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From: The Ultraist Orthodox Maronite
Date: 09 May 1999
Time: 19:44:34
Remote Name: 166.62.196.208
Remote User:
Observer,
you wrote “…and by the way ULTRA ORTHODOX MARONITE, do you really know where the MARONITEs started from? AN OBSERVER.”
Hey dude! I know my History word by word, I can provide you with every minute detail you want to know.
The Diocese of Cyrrhus (where St. Maron lived and preached) was in NORTHERN SYRIA. Cyrrhus was two days’ journey north east of Antioch and about 70 km north of Aleppo. Following his death in 410 AD, St. Maron’s mission was continued by his disciples, the FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST, the most famous of whom was Abraham the Hermit from Cyrrhus. Abraham (Ibrahim) is credited for having preached CHRISTIANITY in the distant Lebanese heartland of the ancient Lebanese religion, at best qualified as pagans. The village he started in was called AFQA, which mean in PHOENICIAN “flowing water”. In Afqa there was a great cave which the ancient Lebanese considered to be the seat of the great god EL. To the ancient Lebanese, the river which flowed from the cave was sacred and they called it Adon (Lord) after their young god. Over the spring which feeds the river there was a temple to Astrate. This temple is one of the most famous in Mount Lebanon. Afqa represents the Triad of life, fertility, and eternal youth which the Lebanese believed in. Every year, the Lebanese used to go on a pilgrimage to Afqa via the Adon Valley to celebrate the death and resurrection of their young god Adon. These festivals, known as the Adonites were very popular in those days because of the rites and rituals which expressed fertility and renewed youth. These rituals were inconsistent with the CHRISTIAN faith and its evangelical spirituality….
From that point on hell broke lose! That is, the historical PLIGHT of the Maronites began, especially after “Al Fat7 Al Islami.” Even the late Antoon Saade who wanted to be “politically correct” when he drafted his 6th basic principle clearly acknowledged our plight, and now history is repeating itself. Read Saade’s SIXTH BASIC PRINCIPLE.
We know where our Patron St. Maron came from and that does not make us Syrians in as much as that does not make the Persians Arabs because they are followers of Mohammed. There are followers of Maron in Syria, in Jordan, and Palestine. But these people remain Jordanian, Syrian and Palestinian, and we are Lebanese, period.
Do I like to establish political, and economical relationships with all those countries? Of course. But let's find the proper scientifc frame work other than "skull matching." Every person in the world is considered my brother and sister, certainly Syrians and others who are the closest to me geographically would be certainly more privileged to that treatment, so long as we recognize each other’s existence and INDEPENDENCE! For example to have a Syrian Embassy in Lebanon and vice versa for a change, and have our brothers and sisters run the affair of those embassies. How's that for a change? That is the point that all SSNPers dismiss on this forum day in and day out!
Today in the Diaspora there are Non Lebanese, Non Arabs followers of St. Maron and Sharbel. Whenever you land in Massachusetts stop by and visit
Most Holy Trinity Monastery
67 Dugway Rd
Petersham, MA 01366
You could MEDITATE THERE!
Barkhmor (excuse my Syriac)
Do you like Sun Glasses?