Maronite Church (Paperback)

Maronites are members of one of the Lebanese or Syriac Eastern Catholic Churches, with a heritage reaching back to Maron the Syriac Monk in the early 5th century. The first Maronite Patriarch, John Maron, was elected in the late 7th century. Although reduced in numbers today, Maronites remain one of the principal ethno-religious groups in Lebanon and they continue to represent the absolute majority of Lebanese people when the Lebanese diaspora is included. Unique amongst Eastern Rite Catholics, the Maronites are Eastern Christians who have always remained in communion with the Bishop of Rome. Before the conquest by Arabian Muslims reached Lebanon, both those Lebanese people who would become Muslim and the majority who would remain Christian spoke a dialect of Aramaic. Syriac (Christian Aramaic) still remains the liturgical language of the Maronite Church.