In 687 A.D. when the Maronites chose their own Patriarch, Saint John-Maron, the Emperor of Byzantium felt that his royal authority extended over the Church. He appointed Patriarchs and in many ways interfered in ecclesiastical matters. The Christians for their part got into the habit of turning to him to solve their problems. When the Maronites finally chose their own Patriarch, the authorities at Byzantium withheld their consent. While invading the region, the imperial army attacked the Maronites, and a battle was fought at Amioun, which resulted in a victory for the Maronites. The Patriarch established himself at Kfarhay, where he made the Episcopal palace his seat.

A number of Patriarchs resided at Kfarhay, among them are Saint John-Maron, Cyr, and Gabriel. They watched over their flock and ensured the purity of the Faith. The Anaphora (Eucharistic prayer) of St John- Maron is a brilliant testimony to the faith of the Maronites in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The lure of the riches of the world, which they had left behind, could not shake their firm belief. Nor could the assaults of their enemies disperse them. They loved their Creator and cherished his Holy Word.

Very little is known about the Maronites in Lebanon between the time of their being established there in the seventh and eighth centuries and the coming of the Crusades in the eleventh century. During this period the Maronites and the region were dominated by the Abbasids, whose rule was often severe and who persecuted and slaughtered Maronites.

When the first Crusaders arrived in Lebanon in 1098, they were surprised and pleased to find fellow Christians who welcomed them with hospitality. We are told that the Maronites were of great assistance to the Crusaders both as guides and as a fighting force of 40,000 men known for their prowess in battle. The Franciscan F. Suriano, writing some time later, described them as “astute and prone to fighting and battling. They are good archers using the Italian style of cross-bowing.” The Crusaders not only passed through Lebanon on the way to the Holy Places, but established themselves in the country and built fortresses in a number of areas, the ruins of which remain to this day. Close relations were also established between the Latin hierarchy who accompanied the Crusaders and the Maronite Church.

With the coming of the Crusaders, it appears that the Maronites made a conscious decision to seek the support of the West. Prior to this time, the Maronites lived and thought on a provincial level. Their major concerns were to defend themselves against local heretics, a struggle based not only on a religious plane, but also on ethnic and cultural level, and to attempt to establish a modus vivendi with Arab rulers. With the coming of the Crusaders they began to look to the West for assistance. Ties with the Holy See became closer, Western practices were adopted, and Latin influences and changes in the Maronite liturgy took place.

The Lebanese historian, Philip Hitti, observes: “Of all the contacts established by the Latins with the peoples of the Near East, those with the Maronites proved to be most fruitful, the most enduring. Prohibitions, particularly those imposed by the Ummayyad ‘Umar, the Abbasid al-Muttawakkil, and the Fatimid al-Hakim under which the Christian minorities — at best second class citizens—lived, conditioned them for foreign influence and rendered them especially receptive to friendly approaches from Westerners.”

The era of the Crusades produced a veritable renaissance in the Maronite Church. Numerous churches were built and works of religious art were produced at this time. Ernest Renan cites churches in the towns of Hattoun, Maiphouq, Helta, Toula, Bhadidat, Ma'ad, Koura, and Semar-Jebail, among others.

Since the fourteenth century, the history of the Maronites in the Holy Land has been intimately related with the Franciscan presence in that land. On the whole it has always been a very close collaboration based on mutual respect and trust. This is obvious in the various experiences had by various pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land. For instance, Ludolf De Sudheim, a pilgrim from 1336 until 1341, notes having attended many consecrations of Maronite bishops performed by Latin archbishops. Maronites were somewhat assimilated into the Franks; they’d celebrate in their churches, using their altars and vestments.

It seems that the first Maronite contact with the sons of Saint Francis was established in 1246, when Innocent IV sent Lorenzo da Orte to visit the Maronites and the other Orientals. With the founding of the Order of Friars Minor in Jerusalem in 1333, their relation with the Maronites of the Holy Land became permanent. During the big feasts of Christmas and Easter, when many Maronites flocked to Jerusalem, the Franciscans used to welcome them with much charity, facilitating their stay in Jerusalem and Bethlehem (Arce 1973:185). The Maronites, confident in their relationship with the Franciscans, took part in all acts of worship in various Franciscan sanctuaries. The Guardian of the Hill of Zion baptized the Maronite newborn and, when any of them died in Jerusalem, they were buried in the cemetery of the monks, because "they were genuine and loyal Christians" (sunt veri et fideles christiani), noted the Hungarian Franciscan Gabriel of Pécsvàrad.

Maronite historians never fail to speak highly of the generosity of the sovereigns of Naples toward the Maronite people of the Holy Land. In fact, the King of Naples, Robert (d.1343) and his wife Sancha of Majorca, didn't forget the Maronite people while they were overflowing the Franciscans of Zion Hill with their generous gifts. When Sancha bought the Church of the Resurrection, the Virgin's Tomb, the Olive Mount and the Sanctuary of Bethlehem from Mâlek el-Nâsser Mohammad, the Sultan of Egypt, she gave the Maronites the Grotto of the Cross and four altars in other sanctuaries in the Holy City. She also added a pontifical confirmation of all their privileges. The Maronites, for their part, met in Jerusalem and declared they would stay united to communion with the Roman See. The collaboration between the Franciscans of the Holy Land and the Maronites began in the first half of the fifteenth century, when Syria and Palestine were under the rule of the Mameluke Sultans of Egypt and the Burgies dynasty. These relations grew more intense and regular with time. Some Maronites worked as interpreters and lived with the Franciscans in the Monastery of Zion Hill; others had an active role in all celebrations held in the different sanctuaries of the Franciscans. In 1682, for example, two Maronite interpreters from Mount Lebanon, Michel and Gabriel, were employed in the Franciscan monastery of Nazareth.

In 1438, Maronites from Jerusalem and its vicinity sent Pope Eugene IV a letter which was read at the Florence Synod. The Pope answered them on June 7, 1439 through a letter entrusted to Friar Albert of Sarteano, in which he let them know he was very pleased to notice a connection between many Oriental Churches and the See of Peter. Among the Franciscans of the Holy Land who had served the Maronites in the fifteenth century, we must first mention Fleming Friar Gryphon (Grifon van Kortrijk, 1400-1475). He arrived to Jerusalem in 1443 and was sent in 1450 to work with the Maronites of Lebanon until he died in 1475. There is also the Spaniard, Fransisco Sagarra of Barcelona, during the same era; Alessandro Ariosto, apostolic commissioner from 1475 until 1481 (Arce 1973: 238-245); and Francisco Suriano (1145-c.1530), who was Guardian of Zion Hill from 1493 until 1495 and from 1512 until 1514. As for his companion, Francesco of Potenza, he returned after his mission with two Maronite ambassadors carrying documents accrediting them as representatives of the Patriarch of Antioch, of the muqaddam (Arabic for religious or civil official) and of all the clergy and the Maronite people. These two ambassadors were Khouri Youssef and Friar Elias.

Certain authors deny that the Maronites had possessed a place in the Holy Sepulcher or that they had inhabited Jerusalem in a stable manner. In his book about his voyage to the Holy Land in 1621, Deshaye, ambassador of Louis XIII, "counts the Maronite Nation among the communities that had oratories in the Holy Sepulcher". Patriarch Etienne Douaihi celebrated two ordinations in the Grotto of the Cross: that of Daoud bin-Bechara al-Qoudsi on July 10, 1696 and that of the Maronite Jerusalemite, Thomas of Hasroun, on March 18, 1700. When he returned, he offered the Maronite priests of Jerusalem a chalice, a paten and a corporal. Father Thomas of Hasroun stayed in Jerusalem in the service of his co-religionists.

The trust, respect, and comprehension which characterized the relations between the Franciscans and Maronites of the Holy Land had its ups and downs, especially during the second half of the seventeenth century. Due to the Latinization campaign carried out by some Franciscan officials (e.g., Fathers Baldassare, Caldera and Francesco da Santo Flora) against the Maronites of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Acre, etc. They prohibited the Maronites from practicing their own ecclesial customs (the use of incense, abstaining from eating meat on Wednesdays, and so on), demanded that they promise obedience to the Franciscan Custos, in addition to their Patriarch. On April 6, 1687, they received from the Cadi of Jerusalem an order authorizing Christians of any rite to change their confession to the Catholic rite that they preferred without any reservations. Armed with this authorization, the Franciscans offered to administer the sacraments of the Church gratis. They also promised to procure lucrative employment for the Maronites and the Greeks who wish to follow the Latin Rite, such as posts as interpreters in the consulates.

However, all ended well in late March 1700, when Franciscan Custos Stefano da Napoli (appointed in 1699) agreed to Patriarch Douaihi's terms - namely, that Maronites everywhere be responsible to their Patriarch of Antioch, and that the Maronite community of Jerusalem may have two priests in their service, may celebrate the Mass using incense in all Franciscan churches, and may keep its customs regarding fasting and feasts. Moreover, the Franciscans committed themselves to receiving well any Maronite pilgrim visiting the Holy Places (this commitment is still in force). On his part, Patriarch Douaihi handed over to the Franciscan Custos the power exempting Maronite faithfuls from certain impediments on marriage. The agreement was signed on March 13, 1700. Under the same Patriarch Douaihi, Father Bonaventure, a Maronite from Jerusalem, erected a church in Nazareth in 1771 for the faithful of his community. Well before the construction of this church it was noted that the number of Maronites in the Holy Land was decreasing, mostly because they had been moving to the Latin rite - a phenomenon that would continue until our time.

The presence of Maronites in the Holy Land was not limited to Jerusalem's holy places. Maronites living in what comprises the present State of Israel were under the pastoral guidance of the diocese of Tyre. The boundaries of this diocese had not been altered since they were set by the Holy See on February 26, 1906. The papal brief specified that in the southern part, the diocese stretched to the Palestinian border separating it from Saudi Arabia; in the east, its confines are the Jordan River, from La Houle to the Dead Sea; and in the west, by the Mediterranean Sea near Sidon. A new chapter began in 1996, as we will see later.

The serious events that have never ceased to affect Jerusalem were not spared the Maronite Community. The restoration of the dilapidated Vicariate buildings was undertaken and carried in no time through the efforts of Monsignor Augustin Harfouche, a monk from the Maronite Lebanese Order responsible for the monastery of Jaffa (since August 19, 1974) and Episcopal Vicar for Israel. Monsignor Harfouche was also appointed Patriarchal Vicar in Jerusalem by Patriarchal Decree No. 59/75 issued on May 12, 1975. In 1976, he undertook the restoration of the Vicariate buildings, which were in deplorable condition. He evacuated its 20 occupants and placed them in guest quarters for pilgrims, which were part of the Mar Maroun Residence. Another section of the building was saved for the Vicariate (now called the exarchate) and contained a multi-propose room for meetings.

In 1981, Father Harfouche brought nuns from Lebanon to provide services. The new buildings were inaugurated on February 26, 1978. The Monsignor's preoccupations were not limited to Jerusalem. On February 12, 1981, he bought a house in Bethlehem, in Wadi Ma'ali (170 meters away from the Nativity Church), for 40,000 dinars and transformed it into the Mar Sharbel Residence, to be used for worship and receiving pilgrims. In 1996, a new chapter in the history of the Exarchate of Jerusalem began when Monsignor Paul Sayah, recently appointed Maronite Archbishop of Haifa and the Holy Land, received his orders as Patriarchal Vicar.

The Maronite faithful of Jerusalem who hadn't changed to the Latin rite numbered 45 families in all. In 1950, the Patriarchal Vicar's authority was extended over Jordan. In 1974, the number of Maronite families reached 75 in Amman and Zarka. The number of Maronites in Jordan increased because of the war in Lebanon. No statistics have yet been compiled, but their number is estimated at 145 families (of which about 110 are in Amman and 15 in Zarka), or approximately 1,000 faithful. The late King Hussein offered 4,000 square meters of land for the building of a Maronite church and a parish. The Maronite Patriarch, His Beatitude Nasrallah Peter Sfeir, consecrated the first stone of this church in October 1998.