Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn

Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn (Latin: Eparchia Sancti Maronis Bruklyniensis Maronitarum)[2] is a Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church eparchy of the Catholic Church headquartered in Brooklyn, New York for the East Coast of the United States. In conformity with the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO), the eparchy is under the direct jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff. In 2017 there were 33,000[3] baptized. It is currently ruled by eparch Gregory John Mansour.

Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn (Maronite)

Eparchia Sancti Maronis Bruklyniensis Maronitarum
Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral
Location
CountryUnited States
Ecclesiastical provinceImmediately Subject to the Holy See
Statistics
Population
- Catholics		(as of 2017)
33,000[1]
Parishes34
Information
Sui iuris churchMaronite Church
RiteWest Syro-Antiochene Rite
EstablishedJanuary 10, 1966 (57 years ago)
CathedralOur Lady of Lebanon Cathedral
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
PatriarchBechara Boutros al-Rahi
EparchGregory John Mansour
Bishops emeritusStephen Youssef Doueihi
Map
Website
www.stmaron.org

Territory and statistics

The eparchy includes the Maronite Catholic faithful in the eastern coast states of the United States.

It borders in the north with the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Saint Maron of Montreal, which covers Canada, and to the west with the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, which covers thirty-four states of the United States.

Its eparchial seat is the city of Brooklyn, where is located the Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral (Brooklyn).[4] The Saint Maron Maronite church[5] in Detroit, dedicated to Saint Maron, is the former cathedral church of the eparchy.

The territory is divided into 34 parishes and in 2017 had 33,000 Lebanese Maronite Catholics.

History

Foundation

The diocese has its roots in the establishment of a Maronite Apostolic Exarchate (the equivalent in the Eastern Churches of an Apostolic Vicariate) by Pope Paul VI's papal bull Cum supremi[6] on 10 January 1966. Its object was to provide a unified structure to serve the Lebanese Maronite Catholics scattered around the country, who were subject, up to that point, to the local Roman Catholic diocese.[7]

At that time, Pope Paul appointed Francis Mansour Zayek as the first exarch of the Maronites in the United States. The eparchate was based in Detroit, Michigan. Zayek, who had just spent several years in a similar post in Brazil, arrived in the United States with a rudimentary knowledge of English, only to find an unfinished cathedral and rectory.[8] He took office on 27 January 1966.[7]

Zayek had to face many challenges. First was the very identity of the church. Arguments raged as to whether it was to be a transplant of Lebanese life or an American institution rooted in its Lebanese heritage. In this he remained guided by the advice which Pope John had given him on his original appointment, "What you Maronites have does not pertain to you alone but is part of the treasure of the Catholic Church". Additionally, he had to deal with the liturgical changes mandated by the Second Vatican Council, in which he had participated. He had the Maronite Divine Liturgy translated into English for the first time, creating a standardized service for use in every parish of the exarchate.[8]

Eparchy

In the Apostolic Constitution Quae spes, issued on 29 November 1971, Pope Paul VI elevated the exarchate to a full eparchy, or diocese, and appointed Zayek as the first bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Detroit.[9] Zayek was installed as its first bishop on June 4, 1972. The seat of the eparchy was moved from Detroit to the Church of Saint Maron in Brooklyn on 27 June 1977[10] by the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and it also renamed the name of the Eparchy to Saint Maron of Brooklyn.[11]

Zayek retired in 1996, with the personal title of Archbishop, and was succeeded by Bishop Stephen Youssef Doueihi, who himself retired on 10 January 2004 and was succeeded by Gregory J. Mansour.[11]

A part of its territory, which encompassed the entire United States, was lost on 19 March 1994 to the newly established Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles by Pope John Paul II's papal bull Omnium Catholicorum.[12]

Parishes and missions

As of 2010, the eparchy counts 43 parishes, served by 51 priests and 17 deacons.[11] Parishes are located in the following states:

Bishops

Apostolic Exarch of the United States of America

Eparch of Saint Maron of Detroit

Eparch of Saint Maron of Brooklyn

Other priest of this eparchy who became bishop
  • Peter Karam, appointed Curial Bishop of Antiochia {Antioch} (Maronite), Lebanon in 2019

See also

References
  1. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2017, Annuario Pontificio" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  2. "Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, USA (Maronite Rite)". Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  3. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2017, Annuario Pontificio" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  4. "Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral, Brooklyn, New York, USA (Maronite)". www.gcatholic.org. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  5. "St. Maron Maronite Church, Detroit, Michigan, USA (Maronite)". www.gcatholic.org. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  6. "Exarchatus Apostolicus pro fidelibus ritus Antiocheni Maronitarum, Constitutio Apostolica, In Foederatis Americae Septemtrionalis Civitatibus exarchatus apostolicus constituitur pro fidelibus ritus Antiocheni Maronitarum, d. 10 m. Ianuarii a. 1966, Paulus PP. VI - Paulus PP. VI". w2.vatican.va. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  7. "Obituary: Archbishop Francis M. Zayek, 89". Archdiocese of Miami. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  8. "The Maronite Church in the U.S. Mourns the Death of Its First Shepherd" (PDF). The Maronite Voice. VI (IX). October 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  9. "Sancti Maronis Detroitensis, Constitutio Apostolica, Exarchatus apostolicus pro fidelibus ritus Antiocheni Maronitarum, in Foederatis Americae Septemtrionalis Civitatibus, ad gradum Eparchiae evehitur, d. 29 m. Novembris a. 1971, Paulus PP. VI - Paulus PP. VI". w2.vatican.va. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  10. [Decree of 27 June 1977, published in AAS, vol. LXIX,(1977), No. 9 (September 30, 1977), p. 548 (accessed July 6, 2013)]
  11. "Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn (Maronite)". Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  12. "Omnium Catholicorum". Retrieved 17 September 2019.
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