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Posted earlier, about the Maronite Eastern rite, with the Italiano-Albanian rite which are the only rites that did not leave and then come back to Rome.
Not sure. I was Married in A Maronite church. They have some traditions that would indicate, that, that is the case. We sat on thrones on the alter, and were adorned with a crown of holly. I think that the Maronite clergy are allowed to wed. I may be wrong, but I could swear that is the case.
Loved the church, and the Priest. Fr Sharbul. I try to attend once A month, It’s an hour away. The Maronites are no nonsense Catholics, they do not suffer progressive thought, and show no fear while spreading the gospel in the middle east. If there is a Maronite church near you, I would highly recommend a visit.
Do you mean all the Eastern rites? How far East? The Byzantine rite is alive and well, although in Ukraine, it is now coming under attack once again. Our parish and mission are Ruthenian in tradition, which is Ukrainian. We are praying diligently for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine.
Oops. Forgot to mention that Freeper NYer is Maronite.
Some clarification. The Church began in the East. The East–West Schism, sometimes known as the Great Schism, divided medieval Christianity into Eastern (Greek) and Western (Latin) branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively. The only Church in the East that did not break from Rome is the Maronite Church.
Following the Great Schism, over the centuries, certain groups of Eastern christians came back to Rome. In certain instances, like the Copts and Armenians, there are two churches - Catholic and Orthodox. There is no Maronite Orthodox Church because the Maronites have never separated from the Magisterium. According to their historical records,
In a letter addressed to Pope Hormisdas in 517, monks of St. Maron address the Pope as the one occupying the Chair of St. Peter, and inform him that they are undergoing many sufferings and attacks patiently. They single out Antiochian Patriarchs Severus and Peter, who, they say, anathematize the Council of Chalcedon and Pope Leo, whose formula the Council had adopted. The Maronites are mocked for their support of the Council and are suffering afflictions. The Emperor Anastasius had sent an army that had marched through the district of Apamea closing monasteries and expelling the monks. Some had been beaten and others were thrown into prison. While on the way to St. Simon Stylite, the Maronites had been ambushed and 350 monks were killed, even though some of them had taken refuge at the altar. The monastery was burned. The Maronites appealed to the Emperor in Constantinople, but to no avail. Now, they appeal to the Pope for deliverance against the enemies of the Fathers and the Council. They exclaim: "Do not therefore look down upon us, Your Holiness, we who are daily attacked by ferocious beasts. . . . We anathematize Nestorius, Eutyches, Dioscorus, Peter of Alexandria and Peter the Fuller of Antioch, and all their followers and those who defend their heresies." The letter was signed first by Alexander, priest and archimandrite of St. Maron. Over 200 other signatures follow, of other archimandrites, priests and deacons. The importance of the Monastery of Bet Maroun is evidenced by Alexander's name leading the list of delegates.Pope Hormisdas, in a letter dated February 10, 518, tells the archimandrites, priests, and deacons of the region of Apamea that he read their letter describing the persecutions of the heretics. He consoles them in their sufferings and tells them not to despair for they are gaining eternal life through this. The Emperor Justinian restored the walls of the principal monastery of St. Maron.
The Maronites fled to the mountains of Lebanon. Very little is known about the Maronites in Lebanon between the time of their being established there in the seventh and eighth centuries and the coming of the Crusades in the eleventh century. During this period the Maronites and the region were dominated by the Abbasids, whose rule was often severe and who persecuted and decimated the Maronites. When the first Crusaders arrived in Lebanon in 1098, they were surprised and pleased to find fellow Christians who welcomed them with hospitality. We are told that the Maronites were of great assistance to the Crusaders both as guides and as a fighting force of 40,000 men known for their prowess in battle. The Franciscan F. Suriano, writing some time later, described them as "astute and prone to fighting and battling. They are good archers using the Italian style of cross-bowing". The Crusaders not only passed through Lebanon on the way to the Holy Places, but established themselves in the country and built fortresses in a number of areas, the ruins of which remain to this day. Close relations were also established between the Latin Hierarchy that accompanied the Crusaders and the Maronite Church. With the coming of the Crusaders, it would seem that the Maronites made a conscious decision to seek the support of the West. Prior to this time, the Maronites lived and thought on a provincial level. Their major concerns were to defend themselves against local heretics (a struggle based not only on a religious plane, but also on ethnic and cultural levels) and to attempt to establish a Modus Vivendi with Arab rulers. With the coming of the Crusaders they began to look to the West for assistance. Ties with the Holy See became closer, Western practices were adopted, and Latin influence and changes in the Maronite Liturgy took place.
It's often challenging for us in the west to fathom the persecution that accompanied the early christians. The Maronite Church, as such, stands in faithful witness and loyal servant to the Chair of Peter, then and now.