page_title: Christianity in Lebanon
section_title: Churches and monasteries in Lebanon
hierarchical_section_title: Christianity in Lebanon / Churches and monasteries in Lebanon
caption_attribution_description: English: Deir al-Qamar, Lebanon - Church of Saidet et Tallé Slovenščina: Deir al-Kamar, Libanon - cerkev Saidet et Tallé العربية: كنيسة سيدة التل المارونية في بلدة دير القمر بلبنان.
context_page_description: Christianity in Lebanon has a long and continuous history. Biblical Scriptures purport that Peter and Paul evangelized the Phoenicians, whom they affiliated to the ancient patriarchate of Antioch. The spread of Christianity in Lebanon was very slow where paganism persisted especially in the mountaintop strongholds of Mount Lebanon. A 2015 study estimates some 2,500 Lebanese Christians have Muslim ancestry, whereas the majority of Lebanese Christians are direct descendants of the original early Christians.
  Proportionally, Lebanon has the highest rate of Christians in the Middle East, where the percentage ranges between 40.5% and 60%, followed directly by Egypt and Syria where most likely Christians account for an estimated 10 percent.
context_section_description: The head of the Maronite Church is the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, who is elected by the bishops of the Maronite church and now resides in Bkerké, north of Beirut (but in the northern town of Dimane during the summer months). The current Patriarch (from 2011) is Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi. When a new patriarch is elected and enthroned, he requests ecclesiastic communion from the Pope, thus maintaining the Catholic Church communion. Patriarchs may also be accorded the status of cardinals, in the rank of cardinal-bishops. They share with other Catholics the same doctrine, but Maronites retain their own liturgy and hierarchy. Strictly speaking, the Maronite church belongs to the Antiochene Tradition and is a West Syro-Antiochene Rite. Syriac is the liturgical language, instead of Latin. Nevertheless, they are considered, with the Syro-Malabar Church, to be among the most Latinized of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
  The Seat of the Maronite Catholic Church is in Bkerké. Monasteries in Lebanon are run by both the Maronite and Orthodox Church. The Holy Monastery of Saint George in Deir El Harf and Saint John the Baptist Monastery in Douma both date back to the 5th century. The Balamand Monastery in Tripoli is a very prominent Orthodox monastery that has a seminary and a university associated with it.
caption: Maronite Church of Saidet et Tallé in Deir el Qamar, Lebanon.
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