John Maron

Saint John Maron
Maronite Patriarch of Antioch
Born 628
Sirmaniyah or Sarmin, present Syria
Died 707
Kfarhy, near Batroun, Lebanon
Venerated in Maronite Church
Roman Catholic Church
Canonized pre-congregation
Feast March 2

John Maron (Arabic: يوحنا مارون‎, Youhana Maroun; Latin: Ioannes Maronus) (born in 628 in Sirmaniyah or Sarmin, present Syria – died in 707 in Kfarhy, Lebanon), was a Syriac monk, and the first Maronite Patriarch. He is revered as a saint by the Maronite and Roman Catholic Churches, and is commemorated on March 2. He died and was buried in Kfarhy near Batroun, in Lebanon, where a shrine is dedicated to him.

Early life

John was born in Sarum, a town located south of the city of Antioch.[1] He was the son of Agathon and Anohamia. He was called John the Sarumite since his father was governor of Sarum. His paternal grandfather, Prince Alidipas, was the nephew of Carloman, a Frankish Prince, and governed Antioch. John was educated in Antioch and the Monastery of Saint Maron, studying mathematics, sciences, philosophy, theology, philology and scripture. He became a monk at the monastery, adding the name Maron to his own.

John studied Greek and patrology in Constantinople.[1] Returning to Saint Maron's, he wrote on such diverse topics as teaching, rhetoric, the sacraments, management of Church property, legislative techniques, and liturgy. He composed the Eucharistic Prayer which still bears his name. As a young priest he engaged himself in ecumenical debates with the Monophysites. Noted as a teacher and preacher, he explained the doctrine of the Council of Chalcedon (which focused on the nature of Jesus as both God and human), wrote a series of letters to the faithful against Monothelitism which Beit-Marun had adopted, and then travelled Syria to explain the heresy.

The first Maronite Patriarch

The Patriarch of Antioch, Anastasius II was martyred in 609. With the ongoing Byzantine–Sasanian War and general unrest in the area, Constantinople began to appoint a series of titular patriarchs.[2] Maronite sources give the date of John Maron's election to Patriarch of Antioch and All the East as 685.[2] John received the approval of Pope Sergius I, and became the first Maronite Patriarch.

Works

John Maron works are in Syriac:

  • On Faith
  • Questions to the Monophysites

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Life of St. John Maron", St John Maron Catholic Church Maronite Rite
  2. 1 2 El-Hāyek, Elias. "Struggle for Survival: The Maronites of the Middle Ages", Conversion and Continuity, (Michael Gervers and Ramzi Jibran Bikhazi, eds.), Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1990 ISBN 9780888448095

Sources

  • Michael Breydy: Johannes Maron. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Band 3, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, ISBN 3-88309-035-2, Sp. 480–482.
  • Siméon Vailhé, «Origines religieuses des Maronites», Échos d'Orient, t. IV, 1900-1901, n° 2, p. 96-102, et n° 3, p. 154-162.
  • Michel Breydy, Jean Maron. Expose de la foi et autres opuscules. Syr. 209. CSCO (Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium), Bd. 407, Peeters, Louvain 1988
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
?		 Maronite Patriarchs of Antioch
?–707		 Succeeded by
Cyrrus
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