The Christian Churches of the East: the Maronites
The Maronite Church has a long tradition behind it since its foundation dates back to the first centuries of Christianity; in fact, it owes its name to St. Maron, who lived in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, linked to the Patriarchate of Antioch, and committed to a profoundly evangelical way of life that prompted him and his immediate followers to take a stand in the Christological controversies on which the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451) intervened, establishing the dual nature in one person. From Maron's legacy thus began a tradition that, even before the arrival of the Muslims, with the conquest of much of the Byzantine Empire, had to face persecution and pressure from local communities that refused to recognize the Council of Chalcedon, so much so that the first Maronites were forced to move to the innermost parts of today's Lebanon....
