Maronite Links

Life of Saint Maroun

Saint Maroun Background

Saint Maroun, born in the middle of the 4th century was a priest who latter became a hermit, retiring to a mountain of Taurus near Antioch. His holiness and miracles attracted many followers, and drew attention throughout the empire. St John of Chrysostom sent him a letter around 405 AD expressing his great love and respect asking St Maroun to pray for him.

The Maronite Movement Saint Maroun

St Maroun is considered the Father of the spiritual and monastic movement now called the Maronite Church. This movement had a profound influence on Northern Syria and Lebanon. Saint Maroun spent all of his life on a mountain in the region of Cyrrhus in Syria. It is believed that the place was called "Kefar-Nabo" on the mountain of Ol-Yambos, making it the cradle of the Maronite movement.

The Maronite movement reached Lebanon when St Maroun's first disciple Abraham of Cyrrhus who was called the Apostle of Lebanon, realized that paganism was thriving in Lebanon, so he set out to convert the pagans to Christians by introducing them to the way of St Maroun. The followers of St Maroun, both monks and laity, always remained faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Spirituality

St Maroun's way was deeply monastic with emphasis on the spiritual and ascetic aspects of living. For Saint Maroun, all was connected to God and God was connected to all. He did not separate the physical and spiritual world and actually used the physical world to deepen his faith and spiritual experience with God.

St Maroun embraced the quiet solitude of the mountain life. He lived his life in open air exposed to the forces of nature such as sun, rain, hail and snow. His extraordinary desire to come to know Gods presence in all things, allowed St Maroun to transcend such forces and discover that intimate union with God. He was able to free himself from the physical world by his passion and fervour for prayer and enter into a mystical relationship of love with God.

Mission

St Maroun was a mystic who started this new ascetic-spiritual method that attracted many people in Syria and Lebanon to become his disciples. Accompanying his deeply spiritual and ascetic life, he was a zealous missionary with a passion to spread the message of Christ by preaching it to all he met. He sought not only to cure the physical ailments that people suffered, but had a great quest for nurturing and healing the "lost souls" of both pagans and Christians of his time.

This missionary work came to fruition when in the mountains of Syria, St Maroun was able to convert a pagan temple into a Christian Church. This was to be the beginning of the conversion of Paganism to Christianity in Syria which would then influence and spread to Lebanon. After his death in the year 410 AD, his spirit and teachings lived on through his disciples.

from http://www.maroun.org/

Maronite Patriarch Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir

: http://www.bkerkelb.org
The official website of the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East.

Maronites.Org: http://www.maronites.org
Welcome to Maronites International !

National Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon: http://www.nationalshrine.org
This Catholic Shrine located in North Jackson, Ohio, is open year round to all visitors. Groups wishing to make a special day of prayer, conference, retreat, or day of recollection are welcome!

Opus Libani: http://www.opuslibani.org.lb
Opus Libani is a research center that is initiated by the Secretary General of the Assembly of the Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon.

This Website was created by Fr. Antonio Elfeghali, a Maronite priest and a religious member of the Maronite Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary (OMM). Saint Maroun

www.karpasha.com: This website dedicated to the Maronite people of the Karpasha village, is not only a tribute to the inhabitants of the village but to all the Maronites of Cyprus. Karpasha is the tiniest and the most picturesque of the four Maronite villages of Cyprus. It is located in the Kyrenia district and its geographical position is 23 km west to the city of Kyrenia and 13 km northeast to the city of Morphou. Due to its altitude of 323m above the sea level, it cherishes a magnificent mild climate. The surrounding pine tree woods together with the fine climate make Karpasha a unique and fabulous holiday resort. The Christian Maronite church of the village, dedicated to the Holy Cross, or Timios Stavros, is plain, humble and of exceptional simplicity. It is decorated with Byzantine frescoes and its main attraction is the 800-year-old Byzantine relic of the Holy Cross. Even though in the sixties, the population amounted to 193 inhabitants, the present population in 2007 is 12 inhabitants. The inhabitants are mostly elders, over 70 years old. Since 1974, Karpasha is under Turkish Occupation, and most of its legitimate inhabitants fled to the south of Cyprus. The majority lives in the south but they pursue endlessly in returning to their homeland. The hope still exists.

Maronites of Cyprus: History narrates four major migrations of the Maronites to the Island of Cyprus. The first exodus occurred in the eighth century with the fleeing of the Maronites from the plains of ancient Syria to Mount Lebanon. The second transpired upon the destruction of the Monastery of Saint Maron on the Orontes River toward the end of the tenth century. The third migration came at the beginning of the reign of the Lusignan Dynasty at the end of the twelfth century. The fourth transmigration was engendered by the defeat of the Crusaders in Tripoli toward the end of the thirteenth century.
In summary, the Maronites were a distinct community in Cyprus ever since the twelfth century. Their settlements numbered 60 in 1224; 23 in 1570; 19 in 1596; 10 in 1776, and 4 in 1878. The regression of the Maronite colony in Cyprus began with the Latin reign and received its final blow under Ottoman rule. Their life on the island was filled with sorrow and pain. However, they maintained a presence and persisted in their faith, although some succumbed due to persecution. They had their own clergy and bishops, but effectively they were under the ecclesiastical domination of either the Greeks or the Latins. In Cyprus the Maronites faced 'Latinization', Greek schismatic abuse, and 'Islamization'.
What remains now are only four Maronite villages, Kormakitis, Karpasia, Asomatos and Agia Marina. Their populations have been largely displaced due to the 1974 Turkish invasion and partition of the island. The four villages, which are practically unpopulated but for a few elderly persons, are all located in the Turkish divide of the island and are facing annihilation because of the laws imposed on the right of return and the right of land ownership.

These links will show you that the Maronite faith and mission is alive and well around the world !

WWW.Qolo.org mission musicale et culturelle créée par le père Milad Tarabay, fondateur et directeur du groupe "voix d'antan" pour la musique maronite et libanaise.

Agapee : Agapée is a Catholic Choir since 1990... A group of amateurs who found in the modern spiritual music, a way to glorify The LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference : http://www.catholic.org.au
This site shows that the Australian Catholic Church it is an intricate and, at first sight, bewildering complex of groups and individuals, each with a defined autonomy and accountability according to the Code of Canon Law, the fundamental legislative document of the Church.

Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia : http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au
At present, the Archbishop of Sydney is Metropolitan of all the Dioceses of New South Wales, with the exception of portions of the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, which are geographically situated outside the Australian Capital Territory.

Catholic Information Center : http://www.catholic.net
As the name suggests, this is an Information Center regarding the Catholic Church.

Catholic Online, gives the largest and broadest population of Catholics worldwide easy access to comprehensive, educational and timely information about Catholicism, and provides a range of easy methods to integrate their faith into their daily lives.

Catholic Information Network (CIN). Catholic electronic evangelization since 1987.

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