BCAR0NITS8
684
MABONmS
b not the temporal head of his nation, and has no
agent at the Sublime Porte, the Maronites being, to-
gether with the other Uniat communities, represented
by the Vakeel of the Latins. Outside of the Lebanon
they are entirely subject to the Turks; in these regions
the bishops — e. g. the Archbishop of Beirut — must
obtain their b&raif in default of which they would have
no standing with the civil government, and could not
sit in the provincial councU.
iike the other Catholic conmiunities of the Turidsh Empire, the Maronites are under the protection of France, but in their case the protectorate is combined with more cordial relations dating from the connexion between this pec^le and the French as early as the twelfth century. This cordiality has been strength- ened by numerous French interventions, from the Capitulations of Francis I to the campaign of 1861, and bv the wide diffusion of the French language and french culture, thanks to the numerous establish- ments in the Lebanon under the direction of French missionaries— Jesuits, Lazarists, and religious women of different orders. It is impossible to foresee what dianges will be wrought in the situation of the Maron- ites, national and international, by the accession to power of the " Young Turks ".
B. The Maronite Church. — ^The Maronite Church is divided into nine dioceses: Gibail and Batrun (60,000 souls); Beirut and one part of the Lebanon (50,000); Tyre and Sidon (47,000); Baalbek and Kesraouan (40,000) ; Tripoli (35,000). Cyprus and another part of the Lebanon (30,000); Damascus and Hauran (26,- 000) ; Aleppo and CiUcia (5000) ; Egypt (7000) . The last-named diocese is under a vicar patriarchal, who also has charge of the Maronite communities in foreign parts — Leghorn, Marseilles, Paris — and particularly those m America
(1) The Patriarch.— The official title is Patriarcha Anliochenua Maronitarum, The Maronite patriarch shares the title of Antioch with three other CathoUo patriarchs — ^the Melchite, the Syrian Catholic, and the Latin (titular) — one schismatical (Orthodox), and one heretical (Syrian Jacobite). The question will be considered later on, whether, apart trom the conces- sion of the Holy See. the Maronite patriarch can allege historical right to the title of Antioch. Since the ^- teenth century his traditional residence has been the cloLstcr of St. Mary of Kandbin, where are the tombs c^ the patriarchs. In winter he resides at Bkerke, be- low Beirut, in the district of Kesraouan. He himself administers the Diocese of Gibail-Batrun, but with the assistance of the titular Bishops of St-Jean d'Acre, Tarsus, and Nazareth, who also assist him in the gen- eral administration of the patriarchate. He has the right to nominate others, and there are also several patriarchal vicars who are not bishops. The patri- arch is elected by the Maronite bishops, usually on the ninth day after the see has been declared vacant. He must be not less than forty years of age, and two- thirds of the whole number of votes are required to elect him. On the next day the enthronization takes place, and then the solemn benediction of the newly elected patriarch. The proceedings of the assembly are transmitted to Rome ; the pope may either approve or disapprove the election; if he approves, he sends the paUium to the new patriarch; if not, he quashes the acts of the assemblv and is free to name a candidate of his own choice. The chief prerogatives of the patri- arch are: to convoke national councils; to choose and consecrate bishops; to hear and judge charges against bishops; to visit dioceses other than his own once in every three years. He blesses the holy oils and dis- tributes them to the clergy and laity; he grants indul- gences, receives the tithes and the taxes for dispensa- tions, and may accept legacies, whether personal or for the Church. Before 1736 he received fees for ordina- tions and the blessing of holy oils; this privilege being suppressed, Benedict XIV substituted for it permi»-
sion to receive a subndiwn cariiaHvum. The difltino*
tive insignia of the patriarch are the masnqfld (a form
of head-dress), the phaind (a kind of cape or cope), the
orarion (a kind of pallium), the tiara, or mitre (other
bishops wear only tbe orarion and the mitre), the pa^
toral staff surmounted with a cross, and, in the littin
fashion, the pastoral ring and the pectoxul croaB. To
sum upj the Maronite patriarch exercises over his sub-
jects, virtually, the authority of a metropolitan. He
himself is accountable only to the pope and the Con-
gregation of Propaganda; he is bound to make his
visit ad Zimtna only once in every ten jrears. The
e resent (1910) occupant of the patriarchal throne is [gr. Elias Hoysk, elected in 1899.
(2) The Episcopate. — ^The bisKops are nominated by the patriarch. The title of Archbishop (metropoli- tan), attached to the Sees of Aleppo, Beirut, Damas- cus, Tyre and Sidon, and Tripoli, is purelv honorary. A bishop without a diocese resides at Elhcien. It has been said above that the patriarch nominates a certain number of titular bishops. The bishop, besides his spiritual functions, exercises, especially outside of the Vilayet of the Lebanon, a judicial and civil jurisdio- tion.
The bishops are assisted by chorepiscopL archdea- cons, economi, and periodeutes (baraiU). The chore- piscopus visits, and can also consecrate, churches. The chorepiscopus of the episcopal residence occupies the first place in the cathearal in the absence of the oishop. The periodeutes, as his name indicates, is a kind of vicar f orane who acts for the bishop in the inspection of the rural clergy. The economus is the bishop's co- adjutor for the administration of church property and the episcopal mensa.
(3) The Clergy. — Of the 300 parishes some are ^ven b^ the bishops to regulars, others to seculan. Priests without parishes are celibate and dependent on the patriarch. The others are married — ^that is to say, they marry while in minor orders, but cannot many a second time. There are about 1100 secular j^riests and 800 regulars. The education of the clergy is car- ried on in five patriarchal and nine diocesian seminar- ies. Many study at Rome, and a great number in Firance, thanks to the CEuvre de St Louis" and the burses supported by the French Government.^ The intellectual standard of the Maronite clergy is de- cidedly higher than that of the schismatical and hereti- cal clergy who surround them. The married priests of the rural parishes are often very simple men, stfll more often tney are far from well-to-do, living almost exclusively on the honoraria received for Masses and the presents of farm produce given them by the ooim- try people. Most oi them have to eke out these re- soiurces by cultivating their little portions of land or engaging m some modest industry.
(4) The Religious. — These number about 2000, of whom 800 are priests. They all observe the rule known as that ot St. Anthony, but are divided into three congregations: the oldest, that of St. Anthony, or of Eliseus, was approved in 1732. It was aftcn> wards divided into Aleppines and peasants, or Bala- dites, a division approved by Clement XIV in 1770. In the meantime another Antonian congregation had been founded, under the patronage of la&ias, and ap- proved in 1740. The Aleppines have 6 monasteries; ihe Isaians, 13 or 14; the Baladites, 25. The Alep- pines have a procurator at Rome, residing near S. Pie- tro in Vincon. The lay brothers give themselves up to manual labour; the priests, to intellectual, with the care of souls, having charge of a great many parishes. The monastic habit consists of a black tunic and a gir- dle of leather, a cowl, mantle, and sandals. — ^There are also seven monasteries, containing about 200 relijgioius, under a rule founded by a former Bishop of A&ppo. At Aintoura, also, there are some Maronite sisters fol- lowing the Salesian Rule.
(5) Tlie Liturgy. — The Maronite is a Syrian Rite,
