The Lebanese Maronite Order and the Lebanese Resistance, 1968–1982
In the summer of 1975, the war spread across the country and with it forced Christian displacement. Hopeless, the Maronite youth look to their Church to back their self-defense actions. The Patriarch of Lebanon failed to act firmly on behalf of his community. The Abbot of the Lebanese Maronite Order felt duty-bound to respond to the political void.
Throughout history, the monks saw themselves as the core of the Maronite community, hence responsible for its protection. The Lebanese Maronite Order — or simply the Lebanese Order — was founded during the Ottoman period, in 1694, in the Monastery of Mart Moura, Ehden, splitting into an Aleppan and a Lebanese branch. The Lebanese branch became known as the “Baladites” or “Homegrown”. At a time when Ottoman governors (Walis) and feudal lords (Za’ims) used the wildest pretexts to extort taxes from the Maronite orders, the Superior General frequently intervened to lower the taxes — like Father Emmanuel Gemayel, making the Emir reduce his demand.
In times of turmoil within the empire, the Order monks carved rocks to build caves and opened forests to protect the people from the oppression of late Ottoman rulers. Throughout World War I, the Lebanese Order under Abbot Ignatius Tannoury established field hospitals that sheltered the wounded and distributed wheat to the starving people of Mount Lebanon during the imposed famine.
After the end of the two world wars, the Lebanese Order set out to fight illiteracy. It started with a small network of schools across Lebanon, then with the founding of the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), the Order had a full educational system at its disposal, educating the local population with more advanced university degrees.
The role of the Lebanese Order went beyond the education of the youth. Like Ignatius Tannoury, Charbel Kassis played a crucial role in mobilizing the Maronite monks. Therefore, it was normal for the monastic orders to take a clear stance at the forefront of the Lebanese Resistance against the Palestinians, Syria, and their respective allies. Although several Lebanese monastic orders played a key role in shaping and preserving the Maronite identity — like the Carmelite and Antonine orders — they were mainly dominated by the oldest and most powerful, the Lebanese Maronite Order.
With the creation of the State of Israel and the permanent displacement of the Palestinian society in 1948, a large influx of Palestinian refugees began to arrive. The major Lebanese landowners and teachers, the monks of the Lebanese Maronite Order, put their vast lands at the disposal of the Palestinian refugees to build their camps on. Backed by the clauses of the Cairo Agreement of 1969, these camps were transformed into “revolutionary” spaces for the Palestinian resistance — and hostile ghettos to the Lebanese state.
This hostility posed a threat to the Order itself when it reached one of its monks, Father Martinos Saba at the monastery of Saint Anthony, Dbayeh — where the Lebanese Maronite Order detached a plot of land of approximately 84,000M2 to accommodate some 500 Palestinian Christian families expelled from Upper Galilee. On Saturday, October 11, 1969, a roadblock erected by armed Palestinian elements pulled over Father Martinos on the road leading from the Dbayeh refugee camp to the monastery. Then an aggressive exchange took place because the latter refused to let them search his car. Nonetheless, the OLM did not react to these hostilities and kept offering its spiritual services to the Palestinian refugees of the Dbayeh camp.
Since then, the Lebanese Order monks were living in constant anxiety over the future of Lebanon, especially since the regions of Beirut, the coast, Keserwan, and Metn became extremely vulnerable, as they hosted five large camps (Dbayeh, Tal-Zaatar, Nabaa, Jisr el-Bacha, and Karantina) which were at risk of turning — at any moment — into a Trojan horse.
Inevitably, in response to these hostilities, the Lebanese Maronite Order took the side of the Lebanese Army, the establishment, and the parties defending them. Abbot Boutros Azzi sent a group of young intellectuals, concerned for the future of Lebanon to Kaslik. This delegation became known as the Research Committee of Kaslik, which took care of developing ideas, proposals, and studies to preserve Lebanese sovereignty and find possible solutions to the current crisis. Father Charbel Kassis — at the time, Vicar General — also participated in the second part of the seminar, urging those present to adopt concrete methods.
The Research Committee became the spearhead of intellectual Maronitism. Publishing dozens of books both religious and secular. The Committee greatly influenced the Lebanese Christian society with books and articles on Lebanese nationalism, Christian history under Islamic rule, Christian-Islamic dialogue, etc. By 1970, it became the main source of the theories and ideas that were being developed by the Christian parties — the decision-makers of the Christian society at the time.
In late 1970, various members of the Committee later joined the training organized by Tanzim “The Organization”, which proved instrumental in providing Tanzim with a political structure and program. In addition, this training helped the Committee fulfill this mission more efficiently and professionally. By 1971, the number of enlisted in Tanzim reached 60 people including former members of the Maronite League.
The events of 1973, and the paralysis of the Lebanese Army following Arab pressure, made Kaslik a rallying point for thinkers, intellectuals, politicians, and military personnel worried about the future of Lebanon. Many officers from the Army, the Internal Security Forces, and the General Security began to come discreetly to Kaslik to give the Committee information on Palestinian activities. High-ranking officers started to turn a blind eye to Tanzim and Keserwani Movement training in Wata el-Jaouz and Tabrieh.
A year later, Father Charbel Kassis was elected as the successor of Abbot Boutros Azzi, for the latter saw him as an extension of his legacy, not only because of their solid friendship but because of his strong personality which radiates trustworthiness. These qualities were essential to the Lebanese Order, especially in 1974 when the political and social atmosphere foreshadowed the coming of a storm of violence.
It is January 11, 1975, the Lebanese Maronite Order is confronted with the passing of Patriarch Meouchy. Aware of the great void it would create and the need for a strong successor able to oppose the dangers that threatened Lebanon, the Lebanese Order campaigned for the Bishop of Tyre and the Holy Land Joseph Khoury. Archbishop Khoury had leadership qualities and was clear in his Lebanese position, however, his rivalries within the Council of Bishops were strong, so the Order’s efforts were doomed to failure. The election of Patriarch Anthony Peter Khoreich on the 3rd of February gave the Order a sense of discomfort — although he shared many ecclesiastical qualities — he had none of the leadership qualities required.
Turmoil reached a climax after the news of the incidents at Ain el-Remmaneh on 13 April 1975. Abbot Charbel Kassis held an emergency meeting at USEK, with Father Mouannes and Father Boulos Naaman attending. At the same time, leaders of the Lebanese National Movement under the chairmanship of Kamal Jumblatt met and issued a famous statement calling for the dissolution of the Kataeb party. Soon after, the clashes started spreading North and the Maronite church of Saint Michael in Tripoli was attacked.
On the 15th of April, the Keserwani National Movement — a movement initially launched by the Committee — released a statement addressing the Keserwan-Ftouh inhabitants to mobilize at the service of the Lebanese cause. On the 17th, under the chairmanship of Superior Father Boulos Najm, director of the Apostles College in Jounieh, the movement discussed three main points; the strengthening of communication lines, the distribution of funds, and the creation of a general secretariat for the movement. The General Secretariat of the KNM was constituted of the following; the Superior Father of USEK, the Superior Fathers of Central, Carmelite, and Antoura schools, representatives of the Kataeb Party, the National Liberal Party, the National Bloc, and the Maronite League, and deputies from Keserwan, as well as some personalities from Keserwan, with Father Boulos Naaman, elected General Secretary of the movement.
Eventually, a conference of the Superiors of the Lebanese Monastic Orders was held on April 23, 1975. The participants issued a list of statements, mainly rejecting that Lebanon suffers alone the burden of Palestine, the conference also calls for compensation for those who suffered physical or material damage. The list of statements was printed in three languages on three million copies. Leftist coalitions were extremely unhappy about the statements and tasked the Executive Committee of Islamic Associations and Groups to respond. The Executive Committee issued a radio statement on the 25th of April, pointing out that the Palestinian revolution was here to stay for the liberation and the return of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Land of Christ.
In the following weeks, the Keserwani National Movement — at the request of Abbott Charbel Kassis — intensified its events and multiplied its meetings with the Keserwani youth to develop plans of relief for the displaced. The end of the summer of 1975 saw a tragic event that shook the Lebanese Maronite Order. Three Lebanese Order monks, Antonios Tamineh, Pierre Sassine, and Jean Maksoud were slaughtered in the Saint George Achach monastery in the North.
On October 8, 1975, a conference of the Superior Generals of the Lebanese Monastic Orders with the Maronite League was held where they issued an important memorandum — which can be taken as representative of popular Christian Lebanese nationalism during the war.
On November 19th, the first meeting between Bachir Gemayel and the Research Committee of Kaslik was held. Gemayel needed to discuss the situation of the five camps located in Christian areas — especially Tal Zaatar — he explained the importance of seizing it since it cut links between the Christian regions, preventing reinforcements and supplies from arriving. On the 20th of December, the Committee gave birth to the idea of Federalism, published in their second memoir. This memoir gave detailed suggestions for reforms in the fields of politics, economics, administration, and education. These reforms were mainly based on the decentralization of power.
On January 10, 1976, a new tragedy hit the Lebanese Order at the monastery of Jenin (Deir Jenin) in Akkar. Armed elements dressed in Lebanese Army uniforms entered the town and headed toward the monastery. There, they seized two monks, Joseph Farah and Georges Harb, and took them to the village square, where they shot them dead in front of the villagers. The villagers fled after a number of them had been massacred. A Lebanese Maronite Order monk — Father Joseph Chalfoun — survived, escaping death by taking refuge in the forest.
The second tragedy that followed was the one of Damour — on January 21st, 1976 — Palestinian militias and pro-Syrian proxy fighters launched a surprise attack on the Christian town of Damour, killing innocents inside their homes — the largest Christian exodus affecting the Christian community so far. Abbott Charbel Kassis spearheaded the mission to evacuate and rescue the Christians lost in the sea and the surrounding regions. Father Naaman was tasked with escorting the maritime evacuation operation, Father Boutros Azzi organized the monks at Kaslik to receive the survivors, and offer them food, hot drinks, warm clothing, and medical care. Father Martinos Saba was in charge of providing them with temporary accommodation, mainly in schools and monasteries in the region of Keserwan.
With the start of political negotiations, the Christian leading figures decided to constitute a unified political front to study the various reforms and find a consensus around them to end the war. Abbot Charbel Kassis being a founder of this idea held the first meeting on January 31, 1976, at the office of Father Boutros Azzi. This meeting brought together Abbot Charbel Kassis, Former President Camille Chamoun, the leader of the Kataeb Pierre Gemayel, the president of the Maronite League Chaker Abou Sleiman, Dr. Charles Malik, the poet Said Akl, and the head of Tanzim Dr. Fouad Chemaly. At the end of the meeting, the poet Said Akl reads the key statements in three points:
- Declaration of the establishment of the “Front for Freedom and Man in Lebanon” and its magazine “Al-Fuṣūl Allubnāniah” The Lebanese Seasons.
- The Front has studied the situation and welcomes any constructive mediation that would restore peace in Lebanon.
- The Front sees a definitive ceasefire, the restoration of sovereignty, and total control of the Lebanese civil and military authorities over Lebanese territory as essential conditions for any solution.
Soon after its declaration, Front leaders — among them Abbot Kassis and Father Naaman — started lobbying overseas and meeting the Lebanese diaspora eager to help their people back at home under siege in any way they can. Fundraising trips to Australia, France, West Germany, and the US were organized.
On June 12, 1976, at the meeting that grouped Yasser Arafat, Abu Iyad, Father Azzi, and Father Naaman, the two priests explained the Maronite support for the Palestinian cause before and after 1948, they also criticized PLO’s support for the dissolution of Kataeb. Abu Iyad said he was disturbed by the information that money was being raised outside to purchase weapons. Father Azzi confirmed Abu Iyad’s information saying that this was a defensive measure in reaction to the PLO’s meddling in internal Lebanese affairs. Arafat added — as a joke — that Naaman should donate the 4.5 million LBP he had collected from his last fundraising trip to the PLO to be used to purchase land in Palestine. Naaman responded in a cool tone that the Lebanese Resistance has collected 15 not only 4.5 million LBP and that they have enough money to buy both land and weapons.
With Syrian troops’ entry into Lebanon under the cloak of the Arab Deterrent Forces, the pressure exercised by the PLO on Christian regions was diminished, but the Research Committee of Kaslik was skeptical of this involvement. On the 16th and 18th of July 1976, it raised a list of questions, the most important being; “What will guarantee the Arab Deterrent Forces’ obedience to the Lebanese President?”, “What will be the importance of the participation of each Arab country in the Deterrent Forces?”, and “How can anyone imagine that the Palestinians can comply with any agreement?”.
In 1977, the Lebanese Maronite Order launched the seminar of Our Lady of the Well, between representatives from the Order, the Kataeb, the National Liberal Party, the Marada, and a group of intellectuals. The purpose of this seminar was to discuss the formula of 1943, the pluralistic nature of the Lebanese society, and the solutions to the economic problem — taking into consideration individualism in an economically liberal system.
After the intense debates of Our Lady of the Well, the relationship between the Marada and the rest of the Lebanese Front started to deteriorate. Clashes between the Lebanese Forces and the Syrian units of the Arab Deterrent Force fueled differences between them. On June 1, 1978, the tragic event of Ehden struck the Christian community. The Lebanese Order set out to visit both Bachir Gemayel and Sleiman Frangieh. Naaman personally asked Bachir to go to Sleiman and apologize to end the hostilities, and Bachir agreed. However, when they raised the same question to a saddened Frangieh, he refused to discuss the matter.
The siege the Syrian Army had set on Achrafieh since early July 1978, was a disaster as Syrian forces bombarded Christian settlements indiscriminately. In the chaos, Bachir Gemayel contacted the Lebanese Maronite Order, and the latter immediately responded to the call agreeing to take part in a series of meetings at the home of Charles Malik in Rabieh. In these meetings, they discussed ways to achieve the liberation of Lebanon from foreign forces — as well as ways to obtain support from abroad.
In late 1978, the Order gave Bachir Gemayel access to the Saints-Peter-and-Paul monastery in Azra in Keserwan, out of reach of Syrian artillery, to use as HQ for the Lebanese Forces radio, where — unlike the more moderate “Voice of Lebanon” radio — he could voice more radical anti-Syrian presence statements. The Superior Father of the convent Pierre Farah immediately accepted. This Radio station was named “Radio of Free Lebanon” after the name of the cause and the project of Bachir Gemayel.
After the bloody scenes and infighting of 1979 between the Kataeb and the NLP, and the Safra tragedy of the summer of 1980, the monks of the Lebanese Order were going through great despair, especially the monks of Kaslik, all committed to the Lebanese Resistance. They met after the incident and agreed not to receive any of the Maronite leaders from either the Kataeb or the NLP. Though after the reconciliation procedure between Chamoun and Gemayel, a delegation from the Lebanese Maronite Order — with Father Boulos Naaman at its head — visited both Chamoun and Gemayel, and the former revealed to them his dissatisfaction with the bloodshed assuring everyone will maintain their attachment to the Lebanese cause.
With the term of Abbot Charbel Kassis nearing its end, the team that elected him and Abbot Boutros Azzi before him were working on electing Father Boulos Naaman as Superior General of the Lebanese Maronite Order. Father Naaman grew under the wing of Father Azzi as his apprentice, Naaman described it as similar to a father-son or older-younger brother relationship.
“I will do my best, I will give my energy, and even my life in the service of my people and my Church.” — Patriarch Elias Peter Hoayek
This was the quote by Patriarch Elias Hoayek that Father Naaman borrowed at the time of his election, marking the start of his term on 30 July 1980, the commemorative date of the Maronite martyrs.
As soon as the monastic elections were over, Abbot Boulos Naaman had to resume his work very quickly, calling for intensive meetings with the representatives of the leading Maronite parties. The Lebanese Front and the Research Committee of Kaslik reached an agreement which was signed on September 4, 1980, at Saint George Awkar convent, the seat of the Lebanese Front.
These meetings brought together Bachir Gemayel, Zahi Boustany, and Etienne Sakr for the LF and Kataeb, Fouad Ephrem Boustany, Charles Malik, and Edouard Honein for the Lebanese Front, Fathers Thomas Mehanna, Khairallah Ghanem, and Boulos Naaman for the Research Committee of Kaslik, and Charles Ghostine for the NLP. It was a huge effort to achieve a unity of vision between leading Christian heads. Bachir Gemayel requested a unity of command for the Lebanese Forces and the NLP wanted a more decentralized procedure. The Committee delegation — to some degree — sided with Bachir worried to see the power separated between many heads leading to further infighting.
Christmas of 1980 saw repressive measures in Zahle, on December 21, Father Elie Abou Chahla, Superior of the convent of Saint Anthony in Zahle contacted Kaslik in an emergency; the LF killed in combat some Syrian soldiers in the surroundings of Zahle and the situation deteriorated very quickly with the Syrian forces heavily bombarding Zahle. Abbot Naaman first contacted the American ambassador, the French ambassador, Bachir Gemayel, and President Elias Sarkis. The American ambassador, John Gunther Dean then contacted Father Naaman assuring him that the situation will soon return to normal — in fact, the shelling stopped but the encirclement remained.
Tensions were low at the start of 1981, which gave the Lebanese Order time to make some mediations and help in the release of hostages. The Order also arranged a seminar between the Lebanese Front and the World Maronite Union. In the seminar, they discussed lobbying in the main capitals of influence — especially the United States — to explain the Front’s position and gain support for the Lebanese cause.
On April 2, 1981, at 10:00 AM, the Syrian Army shelled Zahle and Beirut’s Christian neighborhoods indiscriminately. Once again, Abbot Naaman started to contact a list of people starting with the Maronite Patriarch, then headed to the residence of Camille Chamoun in Achrafieh. In the afternoon, the Lebanese Front held an emergency meeting with Christian ministers and the commander of the LF, Bachir Gemayel. The three ministers Joseph Abou Khater, Joseph Skaff, and Elias Hraoui — originally from Zahle — decided to meet with President Elias Sarkis threatening to submit their resignations if he doesn’t order a ceasefire. President Sarkis did give the order but — as usual — it was completely ignored by the Syrian forces.
This time, Abbot Naaman’s efforts were focused mainly on Patriarch Anthony Khoreich — who was particularly receptive to his suggestions. The Maronite Patriarch helped the Order maintain constant contact with the Lebanese President and the Saudi and American ambassadors. On April 4, the Maronite Council of Bishops gathered under the Presidency of Patriarch Khoreich, where they called for the lifting of the blockade on Zahle and the taking over of security by the Lebanese Army and the Internal Security Forces. That same evening Bachir Gemayel held a meeting in the Lebanese Forces HQ of Karantina with a group from Kaslik led by Father Boulos Naaman and were joined by various political and military personalities. Abbot Naaman suggested they keep pressuring President Sarkis to condemn the actions of the Arab Deterrent Forces in Zahle, this way if they could reach a ceasefire, the ADF would lose its legitimacy in Lebanon.
Following multiple meetings with Lebanese Front leaders and Christian decision-makers, an interview with the Maronite Patriarch involving members of the Union of Christian Leagues and the Research Committee of Kaslik was held, in which they thanked the president and international organizations who sympathized with the cause of Zahle. The Lebanese Maronite Order added that any partial solution is rejected because this would normalize murder and destruction. The problem escalated when the Syrians managed to seize the hills surrounding Zahle — which connected the town to the Christian enclave.
In the middle of the clashes in Zahle, a meeting grouped the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Khaddam and Abbot Boulos Naaman. In a message relating to the military operation in Zahle, the latter added:
“I have come here as a priest and I shall speak to you as a priest. We [the Lebanese Resistance] have decided to die in Lebanon. We don’t need Israel or anyone and we are fully prepared to defeat any plans aimed at Lebanon — simply because we are ready to die for it.”
This statement can be taken as symbolic of the resistant identity of the monks during the Battle of Zahle.
The sit-ins organized by the Lebanese monks and nuns at the Presidential Palace can also be taken as symbolic of the Order’s resistant nature. With the blessings of the Lebanese Maronite Order and Patriarch Khoreich, a group of Zahle’s priests, monks and nuns decided to help resist the bombardment. The group marched toward the Presidential Palace in the hope of meeting the president. The president did not welcome the peaceful protesters at first, but they didn’t give up and decided to camp outside the palace for three weeks, choosing prayer and patience, while others started to hunger strike. The siege on Zahle lasted nearly three months. On June 30, 1981, the Lebanese Resistance was welcomed in Beirut victorious.
Over time, the intellectual and spiritual guidance from the Lebanese Maronite Order left its mark on Lebanese society. The Order saw itself as duty-bound to commit itself politically and socially to the Lebanese cause. And with Abbot Boulos Naaman at the helm, it played a key role in the rise of Bachir Gemayel to the presidency in 1982. It withdrew from politics only in the mid-1980s, not without pressure from the Vatican. The active role of the Lebanese Order monks during that period can serve as an example of the role the Church can play to preserve the Christian presence in the East.
Bibliography:
- Books:
Farid El Khazen, The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon (London, 2000)
Makram Rabah, Conflict on Mount Lebanon, The Druze, the Maronites and Collective Memory (Edinburgh, 2020)
Antoine Saad, Memoirs of Father Abbot Boulos Naaman (Jdeide, 2016)
Karim Pakradouni, Stillborn peace: the mandate of Elias Sarkis (Beirut, 1983)
Theodor Hanf, Coexistence in Wartime Lebanon. Decline of a State and Rise of a Nation (London, 1993)
Joseph Abou Khalil, The History of the Maronites in the War (Beirut, 1989)
Alain Menargues, Les Secrets de La Guerre Du Liban I (Beirut, 2004)
Samir Kassir, La Guerre du Liban (Beirut, 1994)
- Articles:
Julie A. Tegho, A Church at War: Clergy & Politics in Wartime Lebanon, Providence (2019)
Alexander D. M. Henley, Politics of a Church at War: Maronite Catholicism in the Lebanese Civil War, Mediterranean Politics, 13:3, 353–369 (2008)
