LEBANON

Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, Harissa, courtesy, PhilStar.com

Lebanon is located in the center of the eastern Mediterranean coast and is even smaller than Israel. Aside from the Mediterranean, it is bounded on the south by Israel and on the east and north by Syria. Throughout history, Lebanon has constantly had to fight for its ancient Phoenician/Maronite Christian identity, especially against Arab Muslim colonialism, but have only been partially successful - since independence in 1943, by law, the president has to be a Maronite. But on the other hand, the prime minister and speaker of the parliament have to be Arab Muslims and as such, the whole of Lebanon, including the Maronites, was forced to be a full member of the Arab League since its founding in 1945. Since then, the Arabs have successfully brainwashed the Maronites into thinking that they are Arab Christians. Those who refused this identity, were often killed. This was especially so in the 1970s during the civil war when the PLO would massacre approximately 100,000 unarmed Maronite men, women, and children, with the tacit approval of the United Nations. Since the war, the indigenous Lebanese have made impressive economic gains, on a par with that of Europe and Israel, in spite of the fact that they are still persecuted and harassed by the Arabs and are constantly under the watchful eye of Hezbollah.

Before the introduction of Christianity to Lebanon, the Phoenicians, as with most ancient peoples of the time, were pagans. During this period, Phoenicia was never a single unified country, but was made up of four main autonomous city-states, each ruled by their own kings, the two leading city-states being Tyre and Sidon. Byblos and Arwad were next in importance (see Byblos). During the reigns of David and Solomon in Israel, both Tyre and Sidon had mixed Israelite and Phoenician populations even though they were often ruled by Phoenician kings. Sometimes, the kings themselves even had mixed ancestry, for example King Hiram of Tyre who assisted King Solomon in building the Temple in Jerusalem. The following is a list of the ancient Phoenician kings centered in Tyre:

Agenor (ruled from c. 1500 BCE), Phoenix, Eri-Aku, Abi-Milku, Aribas, Baal Termeg, Baal, Pummay, (the list of the next century is unclear and it is resumed again in the early 10^th century BCE when Sidon, which was formerly ruled by Ahiram, joined Tyre to form a union, but the kings continued to rule from Tyre), Abibaal, Hiram I, Baal Eser I, Abdastartus, Astartus, Deleastartus, Astarymus, Phelles, Itobaal I, Baal Eser II, Mattan I, Pygmalion;

Under Assyrian rule - Itobaal II, Hiram II, Mattan II, Itobaal III who ruled an independent Tyre;

Babylonian rule - Baal II, Yakinbaal, (monarchy overthrown in favor of judges), Chelbes, Abbar, Mattan III and Ger Ashtari jointly, Baal Eser III, Hiram III who restored the monarchy;

Persian rule - Mattan IV, Boulomenus, Abdemon, the Cypriot Evagoras of Salamis who briefly united Tyre with Cyprus, Eugoras, Azemilcus who reigned during the siege of Alexander the Great, Abdolunim.

Thereafter, the territory of Tyre alternated between Greek and Roman rule.

According to some histories, Saint Peter was the first to evangelize the Phoenicians whom he affiliated to the ancient patriarchate of Antioch. Paul also preached in Lebanon, having lingered with the early Christians in Tyre and Sidon. Even though Christianity was introduced early to Lebanon, its spread was very slow, particularly in the mountainous areas where paganism was still unyielding.

The earliest indisputable tradition of Christianity in Lebanon can be traced back to Saint Maron in the 4th century AD, being of Greek/Eastern/Antiochian Orthodox origin and the founder of national and ecclesiastical Maronitism. Saint Maron adopted an ascetic and reclusive life on the banks of the Orontes river in the vicinity of Homs, Syria and founded a community of monks which began to preach the gospel in the surrounding areas.  

After the Arab conquest and occupation in the 7^th century, Saint John Maron, a monk of Sarmin in Syria,  led his followers to the Lebanese mountains to the village of Kfar Hai and there, consolidated Lebanon’s Maronite heritage, often protected by the Marada warriors who were also Maronites. The following is a list of the patriarchs since his time (Druze leaders will be covered in a different posting):

John Maron, Kyros, Gabriel, John Maron II (transferred the patriarchal seat to Yanouh then to Byblos), Youhanna, Gregorius, Stefanos, Mark, Eusebius, Youhanna II, Yeshu, David, Gregorius II, Theophilactus, Yeshu II, Domitius, Ishaq, Youhanna III, Shamun, Urmia, Youhanna IV, Shamun II, Shamun III;

Crusader period (1099-1305) – (During the Crusades, the Maronites went into communion with the Roman Catholic Church.) Yousef al Jirjisi, Butros (the patriarchate briefly moved to the town of Mayfuq but then returned to Byblos), Gregorius, Yacoub, Youhanna V, Boutros II, Boutros III, Boutros IV, Urmia Amchiti, Daniel, Youhanna VI, Shamun IV, Yacoub II, Daniel II, Luqa and Urmia III (the two patriarchs, ruling at the same time, caused a schism in the church but it reunified after the death of Urmia in 1297), Shamun V succeeded and led the Maronites into the:  

Mameluke Egyptian period (1305-1516) - Shamun V, Youhanna VII, Gabriel II, David II, Youhanna el Jaji (transferred the patriarchal seat to Kannoubine), Yacoub el Hadathi, Yousef el Hadathi;

Ottoman Turkish period (1516-1918) - Seman el Hadathi, Mousa Saade el Akari, Mikhail al Rizzi, Sarkis el Rizzi, Yousef el Rizzi, Youhanna Makhlouf, Gewargios Omaira al Duwaihi, Yousef Halib el Akouri, Youhanna el Bawab, Gerges Beseb’eli, Estafanos el Duwaihi, Jibrail II, Yacoub Awad, Yousef V el Khazen, Seman Awad, Tobias el Khazen, Yousef Estefan, Mikhail Fadel, Philip Gemayel, Yousef Tyan, Youhanna Helou, Yousef Hobaish (moved the patriarchal seat to Bkerke), Yousef IX el Khazen, Boulos Massad, Youhanna el Hajj, Elias Peter Hoayek led the Maronites from Ottoman to French rule after WWI;

French rule (1918-1943) – Elias Peter Hoayek, Anthony Peter Arida (led from French rule to independence);

Independence – Anthony Peter Arida, Paul Peter Meouchi, Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, Bechara Boutros al Rahi (the present incumbent).