The Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Sydney (in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: Eparchia Sancti Maronis Sydneyensis Maronitarum) (sometimes spelt Maroun) is an overseas

Maronite rite The Maronite Church is an 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. The current head of the Maron ...

(

Antiochene rite Antiochene Rite or Antiochian Rite refers to the family of liturgies originally used by the Patriarchate of Antioch. Liturgies in the Antiochene Rite The Antiochian Rite, or the Antiochian Rite family, consists of Apostolic Liturgies includin ...

)

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 ...

(diocese) of the

Catholic Church in Australia The Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Holy See. From origins as a suppressed, mainly Irish minority in early colonial times, the church has grown ...

, based in Sydney. In 2010 there were 160,000 members. It is currently ruled by Eparch Antoine-Charbel Tarabay,

OLM The olm or proteus (''Proteus anguinus'') is an aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae, the only exclusively cave-dwelling chordate species found in Europe. In contrast to most amphibians, it is entirely aquatic, eating, sleeping, and br ...

Territory and statistics

It is a member of the

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ACBC) is the national episcopal conference of the Catholic bishops of Australia and is the instrumentality used by the Australian Catholic bishops to act nationally and address issues of national s ...

. The Roman Catholic Church is made up of the Latin or Western Catholic Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches (comprising four major rites), one of which is the Lebanese

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 ...

. The Eparchy is non-geographic, but demographic in that it has Australia-wide jurisdiction wherever Maronites are found. It is not suffragan to the Archdiocese of Sydney, but immediately 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 ...

. It has many churches, schools, nursing homes and other institutions in all major cities. Its eparchial seat is in Redfern, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, where is located the St. Maron's Cathedral, Sydney. In 2010 there were 160,000 Lebanese Maronite Catholics in 11 parishes, the largest of which is at Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral in

Harris Park, New South Wales Harris Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Harris Park is located 19 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta and is part o ...

History

19th Century

Due to a large emigration of Lebanese Maronite Christians in mid to late 19th century, Maronite

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

in 1889 decided that pastoral ministry among the Lebanese Christians in Sydney will be established. In this regard, the Maronite priests Abdallah Yazbeck and Joseph Dahdah were to work for the Diaspora's community in Sydney and reached on 8 May 1893 the Sydney's port. They set up in 1894 a Maronite chapel in the Waterloo district and served until 1897, when a new church was inaugurated by the then Cardinal Moran on January 10, 1897, for the service of the Maronites. Pastor Abdallah Yazbeck died in 1933 in Sydney, and priest Joseph Dahdah died after his return to

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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

in 1936.

Twentieth century

Priest Abdallah Assaf was the successor and was the Maronite pastor until 1960. Assaf was replaced by Chukrallah Harb in 1961 until his return in 1963 to the

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

. In the district of Redfern's Saint Maron Church served all Maronite Catholics for 70 years until the Maronites of the community settled in other centers as Parramatta. The community continued to grow at remarkable. The Maronite Patriarch named Reverend Peter Ziade to continue the Priest Harb's pastoral ministry in 1963. He was assisted by Priest Trad. From 1963 to 1965, the church of Saint Maron was built. In addition, a town hall, municipal school, a rectory in the district of Redfern was built also in 1965. The

Congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

of the Maronite Sisters of the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the fir ...

established their missionary work in 1968. A piece of land of Harris Park in Sydney with a community hall was built and the foundation stone for the Church of Our Lady of

was laid in 1970. Pastor Ziade helped to establish a Lebanese monastic order in Sydney and participated in the founding of the diocese in Australia. The eparchy was erected on 25 June 1973 by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

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Illo fretis Councils. and in October 1973 Archbishop (

pro hac vice In the legal field, ''pro hac vice'' () is a practice in common law jurisdictions whereby a lawyer who has not been admitted to practice in a certain jurisdiction is allowed to participate in a particular case in that jurisdiction. Although ''pro ...

)

Ignace Abdo Khalifé Ignace Abdo Khalifé, SJ (10 May 1914 in Wady Chahrour, Lebanon – 7 July 1998) was the first Eparch of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Sydney in Australia. Life Ignace Khalife joined the SJ and received his ordination to the p ...

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 ...

was established as Eparchy of the newly Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron in Sydney. His duties were also the organization and establishment of additional Maronite eparchies in Australia and request help from other priests. The first priests who had answered the bishop's ask for help were Michal Boumelhem, Youseff Touma, Antoun Shalhoub and Nakhle Akiki. During their joint, 18-year pastoral ministry for the Maronite Eparchy of Saint Maron in Sydney the Maronite Catholic Church of the Lady of Lebanon was opened in 1978. After that, Eparch Khalife built the Church of the Saint Joseph in the district of Croydon and the

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

in Thornleigh. This was followed by the acquisition of land for the bishopric in Strathfield district and the establishment of Antonine Sisters in Melbourne in 1981. In addition to the establishment of the Home of Our Lady of Lebanon, in Harris Park, Eparch Khalifé ordered the acquisition of land for the construction of the Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Wollongong, New South Wales. It also followed the acquisition of land for the construction of two houses near the church of Our Lady in Harris Park. Eparch Khalife ended his mission in 1991 and was replaced by Eparch Joseph Hitti. Bishop Hitti took over the diocese on 4 March 1991. Under his leadership, the Maronite community continues to grow. In 1993, the Congregation of Maronite Missionaries welcomed by parish priest Sarkis Charbel founded then their pastoral mission in Sydney. The kindergarten facility in Belmore was inaugurated. The authorization for the acquisition of land for the establishment of a parent company for the Maronite nuns in Dulwich Hill has been permitted. Under Bishop Hitti, the Lebanese Our Lady of Lebanon University and the Saint Charbel high school were inaugurated. The Antonius monks were invited to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to begin their missionary work among the Maronite faithful. They accepted the invitation and came to Australia in December 1997. The inauguration of the newly established Secretariat in

Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A smal ...

was blessed by Bishop Hitti.ampc.org.au
/ref> Bishop Ad Abi Karam was formally installed in office on 8 February 2002. He was the third Maronite Bishop of Australia. On 17 April 2013 Eparch Anthony Tarabay replaced Karam and became the fourth Eparch of the Maronites in Australia.

Parishes

The Maronite Eparchy has 14 parishes across Australia, with churches in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. New South Wales * St Maroun's Cathedral ( Redfern) * Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral (

Harris Park Harris Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Harris Park is located 19 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta and is part o ...

) *St George's Church (

Thornleigh Thornleigh is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region, or Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Thornleigh is located 22 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local governme ...

) *St Joseph's Church (

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

) *St Charbel's Church ( Punchbowl) *St John the Beloved Church (

Mount Druitt Mount Druitt is a suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a large ...

) *St Raymond's Church ( Auburn South) *St Rafqa's Church ( Austral) *Christ the Redeemer Maronite Catholic Parish (

Dural Dural is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 36 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government areas of Hornsby Shire and The Hills Shire. Dural is part of the Hills District ...

) *Our Lady of Lebanon (

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wa ...

) Victoria *Our Lady of Lebanon Church ( Thornbury) South Australia *St Maroun's Church ( Westbourne Park) Queensland *St Maroun's Church ( Greenslopes) Western Australia *St Charbel's Church (

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

)

Episcopal ordinaries

The following individuals have been elected as Maronite Eparch of Saint Maron: :

References

External links

Maronite Eparchy of Australia

Maronite Diocese of Saint Maroun
{{authority control Lebanese Australian St. Maron Roman Catholic dioceses in Australia Dioceses established in the 20th century Redfern, New South Wales Eastern Catholicism in Australia Asian-Australian culture Arab-Australian culture Eastern Catholic dioceses in Oceania