The origin of all Christianity can be seen in chapter 2 of the Acts of the Apostles. After the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, they began to preach about Christ and His resurrection. Following the martyrdom of St Stephen, the early Christians fled to the cities of Antioch, Phoenicia, Samaria and elsewhere.
Antioch was the preeminent city in the Roman Empire with the largest Jewish school outside of Palestine. It was in Antioch where Saints Peter and Paul were credited with the founding of the Church. There, the early Christians were warmly received by their fellow Jews and so was the Gospel message they were preaching.
Other Apostles went to Macedonia, Armenia, India and to the four corners of the known world. When preaching about Jesus, they went first to their fellow Jews and to their synagogues. Like Paul, they were often well received and were provided the kindling for the start of the new Churches.
As the Church spread, it accepted and adapted to the many different cultures while retaining what was consistent with the Gospel message; it took on the people's languages and mind sets.
The Church of Antioch was heavily semitic and retained more Jewish customs than any of the other Churches. It was there that the term “Christian” and “Catholic” were first used. Their theology (approach to God) used typology and poetry to express the hiddenness of God.
The emphasis of the Roman Empire on laws impacted the Church in Rome
( Western Christianity ) and its stress on laws. While the Greeks were the first creators of philosophy, the Church there was influenced to use and think in philosophical terms. The cultures in India and Ethiopia influenced their Churches in terms of chanting, religious art and approach to God.
The Maronite Church
The Maronite Church is one of the Eastern Antiochen Churches. It has its own hierarchy composed of the Patriarch and over forty Bishops who shepherd the many Eparchies (Dioceses) in Lebanon, the Middle East and throughout the world and is governed by a synodal of bishops as is customary in the Eastern Churches ( See Decree on the Catholic Eastern Churches, Vatican II Council)
The Maronite Church is one of several Eastern Churches in communion with Rome and has been Catholic for two thousand of years. The actual name "Maronite" is taken from the name of Saint Maron, who was a priest and hermit, and died around the year 410 A.D.
Being a part of the Universal Catholic Church, we, Maronites, profess the same Faith, believe in the same Dogmatic and Moral teachings, and celebrate the same seven Sacraments. Our liturgical celebrations are more unique and reflect our early Apostolic beginnings. For example, in some parts of the Liturgy, we continue to use Syriac, a dialect of the Aramaic language spoken by Jesus and his Apostles.
During the civil and religious persecutions of Christians in the 7th century, the Maronites fled their churches and monasteries in the plains of Syria, and took refuge in the mountains and caves of nearby Lebanon. Since then, Lebanon has been considered to be the homeland of the Maronite Church.
Millions of Maronites now live in various countries throughout the world, but their Mother Church remains in Lebanon. The current Patriarch, Bechara Peter Rai, was made a Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI, in 2012. Cardinal Rai lives at the Maronite Patriarchal residence in Bkerke, Lebanon.
The United States is home to two Maronite Eparchies (Dioceses) divided into West and East sections. The Most Reverend Bishop Elias Zaidan is Bishop of the Western Eparchy located in Los Angeles and the Most Reverend Gregory Mansour is Bishop of the Eastern Eparchy located in Brooklyn, New York. Both Bishop Zaidan and Bishop Mansour are members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).