Brief History of St. Maron
Saint Maron was a priest who became a hermit and through his missionary work, healing, miracles, and teachings of monastic devotion to God became the Father of the Maronite Church. When Saint Maron was a priest he was the disciple of Hermit Zebinas. He then became a hermit and moved to live an ascetic life in isolation to the mountains of Lebanon and Syria and inhabited the area around the 4th and 5th century. Geographically speaking he moved to an area that is Cyrrhus (southern Turkey) between Antioch and Aleppo (Syrian City). This was an area that was inhabited by Pagan temple ruins until Saint Maron accomplished to convert an ancient temple to the Babylon god Nabo to his first church. He used his first church for mass and prayers.
Saint Maron lived a monastic, strict and rigorous life and lived to be closer to God through all things. For example, even though he had a tent made of animal fur that could have saved him from the elements he preferred to be exposed to the elements so that he might know God through all things and as a form of mortification. He also celebrated liturgy daily. He prayed days and spent nights standing in prayer. He did not accept the standard type of faithfulness and would add to his daily life additional penance and fasts for weeks on end. He used manual labor to keep his mind away from the temptations of the world. He deprived his body from all means of comfort. He believed that God was in all things and all things were in God so to live in daily prayer and work was to be as close to God as possible.
Saint Maron had tremendous influence on his followers. People would travel long distances to see him. They would travel near and far to be near him. He performed miracles, healed people of physical, spiritual and emotional ailments, ministered to all who followed him. He became their spiritual leader and they became his followers.
Bishop Theodoret identifies Saint Maron’s followers this way, “these anchorites were virtuous and heroic, totally dedicated to a life of contemplative prayers. There were strangers to any other consideration of the world. They were obedient to the church authority and tried to imitate their predecessor in their exercises of austerity”.
Knowledge of Saint Maron developed throughout the Roman Empire. In fact, some historians place Saint Maron and Saint John Chyrsostom as students together in Antioch around the year 398 AD. His exact date of passing is unknown but history notes that his death took place somewhere between the years of 407 AD and 423 AD. What is known is that he was so popular at the time of his death that his death caused mass disturbances, and riots as people were striving to obtain his remains.
Shortly after his passing, and after the Council of Chalcedon in 451AD, Bishop Theodoret started the construction of the Saint Maron Monastery. The Monastery is the center of teaching of the Maronite Church and its theological history. The Maronite Church honors its Patron by celebrating him on February 9th. Lebanon has promoted Saint Maron to her Patron Saint and honors his feast day as a National Day each year. The monastery bears the name of Saint Maron. It is the only Catholic Church to bear the name of a person and bears the teachings of that man who left the world to live a monastic, ascetic life in the mountains so that he might be closer to God.
To this day there are hundreds of thousands of Maronite Catholics following the teachings of Saint Maron. Truly these people are walking by faith because historical authorities can only agree on the history of the Maronite’s as far back as the 16th century, a mere 400 years ago. Saint Maron lived and breathed in 400 AD!
The features of the Syriac liturgical tradition takes us back to 400 A.D. At this time in the area of Syria there were three different rites and the areas were either influenced by the Greek or Syriac traditions. The areas of Antioch and Jerusalem spoke Greek and were influenced by the Greeks. The area of Edessa, where there were Chaldeans, spoke Aramaic and was influenced by the Syriacs. Both of these groups of people were influenced by the movement of the Jacobite Church to deny following the Counsel of Chalcedon. The areas of Antioch and Jerusalem followed the movement by the Jacobite Church and became Orthodox. The area of Edessa where the monastery of St. Maron was established sustained some of their roots and heritage and remained Catholic following the Counsel of Chalcedon. The Chaldean Aramaic speaking people of this area formed its own hierarchy and became what is now known as the ancient Syriac rite of Edessa. The liturgy that was created there is known to current day Maronite’s as the Anaphora of St. Peter. Parts of this Anaphora can be found in the Rite of Chrismation and in other parts of the liturgy.
Edessa and Antioch are the birth place of the original rites, the Maronite and the Chaldean, of the Catholic Church. The Syriac liturgical tradition takes its liturgy from Antioch and its Anaphora’s from the Jerusalem Rite. Within the Maronite Rite and Liturgy there are three ancient anaphoras. One that is well known in the Chaldean church, but the Maronite’s identify it as the Anaphora of the third peter. The Maronite Rite also has the ancient anaphora of the Antiochene Rite, known as the Anaphora of the twelve apostles. It has also adopted the Jerusalem and Antiochene liturgy of James. These are the features that characterize the Syriac liturgical tradition.
Written by Subdeacon Brian Dunn
