Maronites (Marunoye ܡܪܘܢܝܐܶ; in Syriac, Mâruniyya مارونية in Arabic) are members of an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Pope of Rome. Their heritage reaches back to St. Maron in the early 5th century. The first Maronite patriarch, St. John Maron, was appointed in the late 7th century. Today they are one of the main religious groups in Lebanon. They are Arabic-speaking Christians with their ethnicity, like most Lebanese, being a mix of Phoenician, Aramaean, and Greek, with some European ro ...

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• Maronite - History
• Maronite - Organisation
• Maronite - Population
• Maronite - Books

Read more here: » Maronite: Encyclopedia - Maronite

Some numerical estimates have ranged from 1.5 million to 7.5 million, but the exact population is unknown. It is estimated that 640,000 to 850,000 remain in Lebanon where they constitute up to 23% of the population. According to the Lebanese constitution, the president must be a Maronite. Syrian Maronites total 40,000 and they follow the archdioceses of Aleppo and Damascus and the Diocese of Latakia. There is also a Maronite community in Cyprus which speaks Cypriot Maronite Arabic. They are a recognized religious minority on the island and t ...

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Maronite, Maronite - History, Maronite - Organisation, Maronite - Population, Maronite - Books

Read more here: » Maronite: Encyclopedia II - Maronite - Population

In the early 5th century, a community gathered around the Christian hermit St. Maron. After his death in 435 (or 410, according to some sources), this community continued to grow, and adopted the name of Maronites. It was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus Christ converted by Paul and Barnabas were first called Christians [Acts 11:26]. Antioch, especially after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, became a center for Christianity. The first Bishop was St. Peter before his travels to Rome. The third Bishop was the Apostolic Father St. Ignatius of Antioch. Antioch became one of the five original Patriarchates after ...

See also:

Maronite, Maronite - History, Maronite - Organisation, Maronite - Population, Maronite - Books

Read more here: » Maronite: Encyclopedia II - Maronite - History