MARON THE HERMITE IN SYRIA

On February 27, the penultimate day of winter in a non-leap year, the Orthodox Church commemorates the memory of St. Maron the Hermit. He was one of the few saints who are referred to as the Founding Fathers of monastic life. Like Anthony the Great or Pachomius in Egypt, Hilarion in Gaza, Sabbas in Palestine, and Benedict in Europe, Maron started a special, unique, and great ascetic tradition that is still alive today. The pioneers of monasticism as a separate category of holiness. Maron was a child of Syrian Christianity, whose influence on the Orthodox Church is surprisingly great, but is still being studied, since even we in the 21st century do not know everything. Like the Apostle Thomas in India and Saint Gregory, the Enlightener of Armenia, Abba Maron is the only holy hermit whose name in Lebanon has become the self-designation of an entire Christian people.

1 Information about Saint Maron has been preserved for us by the ancient teacher of the Church, Theodoret of Cyrus (393–457), in his Syrian Paterikon, “The Philotheos historia” or “A History of the Monks of Syria.” The year of its writing is considered to be 444. It was then that Cyril of Alexandria, the chief adversary of Theodoret among the Church Fathers, died. Most likely, it was thanks to Cyril and his influence that Theodoret’s theological reputation was dealt such a blow that he was not destined to be included in the “pantheon” of Orthodox saints. “Religious History” is a collection of stories about more than thirty Syrian ascetics, many of whom the author knew personally.

2 All these Syrian ascetics, from James of Nisibis (+350) to the Venerable Domnina (450-460), are gradually, day by day, with short breaks, commemorated in the Orthodox liturgical calendar between January 26 and March 14, in the churches of the Julian calendar, on the eve of Great Lent. Ignorance of this shows how little we, Orthodox Christians of the postmodern era, know about our own tradition and how little we honor the saints. In the language of our era, the names of ancient Syrian ascetics, whom almost no one knows today, literally fill the liturgical calendar in the penitential weeks. It would be an act of special piety to receive communion on the days of their commemoration, or at least to read in turn the lives of these venerable men and women. Without them, the history of Eastern Christianity, and therefore the history of Orthodoxy, and therefore the history of the entire Christian civilization and the entire world, would have been different.

3 The date of Maron’s birth is unknown to us, as is the year of his death. In his work, Theodoret wrote about him as already a revered saint. His relics were simply taken by force and transferred by the inhabitants of a neighboring village. A church was built over them, and later a monastery was established. Since his relics have been transferred, he writes, “we all receive his blessing even from a distance. Instead of a coffin, the memory of him is enough for us” (16.4).

4 Once upon a time, Maron settled on the top of one of the mountains, in a grove deified by pagans. Such profanation of sacred places of pagan worship was very characteristic of Syrian ascetics. Maron built himself a small hut covered with skins and used an idolatrous temple for Christian prayer. “Gathering the imperishable wealth of wisdom, he not only performed the usual labors of ascetics, but also invented new ones” (16:1). Theodoret calls him “Maron the Victorious.” This is a very important example of word usage, showing that the original use of the term “Victorious” in relation to saints did not refer to their military prowess, but to their victory over demons through martyrdom or asceticism.

5 Compared to Greek Christianity, Syrian Christianity was much less philosophical. Rooted in biblical texts, it drew its inspiration from prophetic images. Like Elijah, Elisha, and other biblical seers, Maron hid in caves and earthly abysses. People began to come to him in search of truth and healing. “Practicing such agriculture, he grew many fruits of wisdom and planted a garden for God” (16:3). The Lord granted the ascetic the gift of miracles, “fevers subsided under the dew of his blessing, convulsions ceased, demons fled, and various diseases were healed with a single remedy” (16:2). “For doctors usually apply the appropriate medicine to each disease, but the prayer of the saints is a universal medicine against all diseases,” writes Theodoret. The hermit built himself a hut. One of his disciples, named James, “deliberately exposed himself to all the changes of the weather: sometimes he was drenched by heavy rain, sometimes he was chilled by snow and frost.” People came to James not only and not so much for healing as for spiritual advice, or rather, inspiration. At that time, monasticism meant to inspire.

6 “Maron chose for himself the feats of a homeless life,” writes the famous Russian orthodox hagiographer, bishop Dimitry of Rostov. “Homeless saints” existed following the example of the Lord Jesus, who, according to His own words in the Gospel, had nowhere to lay His head (Luke 9:58). Perhaps the word “homeless” does not sufficiently convey the essence of this feat. Not only did they have no home, but they had no roof or any other shelter that could protect them. “My shelter is the Holy Spirit,” as stated in the prayer of another famous Orthodox ascetic, Saint Joannicius the Great (752-846).

7 The ascetics who received Maron’s teachings dispersed in different directions, some to found monasteries, others to perform special, new feats. “Maron healed not only physical illnesses, but also souls: he cured one of covetousness, another of anger, (…) in the fifth he rebuked intemperance, and in the sixth he awakened him from his unwillingness to live” (16.3). A monk, an ascetic, and, in essence, a biblical righteous man, Maron was also a man of sorrow. “Having endured many different ailments,” writes Dimitry of Rostov, “he departed from this life.” “Thus we learned the power of the soul and the weakness of the body,” writes Theodoret. Ancient monasticism did not seek to perpetuate its memory. Most of the information about the desert fathers has been preserved in ancient Paterikons. These reports are always fragmentary, sketchy, contain individual sayings of ascetics, recount their deeds, and, very often, their mistakes, falls, illnesses, and previous sins.

8 Saint Maron started a monastic tradition, which led to the creation of many monasteries centered around the main abbey. According to historical records, in its heyday, there were about 800 monks living there at the same time. The Church of Antioch at that time was a great and prosperous Church, whose influence extended to Palestine, Asia Minor, Cappadocia, and even Mesopotamia. Subsequently, with the emergence of Constantinople, the power of Antioch began to wane. The recognition of Jerusalem as an independent Patriarchate at the Fourth Ecumenical Council in 451 and the subsequent decline as a result of the Christological disputes of the 5th-6th centuries greatly weakened the Apostolic Metropolis. The Persian and Arab conquests at the beginning of the 7th century dealt it a terrible blow. During the period 609–629, the throne of Antioch was vacant. Then, from 637, in connection with the Arab conquest, the patriarchs resided in Constantinople. In 702–742, the See, once again abandoned, experienced forty years of widowhood.

9 It was at this time that the monks of the monasteries of Abba Maron elected the Patriarch of Antioch from among their ranks. In the following centuries, both the patriarchs and bishops of this spontaneously arising tradition came only from the monasteries of St Maron. This is where the name Maronite Church comes from. The Great Monastery as a church foundation, “conquering the hateful strife of this world,” as expressed by another medieval saint, also the founding father of monasticism, Sergius of Radonezh (1314–1392). It must be acknowledged that formally, such an independent appointment of a higher hierarch, even under force majeure circumstances, was not canonically normal. In addition, one of the modifications of the Monophysite heresy, marginal but historically significant, known as Monothelitism, was at some point in history accepted by this branch of Syrian Christianity. Subsequently, it was overcome through a theological agreement with the Church of Rome. The latter strictly adhered to the Orthodox Christology of the Council of Chalcedon, and therefore theological agreement with it on matters of Christology was a criterion of orthodoxy. In the Middle Ages, attempts were made to cast doubt on the holiness of the hermit. Of course, this did not succeed. Thus, Saint Maron almost shared the fate of Theodoret of Cyrus, who wrote about him. Due to the voluntary or involuntary ecclesiastical and dogmatic dissent of the Maronites, anachronistic attempts were made in the Middle Ages to question the sanctity of the hermit Maron. Of course, this was unsuccessful. Thus, Saint Maron for a while shared the fate of Theodoret of Cyrus, who wrote about him. Even from Heavenly Glory, he confessed what he preached. He was a brotherly beggar who shared the hardships of his brothers.