A Closer Look At The Whole Catholic Church: The Maronite Catholics (Part 1)

Foundations Of Faith: A Closer Look At The Whole Catholic Church: St. Maron  

The Catholic Church consists of a wide variety of Churches. In the next series of articles we are going to take a much deeper and closer look at one of these- the Maronite  with an  eight part series on the Maronite Catholic Church

Not much is known about St. Maron.  He, like many other Syrian ascetics, did not write a great deal.  In fact we only have one real source of information about him outside of the Maronite Church.  St. Maron was a holy hermit. 

The Greek noun "eremos" means inhabitants of the desert and is the source of the English words "eremites" or "hermits". They are also called anchorites. They choose to live alone in solitude in order to avoid all contact with their fellow men. However, not all of them sought total solitude. Some had companions who were generally called students or disciples. Others performed pastoral roles for people who came to visit them and live near them.  St. Maron had a large following of students who followed his teachings. Ascetic living in Syrian Christianity existed in the second and third centuries but sources are scarce and fragmented. However, it "may be traced back to the presumed Syrian origin of the Gospel according to Matthew, with its emphasis on the theme of discipleship, on a following of Christ involving celibacy (19:11-12), poverty (19:21) and homelessness (19:29) in the service of announcing the kingdom, in a proclamation to be accompanied by miraculous signs of exorcism and healing (10:7)" 

However, the expansion of this kind of living in ancient Syria and Asia Minor in the fourth and fifth centuries is mostly linked to the end of the Roman persecution of the Christians, hence the end of the possibility of martyrdom. Ascetic living became second best to witnessing Christ through martyrdom.  Now, to prove their love for Christ they would give up everything and sacrifice it all for the Lord.  During the days of Roman persecution a person could show their love for the Lord by giving of his or her life, now with the acceptance of the Christianity, people turned to giving up physical things and going to the desert or the mountains.   The hermits in ancient Syria and Asia Minor were great ascetics. Some chose to live for years on the top of a pillar and were called stylites, like Saint Simon the Stylite. Others shut themselves away in one place and were called recluses like Marana and Cyra.

In the early centuries of Christianity, many of those seeking Christian perfection were trained in ascetic life by an older hermit whose way of life and Christian virtues they were expected to observe and emulate. The guide exemplified the monastic rule and the disciples were to mirror his way of life and behavior.  The learning of the trade by passing down knowledge from one generation to another was a time tested tradition that was considered the normal way a person would learn on that day. Therefore, since everything was done orally, most hermits left no written records but their example and their deeds have survived. They had learned spirituality from the teachings of the Bible. They nourished it by partaking of the mysteries or sacraments and by emulating the virtues, heroism and sanctity of the Desert Fathers and the older hermits. To make a serious study of the monks of the Maronite Church, some of whom were leading ascetics in the early centuries of this movement, one must start with Saint Maron the Hermit.

Saint Maron has been considered by many as a hero of monastic life since the last part of the Fourth century. He lived "near a pagan temple which he had converted into a church", on top of a mountain in the Cyrrhus region of Syria Secunda.  He pursued a new way of life for a hermit that was later described as living in the open air or with nature. Such a life is "a radical form of asceticism. In the struggle between man and   his human nature, ... a hermit demonstrate[s] ... mastery over human nature by ... complete subjugation of his body. This total control was achieved despite the Harshness of nature and without bodily protection, even in winter and summer" (Abou Zayd 1993: 371-372, Hourani 1997).

In this new way of asceticism, Maron mortified himself and his human nature: his blanket was the sky and his bed was the ground. He went into seclusion to pray, fast, and meditate despite the summer heat and the bitter winter. People flocked to him because of his holiness and virtue; and at his hands, they begged God for physical and spiritual healing.

Theodoret, the author of Saint Maron's only available biography, was Bishop of Cyrrhus and a respected writer of his time. His book, the Historia Religiosa (History of the Monks of Syria), is a primary source for early Syrian monastic and ascetic life. In his book, Theodoret writes the following about Saint Maron:  

Now, this doesn't really explain who Maron was or how he was able to persuade people to follow him.  As established before, St. Maron was a hermit.  He didn't start off to start a Church; he started off to worship God.  It was because of his personality and personal quest to worship God that he was to instill in others the ability to strengthen their own faith.  He started a movement.  The movement started a monastery and the monastery started a nation.  In the less than 300 years from his death, both the Byzantines and Muslims had sent troops to destroy his followers.  No matter what was put in their path, the faithful followers of the teachings of St. Maron were able to face each and every challenge put in their way.

Whether it was Byzantine Army under the Emperor, followers of rival Christian groups, Muslim leaders, or the Ottoman Empire, the followers of St. Maron have withstood all sort of physical attacks.  In many ways the life of St. Maron and his total disregard for physical pain or need for creature comforts provided a model that has served the Maronite followers for the past 1600 years. St. Maron didn't begin the only Catholic Church to bear a person's name- Maronite.  All he did was show people the way so they could survive and get closer to God.  Praise be to God Always.