Original Essays

Meltha Magazine Online

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1997, Volume 3, No.1 (7), pages 15-22

Original Essays

     In 1982 the Moscow Publishers «Science» published a monograph by Mikhail Rodionov. He entitled this work as «Maronites. From the ethno confessional history of the Eastern Mediterranean Area». The book gives a detailed description of Lebanese Maronites focusing on their historical stages from 7 to 20th century well as on their current position in the Lebanese society.
    The situation in Lebanon has been an important topic for Christian matters of the East through out this century. The policy of holocaust unfolded in 1914 to 1918 against all Christians in the Middle East deprived Assyrians of their own homeland as the main consolidation factor. As they were scattered eventually in the world, they were threatened with assimilation and final annihilation. Lebanon has always been a stronghold of Christianity in the Middle East. According to Mr. M. Rodionov Christians in 1932 made 49,9% of the Lebanese population while back in 1913 this figure went up to 79,5%. Former plans to establish a Christian state had no longer meaning then. The country's prospects were well conditioned by the level of inter- confessional cooperation.
    It is well known that in 1970s due to AUA and bishop Mar Narsai d'Bas there was a migration plan for Assyrians in Lebanon. Such policy was considerably in line with the interests of Lebanese Maronites. Moreover, the concentration of Christians in the Middle East in this small country with a long tradition of religious tolerance would inevitably have given Islamic fundamentalists no chance to bring the whole nation on the brink of on endless civil war. Today the difficult situation of Christians in the Middle East has a tremendous significance in the face of strengthening pressure on separated Christian communities of the East.
    In this respect, we should like to bring to the focus of our readers some excerpts from the book by M. Radionov, namely, Foreword, Section «Origin and formative years of the Lebanese Maronite community (5 to 11th centuries) » from Chapter 1 of the monograph and Conclusion alike.

Meltha» Editorial

MARONITES
NOTES FROM THE ETHNO CONFESSIONAL HISTORY OF THE EASTERN
MEDITERRANEAN AREA
By M. A. Rodionov

Introductions

Lebanon has long been a permanent hotbed of many social and religious strives in the Middle East region. The entire population of Lebanon (as estimated 3.1 million in 1978) is separated into two dozens of religious communities with fairly equal propositions. The current ethno confessional structure of Lebanon's population was formed in the course of a very long eventual history of this country. According to K. Marx "the history of the East often is the history of religions".

Hot debates that were conducted in Byzantine around the term of "Godly man" resulted besides Orthodox doctrine in Christianity in such theological trends as Nestoric, Monophystic and Monophoeitic, Nestoric stems from Nestorius patriarch of Constantinople who lived in 5th century AD. Nestorians who responded to his teachings subscribed to the idea about separation of Christ's two natures while Monophysites. Believed only in divine God's nature. According to their conception, Christ never had a human substance but an array of 'certain human features' instead. The Church of Syrian monophysites is called 'Jacobitic' after the name of its founder, the bishop of Edessa Jacob Baraday (6th century AD). In pursuit of reconciliation with Monophysites the patriarch of Constantinople Sergius (7th century AD) suggested admitting the presence of will power in Christ along with his both natures. From then a new theological teaching (monophelitic) emerged, but the official Church of Byzantine as heresy condemned it.

As Byzantine authority persecuted Christians of all trends, they had to flee to the Lebanese highlands. By the time of the Arabian invasion (635-640 AD) Nestorian addicts had also come to settle down there along with Monophystic Jacobites, monophelitic activists and orthodox people who stood on the side of the official Byzantine religion. Later they were called 'Melkytes', or 'Royal'.

In the late 7th century Maronites who adhered to the special monophelitic method, which bore the name of the legendary Syrian ascetic Maruna (Marona) who lived in 4th early 5th century. Then shiit Muslims came to settle down in the South. In 11th century some of shiit-Ismailites set up a community of Druzes in Southern Lebanon. This name usually is derived from the nick- name of Khakim's solicitor, the calif of Fatimides (996 to 1021 AD). This solicitor bore the name of Muhammad ad-Darazi and adhered to professing in Khakim' s cult of 'ultimate embodiment of God'. The Druzes prefer to bear the name of El Muvahiddun or 'followers of the one God', and the word 'druz' as they claim in Arabic means 'durus' or 'lessons of faith'. In the 11th century the Druz community was declared closed for proselites, although conversion continued until at least 17th century AD.

Religion groups of Eastern Mediterranean increased in number under the Roman influence. After many unhappy attempts of Rome the Supreme authority of Pope was accepted by some of the Eastern Church clergy.

Falling apart from the Nestorian Church Uniats (1552) acquired the name of 'Chaldeans'. Those who remained with the Nestorian faith prefer to call their Church 'Eastern Syrian’. Protestant missionaries deemed terminological complications in the 19th century, as they formed the, Assyrian American Apostolic Church from Protestant-conversed Nestorians.

Jacobites or 'Syro-Orthodox' produced the Syrian Uniat community (1662). The Union incorporated some of Greeko-Orthodox parish (Melkytes) in 1709 and part of Armenians (1740). In order to show a leaning on Rome every Uniat community adds 'Catholic' to its name, Chaldo-Catholic, Syro-Catholic, Armeno-Catholic, Greeko-Catholic, etc. Greeko-Catholic formerly of Orthodox belief who adopted Unia but kept their previous community's name 'Melkytes' which since the middle of 191h century has only been applied to Uniates. Unlike other Eastern Christian communities Maronites never fell into addicts of the old belief and followers of the Unia but accepted supreme authority of Pope from Rome. .

In the 19th century the government of the Osman Empire gave Christian Uniats the official status of autonomous communities ('millets', it comes from Arabic 'millja' or religious community people). As a matter of fact, Orthodox, Armeno-Gregorian and Jewish people enjoyed this status from the very formative years of the empire. Also, federal recognition was given to Greeko-Catholic (1848), Chaldeans (1861), Syro-Catholic (1866), Armeno-Catholic (1831, confirmed in 1867). Maronites' patriarch actually enjoyed the rights of a community head officially admitted in 1841. In 1850 the sultan Abdoul Medzhid I also accepted a Protestant community established by American missionaries amidst local people.

As a result, contemporary Lebanon has addicts of Eastern Christianity, namely Orthodox Greeks, Nestorians (formerly Syrians), Jacobites (Syro-Orthodox) and Armeno-Gregorian as well as representatives of Churches which concluded Unia with Vatican, namely, Maronites, Greek Catholics, Chaldeans (Uniats of Nestorians), Syro- Catholics (Uniats of Jacobites) and Armeno-Catholics. Besides, there is a small yet very influential Protestant community.

Muslims in the country fall into Sunnis, Shiits (Metualians) and Druzes who parted ways with the classical Islam. Lebanon also hosts some of the Nusairitic (Alavitian), Judaistic, Behaistic and other communities.

The major confessional communities in the country are Maronites, Sunnies, Shiits, Orthodox Greeks, Druzes, Greeko-Catholics. Although the majority of the Lebanese population (except Armenians) is rather homogenous ethnically as they use one and the same accent of the Arabic language typical of the region.

Lebanese ethno confessional groups (Maronites and Druzes) have each of them its own social structural organization as well as material and spiritual culture, moral and ethic norms and other peculiarities, emerged due to concrete historical and geographical conditions. Religious separation was considerably due to confessional isolation (also to a very strict communal endogamy), which was to determine the mosaic of the Lebanese society.

The objective here with this overview is investigation of confessional and ethnic features of society showcasing Maronites as one of the biggest ethno confessional groups of the Eastern Mediterranean Area. Reconstruction of basic stages of Maronites history, study of their household and cultural ways make for better understanding of interplay of confessional and ethnic factors as well as highlight the disintegrating role of confessional-ism in the socio-ethnic structure of the Lebanese society.

The variety of knowledge acquired in the course of study though very inconsistent in some points may produce the objectivity of the history and cultural activity of Maronites creating by way of example the possibility of viewing the influence of the confessional factor on ethnic processes in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea area.

Origin and Formative Period of the Maronites Community in Lebanon (5 to 11th century)

The formative period of the Maronites history lacks in facts and documents through out from the days of the Syrian ascetic Marun (Marona), who gave his name to the Church and community alike eventually and further on to the days of crusaders.

Marun himself is only referred to by Feodorite (died circa 458), the bishop of Kyrr. Feodorite said, some hermit Marun had come to settle down on top of the mountain near the town of Kyrr right out under the sky. He did a lot of fasting, healing the sick, planting trees and once he consecrated a temple on the site of a pagan church.

Probably Marun found his shelter in the second half of 4th century on the mountain Nabu (now Jebel-Sim'an) between Haleb (Aleppo) and Kyrr, and buried near the place in the town of Brad around 410 AD. The work of Marun brought him very many adherents and disciples. Inconsistency and vagueness of information about Marun makes him almost a legendary figure somewhat a model type from geographic literature.

After the death of Marun a monastery was established near Apamea (now Kal' at- el-Mudik). It had a numerous brotherhood, vast pastures, and large library. The Muslim historian Abu-l-Fida (1273-1331) believed that the Byzantine emperor Markian built the monastery of St. Marun in 452 AD a year after the Khalkidon convention where Monophystic teaching was condemned. Pilgrims from allover Syria, Marun's followers, Maronites, were among monks as well as ordinary people who chose this saint as their patron.

In 6th century St. Marun' s monastery be- came the religious center of Northern Syria from where Khalkidonians spread their ideas versus Syrian Monophystic Jacobites. In fighting between Iran and Byzantine the monastery was repeatedly destroyed. Many Maronitic monks were killed by mono-physites supported by Iranian powers. The monastery was patronized by Byzantian emperors, namely Justinian I (482 or 483 - 565) and Iraklius I (575-641). St. Marun's monastery functioned apparently till the first half of the 10th century.

After Arabs captured Syria the disputes between Maronites and Jacobites continued. Muslim rulers seemingly showed no preference to either of the Christian confessions, they focused on however the differences between new subjects of the empire. One of the Maronite-Jacobites theological disputes in 659 was conducted in presence of Muavia, the future calif. Probably it was due to aggravation of relations with Jacobites, Maronitic monks along with some of their parish had to move from Northern Syria (from the second half of the 7th century) to the impassible mountains in the Northern Lebanon. Maronites quickly integrated with the local population who adopted their beliefs. Since then the historical destiny of the Maronites community appeared to be bound to the territory of Lebanon.

According to the Maronitic tradition, some of the Lebanese population was converted into Christianity of the Maronites by Marun's follower Ibrahim (died in 428) before Maronitic migration. The first areas of Maronites habitation were Bisharri, El Batrun, and Jubeil. In the south they settled as far as the Ibrahim River, which was named after the Christian worker Ibrahim.

Lebanese Maronites were headed by Juhanna Marun (died circa 707) who is traditionally considered to be the first patriarch of the independent Maronitic Church. The life of Juhanna Marun is a little better known than his predecessor ascetic Marona Juhanna Marun (or Marun Juhanna) is from the village of Sarum (now Sarmasniya) somewhere in the mountains of EsSuvaydiya that is halfway between Antakia (Antioch) and St. Marun monastery. His name is mentioned by the 11th century Maronite historian Istiphan ad-Douvaikhi (circa 1629-1704). Marun Juhanna was turned into the bishop of El Batrun circa 676 and became the patriarch of Maronites and, Antioch and the entire East' circa 685-686 His residence was in the village of Kofr-Hai. Marun Juhanna is assumed to have been the military leader of the Lebanese home guards. The guards destroyed the army of Byzantine emperor Justinian II at Amjun where they entered the land. Information about Marun Juhanna is contained basically in the historic works of Maronites, which were created many centuries after his lifetime. As the source of information seems inconsistent the ascetic Marona (IV -V centuries) and Patriarch Marun Juhanna (VII- VIII c.) are sometimes thought to be one and the same person or they are just taken one for another. In the meantime in VI-X centuries many Syrian Christians whatever religious ways they were would have the name of Marun which if assuming the etymological method of F. Hitti where Maro is 'a little lord', may just be the Syrian analogue of the Greek name Cyril.

The estrangement mentioned as early as in the 8!h century between Maronitic and Orthodox Greek Churches also came out in the dogmatic sphere. Most historians believe that the final organizational separation of Maronites was aggravated by their monophelitic adherence. In this believing, they support it with the chronicles of Alexandrian Patriarch Evtichius (877-940), works of the Muslim historian Masudi (circa 950) and other materials. This theological doc- trine, which is a compromise between Monophystic and Orthodox Greek teaching, was submitted by the Patriarch of Constantinople Sergius in the early 7th Century under the assistance of the Byzantine emperor Iraclius I, the patron of St. Marun monastery near Apamea. Monophelitic suggested admitting the existence of single power in Christ besides His Godly and human natures. However monophelism was denied both by monophysites and most Orthodox. The 6! World religious convention in 680-681 AD condemned monophelitism as heresy.

All the Maronitic historiographers from Jibrail Ibn al-Kilai (died 1516) to our con- temporary Boutrus Dau in a categorical form denounce the accusation of Maronites in their initial monophelism or any other deviation from the Rome's doctrines persistently defending the provision of "a true orthodox character" of the Marons community. There is no historic evidence, which cannot be interpreted by the Maronitic orthodox hard-liners in many ways including elaborations or denials. The initial stage of the Maronitic history, which lacks in some consistent source of information serves to nurture the idealization of clerical and civilian history of Maronites as well as the myth of 'the truest orthodoxy' of the community and of the consistent independence of Maronites.

As a matter of fact, the Maronitic Church is one of the trends of the Syrian Christianity and it has much in common with its Western (Jacobitic) and Eastern (Nestorian) linkage in terms of ritual practices. Maronitic liturgy is performed in the Syrian dialect of the Aramaic language and with some minor exception is identical to that of Jacobites. Including some items of clothing of Maronitic and Jacobitic clergy. In the East Christian tradition Maronitic clergy may marry. As for fundamental clerical dogma, Maronitic historians say of many-repeated deviation of high communal clergy from formal canons. In 1089 Tuma the bishop of Kafr-Taba, the center of the Aleppic diocese, he supported monophelitic ideas as he wrote in his work 'Ten theses' that has lived up to the day. Ibn al-Kilai says that in the 13lh century even Maronitic Patriarch Luke 'fell' into Jacobitism. Later in the history Maronites repeatedly fell under the influence of Jacobites. Some of them, Bayadiya, went for Muslims customs and traditions, and probably broke away with Christianity. Now it is obvious that the thesis of 'truest orthodoxy' of Maronites has no leg to stand in case one should delve into their own historiography. As a matter of fact, this thesis was submitted in the 16lh century when the Patriarch of Maronites was working towards Vatican ' s line to strengthen his Church. This work is highly appreciated and defended very ardently by hard liners in the Maronitic community nowadays as well as by some European Catholic scholars.

The thesis of a special 'Mardaitic' origin of Lebanese Maronites is a very important part of their classical historical conception.

In wars with Muslims the Byzantine Empire was always supported by Christian squads which successfully operated on the Arab frontier or and in the Muslims rear. Byzantine chronicles have these Christians under the name of Mardaitai while Syrian books render them as Marada. The Muslim Arab historian Al Balasuri (91h c.) mentions some very militant Dzharadjima, and Arab-Christian chronicler Agapius (Mahbub) of Manbidzha (ldh c.) tells of Haranika operating in the Lebanese mountains. Istiphan ad-Douvajkhi used to identify Mardaites with Maronites, as he suggested" Byzantians called all the Lebanese population 'Marada, (rebel in Syrian), and if so, he saw another proof for them to be 'truest orthodox' people. G. Lamens found it possible to identify 'Dzharadjma' of Arab authors with 'Marada' of Syrians.

Identification of the synonims 'Ma-radites-Marada- Dzharadjima- Maronites ' is never supported by consistent proofs and if that is the case it was largely criticized in the writings. Nevertheless this assumption is taken for granted in virtually every Maronitic essay so that it has become the ultimate truth for every Maronite these days.

Trying to avoid equality between different groups of Christians mentioned in the chronicles, one can assert that the Maronitic community was formed not only due to convergence of autochthonous Lebanese population with Aramaic settlers from Northern Syria, but also due to participation of many other separate ethnic elements like those cited in the writings as 'Haranika', 'Dzharadjima', 'Madaites' (maybe of some Iranian descent), 'Gargumaye', etc. In other words, groups of Christians who from time to time had found shelter in the Lebanese mountains.

As a matter of fact, it took Maronites a few centuries before they came and settled down in Lebanon. It is known that Maronites had in 8 to l0th c. churches and monasteries in and around Antaki, Khaleb, Manbidge, Maarret-en-Nuuman, Khomsa, Khama, Damask, etc. The Maronite Feofil ibn Thuma of Edessa (died in 785 AD), who was physician, astrologist, historian and the Greek language expert, made the translation of Homers 'Iliad' into Syrian. Masudi writes about the Maronite Kayce who compiled the world history book with dates up to the ruler calif AI-Muktafi (902-908 AD). Despite a vast area of Maronites habitation in Syria Masudi thinks the mountainous Lebanon (Jebel Libnan) was the center of their habitation.

The history of Lebanese Maronites in 9 to 11th c.c. is yet to be studied. The archives; still are to be investigated as they at best just give simple facts and listings of Patriarchs or leaders. One of the investigators makes a sort of exclamation as if in a polemical dispute, 'During the period in question it seems like Maronite knew no history of their own!'.

The Maronitic community was not given, an impetus to continue until Crusaders made their raids. That was the time Maronites started to build new contacts and cooperation beyond their traditional area of habitation.

Conclusion

The Maronitic community of Lebanon is an ethno-confessional group, which exists within the basic ethos, and which is found isolated due to its religious norms.

In the Middle East self-isolation tendency for ethno-confessional groups was classically continued in a system of autonomous religious communities (millets) with an authority to deal with matters in a very wide range from clerical to domestic. The millet system was finally formed in the time of Osman empire, which itself was a hierarchy of millets with the Sunitic community at the top.

Despite religious differences millets were built along a similar social scheme. The social economic separation of millets was augmented not only by their household traditions, but also by their landownership relations where K. Marx saw 'the authentic key to the Eastern Skies'.

The theologian in the Middle East pictured the millet as a kind of universal institution, which will embrace social, ethnic, civil, and religious functions altogether. This poly-functional feature of the millet is represented in its terms. One of them (Turkish 'millet', Arabic 'millja') denotes both the autonomous religious community and the nation as well. On the other hand it identifies religious and ethnic relations. Another term ('taifa') primarily denotes some specific social functions of the community. A third term ('umma') focuses on the ideological aspects of the religious community. In the modern Arab social and political lexicon this word 'umma' also denotes the idea of 'nation'.

Replacement of ethnic relations by religious has brought about idealistic conceptions of a 'religious people’, which as a matter of fact hindered formation of the ethnic identity of the population in the Middle East.

Isolation amidst aliens urged the leaders of ethnic-confessional communities to look and build contacts with really or seemingly religious communities of the same belief. Having concluded in the unity with Rome Maronites began to look to Catholics in Europe as their 'brothers in faith’. Especially they went to cooperate with the French King's subjects. In the Maronitic chronicles Juhanna Maruna is allegedly called the niece to Carl the Great while many notables among Maronites claim to be closely relative to crusaders. Falsification of genealogical family trees within ethno-confessional groups was quite typical as it was aimed at strengthening the commonness of religion with the commonness of descent. In the case of Maronites the 'frankish' roots of Juhanna Maruna accounted for inclusion of the entire Maronitic group as members of a wider confessional community (Catholics of France). Sometimes it brought the smaller group to identify itself with another bigger ethos, which might cause some weakening or total destruction of former ethnic relations.

The communal consciousness is the most important tool for preservation of any ethno-confessional community as a single or self-contained social group. Idealization of the community's past is the prerequisite of the Maronitic communal self-consciousness. Its historic conception stems from the following ascertains, I) Mardaitic origin of Maronites, 2) 'initial orthodoxy' of the community, and its steady relation with Roman Church, 3) the importance of Maronitic participation in the social and political life of Lebanon since Fahrad-Din Maan (17th c.). By way of analysis it turns out that the chronicles contain information partially accepted by some Western scholars though that looks critically inconsistent. As a matter of fact, many ethnic elements participated in formation of the Maronitic community as well as of the entire Lebanese population. The Maronitic chronicles deny the thesis of ‘the initial Orthodoxy’ as well. The Maronitic Patriarch had a very complicated relationship with Rome in 12 through 17th cc. Although this relationship came to a steady fix in 1736, some rifts have been between Rome and the Maronitic Church till recently. The role of Maronites in emirate Man and Shihab is considerably exaggerated in the community's historiography for the Maronitic North (besides Kisra- van) was incorporated into the emirate only in the second half of the 18th century, but the influence of this community began to show within the emirate only at the turn of 19th century. On the whole, despite the traditional external form the Maronitic historiographies found flexible adaptations of their historic conception to varying conditions with exaggerations, chronological displacement and sometimes even garbled versions. Reconstruction of the basic historic phases of the Maronitic community in Lebanon will help one get rid of the influence from the Maronitic 'historic myth' and specify some aspects of ethnic and political history of Lebanon as well as the ethno-confessional history of the entire Eastern Mediterranean region.

Following the idealistic conception of the 'religious nation' the clerical authority of the Maronitic community artificially constructs ethnic features for Maronites, namely general origin (Phenician-Mardaitic), specific language (Syrian), separate territory (Lebanon). In between 14-18th cc. Maronite took to the Arab language but their relation with Lebanon might have been broken off as early as in the 17th c. after the fall of Fahrad-Din, when Maronites intended to leave the country.

Until recently there have been attempts to prove the 'non-Arab descent' of Maronites while the antonym' Arab' still has some confessional (Islamic) meaning for apart of Lebanese people. As this term is becoming more secular, some Maronitic leaders begin to admit the Arab character of Lebanon and the communal leanings to the Arab culture.

Focusing on a considerable cultural community of Maronites with other confessional groups of Lebanese Arabs, it is necessary to notice that specifics of this ethno-confessional group were mainly due to concrete social and historic conditions.

Lebanese peasants of all confessions ob- serve one and the same agricultural calendar every year and work the ground by similar methods and tools. Members of different confessional groups generally have similar casual dress and regular lodging, simple food (except the food banned for Muslims) and shared household. Despite some certain differences of family and marriage norms, their practices as a matter of fact are identical in all Lebanese communities. For ex- ample marriage between cousins is typical among Maronites as well although it is for- bidden by the Church.

Confessional differences above all manifest themselves in rituals and custom, ideology, traditional self-consciousness, political and cultural orientation. Ethno-confessional groups in the Middle East preserved some household features typical of the pre- Islamic period. Christian Uniatic communities oriented towards Western culture turned out to be more open to innovations as they did not have to decide between Western cultural innovations and Islamic orthodoxy just like Muslims did. As a matter of fact a specific combination of new and old in the field of religious and material aspects of any ethno-confessional group life is what makes all of them differ from the basic ethos.

However not every confessional group within one solid ethos can be ethno-confessional. For this one should have a high level of self-consciousness and a steady tradition of knowing a specific religion and idealizing its past, which is correlated with a certain geographical area as the 'original birthplace' for the ethno-confessional group. For example, Orthodox Greek Arabs do not hold the status of an ethno-confessional group as they come into a bigger poly-ethnic confessional community without territorial linkage. The ethno-confessional group cannot be just attributed to a sectarian group as the weakening of the confessional factor sometimes does not (or never at once) leads to the integration proper with the basic ethos. There are many Lebanese people who were converted to another confession or gave up their religious beliefs but who may continue to identify themselves with former ethno- confessional groups or they are identified this way by others.

The fall of the entire Lebanese population into some confessional groups which until recently have preserved their endogamy and other social barriers will hinder the consolidation of the Lebanese society.

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From the Editorial Board:

When you have M. Rodionov's book to read, you should be aware that his monograph came out in the USSR in 1982. Therefore some author's positions carry somewhat tendentious and pro-Arab influence. It was undoubtfuly connected with the ruling communistic regime which then supported Arab countries and held Christian communities of Lebanon as pro-Israelie, in other words, very hostile to the communistic ideas and its 'cause in the Middle East. The 'Meltha' Editorial staff will try to find out the current stance of. the author and submit it to the public at large in the forthcoming issues.