Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches

All Catholics share three important things:

• Apostolic Faith
• Mysteries/Sacraments
• Unity with Pope (Successor of Peter)

All Catholics believe the same truths of the faith yet worship differently. One could say they share the same essence of faith, but have a different expression of that faith. Each Church embraces its own culture and tradition to express her faith in Jesus the Risen Lord.

Within the Catholic Church there are 22 autonomous churches, each of which follows one of the 6 major Rites.

Each of the Catholic Churches:

• Encompasses a unique liturgy, theology, spirituality and discipline;
• Is characterized by Her own cultural and linguistic tradition;
• Is guided by a Patriarch, Major Archbishop, Metropolitan or other Hierarch, who along with their Synod of Bishops are in full communion with the Pope, the Successor of Saint Peter in Rome.

Each Catholic Church practices a common faith according to one of the six major traditions. The Maronite Church follows the Antiochene Tradition. She has her own hierarchy composed of a Patriarch who is Her father and head, and over forty Bishops who shepherd the many Eparchies (Dioceses) in Lebanon, the Middle East and throughout the world. The Patriarch governs the Church in a synodal manner with his body of bishops as is customary in the Eastern Churches.

All the churches of the Catholic Church are one by their unity in faith, mysteries (Sacraments) and hierarchy. Each church of the Catholic Church has its own specific form of liturgy, theology, spirituality and law.

As Christians went forth from Jerusalem they encountered different traditions, cultures, customs and languages, soon the Church became a communion of Churches united in love with each other, looking to the See of Peter in Rome as the first among them all. The Gospel of Christ has reached the four corners of the world.

Jesus prayed for their unity, “that they all may be one” (John 17:21). For Catholics united with the Pope in Rome, there is already an amazing unity even within the reality of cultural diversity. The Catholic Church, comprised of 21 Eastern Churches and 1 Western Church, is a communion of Churches, with the Pope as the visible head, “gathered in the one spirit, breathing as though with two lungs - of the east and of the west - and burning with the love of Christ in one heart - having two ventricles.” (Sacri Canones; Pope John Paul II)

The Eastern Catholic Churches are autonomous, self-governing (in Latin, sui iuris) particular churches in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. Together with the Latin Church, they compose the worldwide Universal Catholic Church (Catholic means Universal).

EASTERN CATHOLIC CHURCHES

There are six major traditions of the Catholic Church:

• Alexandrian
• Antiochene
• Armenian
• Chaldean
• Constantinopolitan (Byzantine)
• Latin (Roman)

Acts 11:26

“It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians” (Acts 11:26)

The Maronite Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church that has its roots in the church of Antioch which was founded by Saint Peter and Saint Paul.  It was in Antioch where Jesus' followers "were called Christians for the first time"- Acts 11:26.   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 East and West sections. The Maronite Bishop of the Western Eparchy located in St. Louis, Missouri, who is our Bishop, is the Most Reverend Elias Zaidan.  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).

His Holiness Pope John Paul II expressed in his encyclical letter Let Them Be One: "the Church breathes with her two lungs", the Eastern and Western. (Number 54). (May 25, 1995).