Maronites

Maronites, a Christian sect of Syria, generally regarded as the descendants of a remnant of the Monothelite sect (see MONOTHELISM), who settled on the slopes of Lebanon in the 7th century. They take their name from a monk Maro, who lived in the 5th century, or more probably from their first patriarch Moro (701). These people maintained their independence against the followers of Islam; but in the 12th century, on the establishment of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, they abandoned their distinctive monothelite opinions, and recognised the authority of the Roman Church. In 1445 they entered into a formal act of union with the Roman Church; in 1584 a college was founded in Rome by Pope Gregory XIII. for the education of the Maronite clergy; and in 1736 they formally subscribed the decrees of the Council of Trent. Nevertheless, they retain their distinctive national rites and usages, and use the ancient Syriac language in their liturgy; their clergy, if married before ordination, are permitted to keep their wives; and they have many festivals and saints not recognised in the Roman calendar. The Maronites, a sturdy, warlike race of mountaineers (see LEBANON), number about 250,000. Their patriarch, who is elected by their bishops, subject to the approval of Rome, resides in the convent of Kanobin on Lebanon. Many convents for both sexes are spread over the country, especially in the neighbourhood of Bsherreh, above Tripoli; the inmates follow the rule of St Anthony. The relations of the Maronites with their implacable foes, the Druses, have been already detailed under DRUSES and LEBANON. See Baedeker's Palestine, by Socin (2d ed. 1880).