MAR'ONITES. A {'ln•istian sect of Syria, of very ancient origin. The most probable ac (-mint repre,ents them as descendants of a remnant of the Slonothelite sect (see MoNo rnEmosm) who, in the early part of the eighth century, settled on the slopes of the Lebanon. their chief seats being around the monastery of Alarm, a saint of the fourth century. whose life is found in Theodoret's Rcligious His tories (iii. p. 1222). The emigrants are said to have elected as their chief and patriarch a monk of the same name, with the title of Patriarch of Antioch, and, throughout the political vicissi tudes of the succeeding centuries, to have main tained] themselves in a certain independence among the Aloslem conquerors. In the twelfth century, on the establishment of the Latin King dom of Jerusalem, the Maronites abandoned their distinctive monothelite opinions, and rec ognized the authority of the Ronan Church. In 1445 they entered into a formal act of union With Rome. In 1584 a college was founded in Rome by Gregory XIII. for the education of the Maronite clergy: and in 1736 they formally subscribed to the decrerfs of the Council of Trent. Neverthe less, although united with Rome, they are per mitted to retain their distinctive national rites and usages. They administer communion in both kinds; they use the ancient Syriac lan guage in their liturgy: their clergy, if married before ordination. are permitted to retain their wives; and they have many festivals and saints not recognized in the Roman calendar. The Naronites at present are about 125.000 in num ber. Their patriarch is still styled Patriarch of Antioch, and resides in the Convent of Kanobin, in the heart of the Lebanon. The is chosen by the bishops subject to the approval of Rome. and always bears the name Butrus (Peter). Every
tenth year he reports the state of his patriarchate to the Pope. Tinder him are 14 bishops. to whom are subject the officiating clergy of the smaller distriets. The revenues of all orders of ecclesiastics, however. are very narrow, and the inferior clergy live in great measure by the labor of their hands. Very many convents for both sexes are spread over the country, contain ing, on the whole, from 20,000 to 25.000 members. who all wear a distinctive costume. but follow the rule of Saint Anthony. The chief seat of the 1\hu•onites is the district called Kesrowan. on the western declivity of Mount Lebanon: lint they are to be found seat lered over the whole territory of the Lebanon, and in all the and larger villages toward the north in the direction of Aleppo, and southward as far as Nazareth. Their political constitution is a kind of military re public, regulated for the most part by ancient usages and by unwritten, but well-recognized laws. Like the Arabs of Syria, they have a p, litic•al hierarchy. partly hereditary, partly elec tive. The chief administration is vested in four superior sheiks, who possess a sort of patriar chal authority, and under these ace subordinate chiefs. with whom. as in the feudal system, the people hold a military tenure. They are bitter enemies of their neighbors, the Druses (q.v.). In tellectually and morally they are on a low plane. Their chief occupations are cattle-raising and silk culture. Consult: Socin, Pulastina and .1/ric•n (Leipzig, 1880) ; "Essays on the Sects of Syria and Palestine—the Maronites," in the Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Matement (London, 1393I ; Koehler, Die kat holisehe Kin-he der .11or•//enlandcr (Darmstadt. 1S86).