St Maroun Day: Significance, history, and all you need to know

St. Maroun, also known as Saint Maroun, was a 5th century Syriac Christian monk renowned for his monastic commitment to God, healing miracles, and missionary activity.

The feast day of St Maroun is celebrated on February 9 is a significant holiday for Lebanese Marounite Christians, who make up approximately 22% of Lebanon's total population.

Born in the middle of the 4th century in Syria, Maroun was a priest who later became a hermit.

Founder of Maronite Catholic Church

Maroun is regarded as the founder of the spiritual and monastic movement that is now known as the Maronite Catholic Church.

This movement had a significant impact in Lebanon. St. Maroun lived his entire life on a mountain in Syria. The cradle of the Marunite movement is thought to have been called "Kefar-Nabo" on the mountain of Ol-Yambos.

When St Maroun's first disciple, Abraham of Cyrrhus, also known as the Apostle of Lebanon, realised that there were many non-Christians in Lebanon, he set out to convert them to Christianity by introducing them to the way of St Maroun. St Maroun's followers, both monks and laypeople, were always faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Zealous missionary

St Maroun's teachings attracted many people in Syria and Lebanon to become his disciples. Accompanying his deeply spiritual and ascetic life, he was a zealous missionary with a passion to spread the message of Christ by preaching it to all he met.

Through his works, he sought not only to cure people's physical ailments but also to nurture and heal the "lost souls" of both non-Christians and Christians of his time.

Published on: Wednesday, February 08, 2023, 03:33 PM IST