The Maronite Eparchy of Saint Maron of Montreal (in Latin: Eparchia Sancti Maronis Marianopolitana Maronitarum) is a

Maronite Church The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Th ...

ecclesiastical territory or

eparchy Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. In 2014 there were 87,900 baptized. It is currently ruled by Eparch Paul Marwan Tabet.

Territory and statistics

Its episcopal see is located in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, where is located the Saint-Maron Cathedral. Its jurisdiction embraces all Maronite Catholic faithful of the

in Canada. It is directly subject to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, not part of any ecclesiastical province. In 2014 there were 87,900 baptized. Its current

eparch Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...

is Paul Marwan Tabet, MLM. The territory is divided into 17 parishes and in 2014 had 87,900 Lebanese Maronite Catholics.

History

It was established by the

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on August 27, 1982 on territory previously without Ordinary for the particular church ''sui iuris''. Most of the faithful Maronites of the eparchy arrived in Canada in major immigration periods, from present-day

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

, between 1860 and 1914, 1930 and 1960, 1970 to 1980 and 1989 to 1991. The Maronites brought a rich culture to their new homeland and retained their religious affiliation in a traditionally Christian society which had become largely

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficien ...

. In 1985 was founded in the eparchy of Montréal the first Canadian Maronite monastery, Saint Anthony the Great on Ducharme Avenue in

Outremont Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by fran ...

in Quebec, belonged to the OLM.dayrna.ca
/ref> His former superior, Father Louis Hage was awarded by the Commemorative Medal for the 125th anniversary of Canada's Confederation on 13 April 1993.

Eparchs

Elias Shaheen Elias Shaheen or Elias Chahine (in Arabic الياس شاهين) (20 July 1914 in Ebrine, Lebanon – 5 December 1991) was the first bishop of the Maronite Church in Canada and in 1985 was appointed Archbishop of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of S ...

(Elias Chahine), first Bishop of Saint-Maron de Montréal of the Maronites (Canada) (27 August 1982 – 13 March 1985), then promoted ''ad personam''

Archbishop-Bishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

of Saint-Maron de Montréal of the Maronites (Canada) (13 March 1985 – 23 November 1990) * Georges Abi-Saber, O.L.M. (23 November 1990 – 7 February 1996), previously Eparch (Bishop) of

Latakia of the Maronites The Maronite Eparchy of Latakia or Latakia of the Maronites (in Latin: Eparchia Laodicenus Maronitarum) is a Maronite Church ecclesiastical territory or eparchy of the Catholic Church in Syria. , there were 35,000 members. The current eparch i ...

(Syria) (4 August 1977 – 2 May 1986),

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

Aradus ''Aradus'' is a genus of true bugs in the family Aradidae, the flat bugs. It is distributed worldwide, mainly in the Holarctic.Larivière, M. C. and A. Larochelle. (2006)An overview of flat bug genera (Hemiptera, Aradidae) from New Zealand, wit ...

(2 May 1986 – 23 November 1990), Patriarchal Vicar of

Antioch of the Maronites The Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch (in Latin: Patriarchatus Antiochenus Maronitarum) is the seat of the Patriarch of the Maronite Church. It is currently governed by the Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, OMM. The Maronite ...

(Lebanon) (2 May 1986 – 23 November 1990) * Joseph Khoury (11 November 1996 – 10 January 2013), previously Titular Bishop of Chonochora (29 April 1993 – 11 November 1996) * Paul Marwan Tabet, MLM (since 10 November 2013)

Extent

There are 80,000

Lebanese Maronites Lebanese Maronite Christians ( ar, المسيحية المارونية في لبنان; syc, ܡܫܝܚܝ̈ܐ ܡܪ̈ܘܢܝܐ ܕܠܒܢܢ) are adherents of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, which is the largest Christian denomination in the countr ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

alone, distributed into seventeen parishes and missions. The College of Antonin of the Lebanese Maronites is inside the Eparchy. He first built a monastery in the region in 1985 which is the Monastery of

Saint Anthony the Great Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...

on Ducharme Avenue in

. Saint Maron is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the eparchy. The Maronite Church of Saint-Georges du Mont Royal also attracts many Maronite worshipers in the region of

Parishes

''(by Canadian province) ;

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

*Our Lady of Peace, Calgary *Our Lady of Good Help, Edmonton ;

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

*St. Charbel, Ottawa *St. Charbel, Oldcastle *St. Charbel, Mississauga *St. Elias, London *Our Lady of Lebanon, Toronto *St. Anthony the Great, Leamington *St. Peter's, Windsor ;

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

*St. Charbel, Fredericton ;

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

*Our Lady of Lebanon, Halifax ;

*St. Maron Cathedral, Montréal *St. Antoine le Grand, Montréal *St. Rafqa, Longueuil *St. Joseph, Laval *Our Lady of Lebanon, Québec City ;

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

*Our Lady of Annunciation, Charlottetown

References

Sources and external links

Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron

Cathédrale Saint Maron - Montréal

Missa
{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Maron of Montreal, Maronite Diocese Lebanese-Canadian culture Maronite Catholic eparchies Eastern Catholic dioceses in Canada Organizations based in Montreal Christian organizations established in 1982 Religion in Quebec Dioceses established in the 20th century Middle Eastern-Canadian culture in Quebec 1982 establishments in Quebec