Post by Pacelli on Jun 13, 2016 11:00:45 GMT -5
This was posted by the poster RogerThat on CI, 6/13/16:
I'm probably the only person here who was actually raised at a Maronite parish and believe I can give some more info about how crazy this is.
The Maronites lost everything during the tenure of Cardinal Sfeir, their previous Patriarch. They are now, mostly, a political organization in Lebanon, unfortunately. Church leaders spend more times meeting with politicians than in prayer. In the early 1990s, Cardinal Sfeir SINGLE HANDEDLY re-wrote the entire Maronite Missal. After the '90s, most Maronite masses were in the vernacular instead of Aramaic. It's very hard to explain the influence and role of the Maronite church if you are not Lebanese. The Maronite Church has tremendous influence on state politics. Currently, Cardinal Rai is charged with finding a new president. Can you imagine a church leader vetting politicians?
To illustrate how serious the issue is, many faithful Maronites in Beirut actually went to Opus Dei and asked the Prelate to start a mass center in the Beirut because they were so desperate for orthodoxy and Faith. There are now 3 Opus Dei priests in Beirut that travel to different mass centers and celebrate latin masses because there is such a desire for faith and good catechism in the country.
Other faithful Maronites (both in Leabnon and in the diaspora) now attend Armenian Catholic or Melkite churches because they are so fed up with the politics of the Maronite Church. Both the Armenian and Melkite Churches are headquartered in Lebanon as well.
I know the Armenian and Melkite Catholic Churches are still very orthodox, both in Lebanon and in the US. The Armenian mass is actually very similar to the Tridentine mass, with Psalm 42 at the foot of the alter, the final gospel reading, priest facing the main altar, etc. Some very interesting history here
The Maronites lost everything during the tenure of Cardinal Sfeir, their previous Patriarch. They are now, mostly, a political organization in Lebanon, unfortunately. Church leaders spend more times meeting with politicians than in prayer. In the early 1990s, Cardinal Sfeir SINGLE HANDEDLY re-wrote the entire Maronite Missal. After the '90s, most Maronite masses were in the vernacular instead of Aramaic. It's very hard to explain the influence and role of the Maronite church if you are not Lebanese. The Maronite Church has tremendous influence on state politics. Currently, Cardinal Rai is charged with finding a new president. Can you imagine a church leader vetting politicians?
To illustrate how serious the issue is, many faithful Maronites in Beirut actually went to Opus Dei and asked the Prelate to start a mass center in the Beirut because they were so desperate for orthodoxy and Faith. There are now 3 Opus Dei priests in Beirut that travel to different mass centers and celebrate latin masses because there is such a desire for faith and good catechism in the country.
Other faithful Maronites (both in Leabnon and in the diaspora) now attend Armenian Catholic or Melkite churches because they are so fed up with the politics of the Maronite Church. Both the Armenian and Melkite Churches are headquartered in Lebanon as well.
I know the Armenian and Melkite Catholic Churches are still very orthodox, both in Lebanon and in the US. The Armenian mass is actually very similar to the Tridentine mass, with Psalm 42 at the foot of the alter, the final gospel reading, priest facing the main altar, etc. Some very interesting history here