Our Lady of Lebanon
Maronite Catholic Parish
Melbourne, Thornbury

The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Church that traces its spiritual heritage to St Maron, an Antiochene Syriac Christian monk who lived in the late 4th and early 5th centuries in the region of Modern Syria.

It is fully Catholic: Maronites profess the Catholic faith, celebrate the sacraments, and are in full communion with the Pope of Rome. At the same time, the Maronite Church has its own Eastern liturgy, spirituality, theology, canon law, traditions, and patriarchal structure.

Its liturgical tradition is West Syriac. The ancient language of its worship is Aramaic Syriac, a form of Aramaic closely related to the language spoken by Jesus. Today, Maronite liturgies are often celebrated using Syriac together with Arabic, English, and other local languages.

Historically, the Maronite community became especially rooted in Lebanon, where it developed a distinctive ecclesial and cultural identity. Its head is the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, whose patriarchal seat is at Bkerké in Lebanon. Maronite dioceses, called eparchies, now exist throughout the world.

The spirituality of the Maronite Church is strongly biblical, monastic, Eucharistic, and Christ-centred. It places particular emphasis on the mystery of Christ's death and Resurrection, the Holy Spirit, repentance, fasting, prayer, the saints, devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the hope of eternal life.

The Maronite Church is one of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, possessing its own legitimate apostolic tradition while sharing the same Catholic communion and faith.