints
Through the Holy
Mysteries, God's people
are united as the Body
of Christ, share his
pledge of salvation,
enjoy a foretaste of
life to come, and are
empowered to complete
their pilgrimage to the
kingdom.
Maronite Architecture
Maronite temple styles,
floor plans and
liturgical furniture
express the austere
monastic spirit.
Three focal points are
highlighted:
-
Bema - Word: a raised
platform from which
scripture readings are
proclaimed.
-
Altar - Eucharist: a
consecrated table from
which the Divine Food
is offered as
nourishment to the
believers.
-
East Apse - Kingdom:
the place of the
rising sun reminds
believers that Jesus
is Light of the world
who will come in
glory.
This dynamic aspect of
worship draws the
community closer and
closer to God by hearing
the Word at Bema,
receiving the Eucharist
at Altar, and journeying
to the kingdom at East
Apse. Some contemporary
Maronite temples reflect
this ancient floor plan.
Maronite Art
The monastic spirit of
asceticism, simplicity,
and attentiveness
penetrate the entire
liturgy - its prayers,
gestures, music, art and
architecture. The
present liturgy dates
back to the 5th
century.
Symbols and images play
an important role in the
Maronite Church. They
make present and
tangible God's love for
his people.
Syriac
icons, the oldest being
the Rabbula
(Gospel Book, 560 AD),
portray human figures,
and manifest them with
divine mystery. Persian
and classical
Greco-Roman art forms
are present in this art,
and serve as inspiration
for Maronite art today.
Maronite Rituals
Special feasts and
rituals during the
church year give earthly
things spiritual
significance.
Water, a common object,
is blessed in various
ways to give it a
spiritual meaning. For
example:
-
At Epiphany water is
blessed with a lighted
coal to signify the
fire of the Spirit who
divinized the Jordan
waters at Christ's
baptism.
-
At Pentecost water is
blessed with the
priest's breath to
signify the Divine
Breath over the waters
at creation.
-
At the Holy Cross
water is blessed with
a hand cross to
signify the divine
power that flows from
the saving cross.
Funeral Ritual
Prayers are addressed to
Jesus Christ, the High
Priest. The dead enter a
dialogue with God and
living loved ones to be
companions on the
journey home. Death is
not the end but a
passage from life on
earth to life in glory.
Specific Ginnazat
(i.e. hymns) are sung
for men, women, adults,
children, clergy,
religious and laity.
Antiochene Cross:
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3 horizontal bars
signify the unity of
bishops, patriarch and
pope - also unity of
the Triune God.
-
The leaves signify the
life that flows from
the saving cross of
Christ.
-
Syriac poets refer to
the cross as the Tree
of Life.
Maronite Music
The early ascetical
roots of simplicity and
poetry echo through its
liturgical music and art
forms. Most of the
hymnody unfolds in short
repeated strophes, basic
melodies adapted to
verses of similar
syllable count.
Their repetition serves
as a teaching tool and
memory aid. St. Ephrem,
father of Syriac church
music, greatly
influenced these ancient
musical traditions which
are still used today.
Maronite icons, like
windows to creation,
image the divine world.
Shapes, colors and
figures symbolically
reflect God's presence
to his people.
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