John Maron
Syriac Maronite bishop and saint
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John Maron (Arabic: يوحنا مارون, Youhana Maroun; Latin: Ioannes Maronus; Syriac: ܝܘܚܢܢ ܡܪܘܢ; 628, Sirmaniyah or Sarmin, Byzantine Empire – 707, Kfarhy), was a Syriac monk. and the first Maronite Patriarch. He is revered as a saint by the Catholic Church, especially the Maronite Church, and is commemorated on March 2. He died and was buried in Kfarhy near Batroun, in Lebanon, where a shrine is dedicated to him.[1]
Sirmaniyah or Sarmin, Byzantine Empire (Modern-day Syria)
Kfarhy, near Batroun
- Catholic Church (especially Maronite Church)
John Maron | |
|---|---|
| |
| Maronite Patriarch of Antioch | |
| Born | 628 Sirmaniyah or Sarmin, Byzantine Empire (Modern-day Syria) |
| Died | 707 Kfarhy, near Batroun |
| Venerated in |
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| Canonized | Pre-congregation |
| Feast | March 2 |
Jérôme Labourt, writing in the Catholic Encyclopedia says that John Maron's "very existence is extremely doubtful ... if he existed at all, it was as a simple monk".[2] French theologian Eusèbe Renaudot similarly held doubts regarding John Maron's existence.[2] Other scholarship has assessed John Maron as having existed and served as Maronite Patriarch when invasions by Byzantine emperor Justinian II were repulsed and the Maronite people gained a greater degree of political independence.[3][4]
Early life
According to tradition, John was born in Antioch, and entered the convent of Saint Maron, adopting the monastic name Yohanon Moroun. Eventually, either in 685[5] or between 687 and 701[6] he declared himself as Patriarch of Antioch for the Maronite community, which held to the teachings of the Council of Chalcedon but rejected later councils, maintaining Monothelitism.[7] This brought him into conflict with both the Byzantine empire and the Syriac Miaphysites to the east.[6] John is thought to have died in 707.[8]
Works
While true authorship is contested, the Maronite Church holds that John Maron composed three works in Syriac: one about general spirituality and faith, the other against Jacobites, and another against Nestorians.[citation needed]
