Saint John Maroun
Origin of St. John Maron
John Maron was born in Sarum, a prosperous town located south of the city of Antioch.John’s early schooling was in Antioch. He continued his higher learning at the Monastery of St. Maron where he mastered mathematics, sciences, philosophy, theology, linguistics, and Sacred Scripture. It was at the Monastery of St. Maron where he professed his monastic vows and was ordained to the priesthood. Adopting a monastic name as was the tradition, he chose the name of the Monastery, thus the name John Maron.
John Maron went to Constantinople where he learned Greek and studied patrology and its spirituality. He taught and preached the dogma of the Catholic Church according to the Council of Chalcedon, which proclaimed that in Christ there are two natures human and divine.
As a young priest, he engaged himself in ecumenical debates with the Monophysites. He traveled all over Syria and around Antioch where he lectured and defended the Chalcedonian Dogma. He visited parishes and monasteries explaining the Divine and the Human Natures in Christ.
Such a treasure could not have been hidden for long. John Maron’s spiritual zeal, loyalty to Catholic teaching, caring for the needy, and leadership led him to a special calling whereby he would serve the church on a loftier level. Prince Eugene of France, with his French colony in Antioch urged the Apostolic Delegate to consecrate John Maron a bishop to perpetuate the teaching of the Council of Chalcedon and to protect the Church from the attacks of heretics.. John Maron was consecrated as a bishop in 676 A.D. He was sent to Mount Lebanon.
The obedience of John Maron to the Church of Rome and his love for his Antiochene heritage enabled him to ascend to the See of Antioch—a became the Patriarch of Antioch.
The new patriarch traveled to Rome to receive papal approval. Pope Sergius confirmed him as “Patriarch of Antioch and all the East,” and gave him the Pallium as a sign of hierarchical succession and supreme authority. Since Pope Sergius was from the Church of Antioch and knew John Maron personally, he bestowed upon the new Patriarch a miter, a crosier, and a pectoral cross. John Maron returned to Antioch with great fanfare, and with royal ceremony, he was installed as the first Maronite Patriarch in the most ancient See of the Catholic Church. This period marked a golden page in the history of the Maronite Church spiritually, politically, and militarily.
He died in Kefar-Hay in 707 A.D. He was buried in the monastery of “Reesh Moran.” His feast day was commemorated on February 9, but later it was moved to March 2.
May his prayers intercede for us and may his memory be always with us.
Amen.