Catholic Archdiocese of Johannesburg

Catholic Archdiocese of Johannesburg

Maronite Church

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MARONITE CATHOLIC CHURCH

The following Maronite Churches can be found in the Diocese of Johannesburg:

Church of Our Lady of Lebanon:	61 Mint Road Fordsburg	View Mass Times, Contact Details etc
Church of Our Lady of the Cedars:	118 Western Service Road Woodmead Ext 19 Email: maronite@netactive.co.za Website: www.catholicchurch.co.za	View Mass Times, Contact Details etc
Church of Our Lady of Lebanon:	48 Blougom Crescent Mulbarton	View Mass Times, Contact Details etc.

HISTORY OF THE MARONITE CATHOLIC CHURCH

This is the story of a people who were continually willing to sacrifice their lives and possessions for religious conviction and human liberties. The origins of the Maronite church Lebanese Christians can be traced to early Christianity and to the hermit St. Maroun (ca. 350-410 AD) who lived on a mountain top near the city of Antioch at the end of the 4th Century. His reputation marked the whole of the East. All that is known about Maroun, the spiritual father and protector of the Maronites comes from Theodoret, the Bishop of Cyr, who he described as the one who has planted for God the garden which flourishes now in the region of Cyr. (That garden flourished after his death and became the Maronite Church.) God gave him the gift of healing physically and spiritually. St. Maroun established an open air monastic school characterised by living under the elements of nature without shelter in mortification of the body, and lived a heroic life totally dedicated to a life of contemplative prayer. Soon after St. Marouns death, first a church then a monastery were built to perpetuate his ideals. Having at one time as many as 800 monks, this monastery became the principal centre of pastoral and spiritual activity for the area. The people of the surrounding villages received their spiritual direction and leadership from the monks and also became known by the name of Maronites. The monks were strong defenders of Church teaching and especially the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedony in 451 AD.

The formation of the Maronite church as a formal entity began with the institution of the Maronite Patriarchate, a rallying point in both the political and ecclesiastical spheres. Maronite tradition identifies the first Patriarch as St. John Maroun, who was chosen in 685 AD.

With the Arab invasions of the seventh century and the continuing conflicts with heretics, many migrated to Lebanon because of persecution, where they joined already existing Maronite Communities. The coming of the Crusaders greatly influenced Maronite history, Liturgy and practice. Ties with the Holy See became closer. Western practices were adopted and Latinisation influenced the Maronite Church.

In 1584 Pope Gregory XIII established the Maronite college in Rome. Students of the College accounted for the spreading of the knowledge of the East in Europe. The last part of the 17th century saw the work of the Patriarch Stephen Douaihi (+ 1704). He was the first Maronite to attempt a complete history of his people and to attempt to codify all aspects of the Maronite Liturgy.

From the 16th to the 18th centuries several synods, held in Lebanon, were directed to liturgical, pastoral and monastic reform. The most significant was the synod of Mount Lebanon in 1736, which became the prime source of Maronite ecclesiastical law. In the 20th century it was Patriarch Elias Hoyek who was called upon to represent his people at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference to ask for recognition of the autonomy and geographic frontiers of Lebanon.

On 19 April, 1986, the present Maronite Patriarch, His Beatitude Cardinal Nasrallah Peter Sfeir, was elected by the Maronite Synod of Bishops.

The Patriarch resides in Lebanon and shepherds the entire Maronite Church. In Lebanon and throughout the world there are about 12 million Maronites. On 12 June, 1991, Pope John Paul II announced a Special Assembly the Synod of Bishops for Lebanon. Its objective was to renew the Lebanese Catholic Church spiritually with all its living force. In and outside of Lebanon approximately 30 Maronite Dioceses exist. South Africa falls under the Maronite Eparchy (Diocese) of Alexandria, Egypt. In Johannesburg, the mission falls under the jurisdiction of Bishop Buti Thlagale, Diocese of Johannesburg.

The South African Maronite Community numbers about 20 000.

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