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ITS OWN RITE
By LINDA M. LINONIS
youngstown
St. Maron Maronite Church marked a milestone of 100 years in December 2011.
The Maronite Church, founded by St. Maron in the fourth century, is the third-largest branch of the Catholic Church after Roman and Byzantine rites. St. Maron was the first patriarch.
On Dec. 4, Bishop Robert Shaheen, bishop of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon in St. Louis, celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the anniversary. At the anniversary celebration, Dr. Elias Saadi, master of ceremonies, praised the achievement of immigrants from Lebanon who founded the church in the Valley. He emphasized that it remains vital “to connect to our historic past and use it to inspire the future.”
Dr. Saadi said that the Maronite Church is an “Apostolic Church rooted in the teachings of the apostles.” The church website, www.stmaronyoungstown.org, offers a history of the Youngstown church and its heritage, noting that “Maronite traditions are those of the apostolic see of Antioch. It was at Antioch that the followers of Christ were called ‘Christians’ for the first time.”
“We’re an Eastern rite church that never had a break with Rome,” said Deacon Joe Nohra. The church is under the jurisdiction of Patriarch Bechara Peter Rai in Lebanon. “His family name means shepherd,” Deacon Nohra said, adding all patriarchs use the name Peter in deference to the Apostle Peter.
Situated on 23 acres on South Meridian Road, the church complex has a 425-seat sanctuary, offices, library, conference room, classrooms and rectory. Chorbishop Michael J. Kail is pastor. The Maronite Center on the property is leased to Mr. Anthony’s. Church membership is about 420 families.
Deacon Nohra and Dr. Saadi said the Maronite Church is distinguished by the Syriac-Aramic language used in liturgy and its approach to spirituality. “God is unknowable ... it’s the mystery of the unknowable,” Deacon Nohra said.
That idea translates to the depiction of God the Father in a stained- glass window behind the altar. The window, one of four at the church created by the late artist Saliba Douaihy of Lebanon, shows a faceless God. “No one knows what God looks like,” said Dr. Saadi. The windows are not leaded but layers of glass.
The tabernacle features a brass basket, where the Eucharist is kept. “It recalls storing bread, as in the bread of life, at home,” Dr. Saadi said.
Music also is is distinctive, with an Eastern influence including the use of flutes.
The church supports an education foundation, which distributes about 20 scholarships annually to children of parishioners. The project, begun in 1984, gives scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $3,000. The church also offers Maronite Christian Formation classes for fifth-graders through high school.
The church also has a Knights of Columbus Bet Mooron Council 12539; bet mooron is Syriac for St. Maron. A Ladies Guild also contributes through various projects.
A statue of St. Maron greets all as they enter the church.