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Patriarch Stephane Douaihy

(1630 – 1704)

Stephane Douaihy, one of the greatest of the Maronite Patriarchs, was born in Ehden on August 30, 1630. He was sent to Rome in 1641 by Patriarch George Aamira. Both in Europe and in the Middle East, Douaihy sought out manuscripts and sources that dealt with Maronite history and tradition. Returning to Lebanon in 1655, he was sent as a missionary by the Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith, and went throughout Lebanon teaching the children and preaching. He was sent by Patriarch George Bseb'el to Aleppo where he remained for some time, and it is said, he converted many Melkites, Nestorians, and Jacobites to the

The two known portraits of Patriarch Stephane Douaihy

Catholic faith. In 1668, he was consecrated Bishop of Cyprus, and he was elected Patriarch on May 20, 1670. As Patriarch he went all over Lebanon investigating and correcting liturgical books, with the desire to return to the ancient customs. During his term as patriarch he suffered many persecutions and had to flee to kesrawan and the Chouf. There are many who report that miracles took place during his life and after his death. Patriarch Douaihy was the first Maronite to attempt a complete history of his people. He published several volumes which earned him the title of "Father of the Maronite history."

We have an eyewitness description of some of the Maronite Liturgical practices during this time. M. De La Croix, secretary to the French ambassador to Constantinople, writing about 1672 states that the Maronites have 60 anaphoras. Their vestments are like those of the Roman church, but they do not follow the Roman rubrics on color. They say only one Mass per day at each altar, and the lay people receive communion under both species. They have seven bishops: at Qannoubin with the Patriarch, at Saida, Cyprus, Damascus, Ehden, at the Monasteries of Mar Eliseus and Mar Sarkis, and also a mitered abbot at the Monastery of St. Anthony. The observation that the Maronites have 60 anaphoras indicates that despite the Synods of 1596, manuscript missals were still being used. Also surprising was that lay communion under both species seemed still to be in practice, at least in some parts of Lebanon.

Patriarch Douaihy undertook to stabilize the Maronite Liturgy. He sought to publish a definitive ritual. In regard to baptism, his ritual contained the rites of James of Saroug, James of Edessa, and Basil. However Patriarch Doueihi's ritual forbad priests to confer Christmation. Also, it required that children reach the age of reason before receiving communion. Thus, in these practices he confirmed the Latinizations of previous synods. Not found in the ritual of Douaihy are the rite for blessing of ashes, and the rite of the Cross for the Fridays of Lent. Patriarch Douaihy ordered that this ritual be the only accepted one in the Patriarchate. Another significant work was Patriarch Douaihy's definitive commentary on the Maronite Liturgy which bore the name of Lamp of the Sanctuary.

Patriarch Douaihy sought to publish a Pontifical which, it was hoped, would make practice uniform. To reform the Pontifical, Douaihy depended on the works of Patriarch Jerome Amchiti (1209-1230), and the ritual of 1295 by

In this cell in Wadi Qannoubine lived Patriarch Stephane Douaihy.

Archbishop Theodore of Akourah, and manuscript Pontificals dated 1311, 1495, 1581, and 1584. Patriarch Douehi sent the text to Rome to be printed in 1683. However, despite its solemn approval by the Synod of 1736, the Pontifical never gained universal in the Patriarchate. In fact, it was never printed.

Patriarch Douaihy's work was limited only to history and liturgy, he also established a seminary at Qannoubin to teach Maronite students free of charge. The religious Order of St. Anthony was founded under him. (This Order is not the Antonine Order of today, but rather was the basis for the Allepine and Baladite Orders). In 1700 there were forty religious of this Order at Qannoubin. They lived a very austere life and dressed very simply. Pope Clement XII in 1732 confirmed the Order and its institutions. At this time all the monasteries were autonomous. Patriarch Douaihy wished to introduce the Western system of centralized authority, and on June 18, 1700, he approved the first constitutions for the reform of the monasteries.

The political condition of the Maronites at this time was no better than in the preceding years of this century. Throughout all of Lebanon, the Maronites suffered persecutions under the Turks. Villages were destroyed and their inhabitants dispersed, fathers of families were thrown into prison, and outrages were committed against the Patriarch and Bishops. Patriarch Douaihy appealed to the King of France to intervene, and on June 28, 1702, the King sent the Patriarch 1,000 pounds to help pay his debts.

An important event that took place during the Patriarchate of Stephane Douaihy was the hundredth anniversary of the Maronite College in Rome, which had been founded in 1585. At this time, the College boast of four Patriarchs and thirteen Bishops from among its graduates since its establishment.

Whenever you write Maronites history you have to quote Patriarch Stephane Duwayhi. Here is a sample from an essay on the history of hermitage in Lebanon which was published in the "Journal of Maronite Studies". You can notice that Patriarch Duwayhi was the only reliable source for any material related to the old history of Maronites.

FROM APAMEA TO THE HOLY VALLEY OF SAINTS, QADISHA

After the Maronites settled in Lebanon with their brethren in the areas of the Jubbat, the Qadisha Valley, Qozhaya, and Qannoubine in the Northern part of Lebanon, their community flourished with hermits and ascetics. Many retreated to the natural caves and hermitages, especially of the Qadisha Valley. "Soon monasteries multiplied on the hills, hermits populated the flanks of the mountains, perched on overhanging rocks or nestled in caves."

The [Qadisha] Valley with its natural serenity and ruggedness offered these hermits and recluses an ideal setting for their contemplation, asceticism and prayers. Transplanted into a land particularly favorable to recollection and meditation, monastic life flourished with a new vigor. The Valley flourished because of them and was called after them -- Qadisha from Syriac meaning saints, Qannoubine from Greek meaning the gathering of monks, and Qozhaya from Syriac meaning the treasure of life.

Historic references about the Maronite hermits in the Holy Valley of Qadisha is scarce. There may be two major reasons for this lack. First, the obscure and invisible life in which the hermits lived; and second, the persecutions, conflicts, the burning of libraries and the plundering of monasteries and hermitages which left us practically no writings about these hermits.

Most of what we know about the eremitic life in the Maronite community comes mainly from the writings of the Patriarch Scholar Stephen Douaihi in his book "The History Of Times" (Tarikh al Azminat). The first hermit that Douaihi mentions is Youhanna from Qnat in Northern Lebanon.

Douaihi recounts that Youhanna became a hermit in 1228 in the Qannoubine Valley. He then mentions that in 1393, Elisha' Al-Hadthy was living in Mar Sarkis (Saint Sergius) Hermitage near the Monastery of Mar Aboun (Saint John Maron) overlooking the Holy Valley. Douaihi states that "when the Patriarch Youhanna Al-Jaji died in 1445, the bishops, the superiors of the monasteries and the people elected a successor Bishop Ya'coub son of Eid Al-Hadthy who was raised in Mar Sarkis (Saint Sergius) Hermitage". In 1472 The priest Girgis Al-Ehdeny was living with his student Deacon Tadrous from 'Aintourine in Saint Anthony of Qozhaya hermitage. He tells that in 1495 the priest Barakat from Bkoufa built the hermitage of Mar Mikhael (Saint Michael) north-west the Monastery of Qozhaya and lived in it until his last days and that the following hermits succeeded each other in living in this hermitage: Moussa from Yammouneh, Ya'coub from Barnasa near Mayfouq, Michael I from Ehden, Hanna from Ehden, Michael II and his nephew Gibrayel from Ehden, then Michael III from Ehden who died in 1617. All of these names were written in the Bible of the said hermitage.

For the Sixteenth Century, Douaihi mentions the names of the hermit Younan Al-Matriti who spent 50 years in the hermitage. His student, hermit Gibrayel Al-Ehdeny, wrote the following about him which is related to us by Douaihi "In the year 1542, the pious hermit Younan Al-Matriti died in a holy manner, fortified with the blessing of the Patriarch Moussa and of Koriakos, Bishop of Ehden. He had lived in the hermitage of Mar Mikhael (Saint Michael a hermitage at the entrance of the Monastery of Qozhaya) for 50 years. With perfect purity of heart, he celebrated Mass each morning; four years before his death, he ate only once every two days, and during Lent, on Saturday and Sunday only. His fasts extended from Pentecost to Christmas, from Epiphany to Easter. He drank only on Saturday and made prostrations until he was covered with sweat; during Holy Week he did 24,000 and was surpassed only by his more vigorous student Hanna Al- Lahfedi who had gone up to 26,000" (Goudard 1908: 297)

The hermit Younan had many students, but most famous of all was Youhanna Al-Lehfedy who served his sick teacher for 14 years. This student surpassed his teacher in ascetic living. (Also Gibrayel Al-Ehdeny, who was an austere living man, surpassed his colleagues in penance, fasting and severe asceticism. He made prostrations a thousand times and during Holy Week he would not stop his prostrations. He abstained from water from the first day of lent until the [Maundy] Thursday of the Mysteries Despite these ascetic actions, he never stopped copying books and manuscripts, until all of Mount Lebanon was filled with his beautiful hand copied books.

In addition, Douaihi mentions the death in1560 of the Hermit Melka Al-Bqoufani who spent 60 years as a hermit. He first lived in the hermitage of Qozhaya, then at Mar Doumit in Daraya, then in a hew hermitage opposite of 'Argis and lastly in Mar MiKhael (Saint Michael) hermitage above Qozhaya Monastery. He was an excellent model and a living example to all. He would kneel during lent for a week at a time and he would not eat but on Sunday. He went barefoot and would mortify his body through hunger, thirst and lack of sleep. He always invoked the name of the Lord. He never looked at a woman's face. Because of his virtues and saintly conduct, Patriarch Moussa Al-'Akkary elevated him to Bishop.

The reputation of these and many other hermits and monks went beyond Syria and Lebanon to attract Frenchmen such as François de Gallaup, Sir de Chasteuil from Provence who came in the first part of the seventeenth century. He first lived in a room in Mar Ya'coub Monastery (Saint Jacob) in Ehden. Next he stayed in the Monastery of Mar Sarkis (Saint Sergius) in Ras el-Nahr, and then in the Monastery of Mar Lisha' (Saint Elisée) in the Holy Valley. He lived according to the rules, under the direction of the monks. He spent 12 years in solitary prayer, meditation, the performance of penance and reading Holy Scripture in various Semitic languages. He died in 1644.

More hermitages were established toward the second half of theseventeenth century as the number of hermits increased in the QadishaValley and Qannoubine. Duwaihi describes Hermit Sarkis Al-Samarani,who became a solitary or religious recluse in the Hermitage of SaintAnthony of Qozhaya, as a religious and learned man and one with excellentcommand of Syriac and Arabic. ThenDuwaihi identifies Yousef Al-Basloukaiti who died in 1580, and Ja'coub'Assas Al-Samarani who died in 1584, as hermits in the hermitages ofFaradis.

Duwaihi continues by naming Hermit Sarkis Ben Moussa Al-Rizzi – who after completion of his studies in Rome, return to Lebanon and upon the election of his brother Youssef as the Patriarch in 1596 -- took his place in the Hermitage of Mar Bishoy (Saint Païsios) near the Monastery of Saint Anthony of Qozhaya. It is noteworthy that the first printing press in the East was brought to the Monastery o Saint Anthony of Qozhaya through the efforts of Hermit Sarkis Al-Rizzi.

In his chronicle, Duwaihi reports that in the year 1533, the solitary, Father Girgis Ben Hirwas of the village of 'Argis, devoted his time to the construction and expansion of the Monastery of Mar Lisha' (Saint Elisée). Hanna 'Abd al-Mun'em helped him in his enterprise. The nun Sarah, who was living a solitary life and who endured the rigors of ascetic life like him, also contributed to the cost of the monastery's construction.

Prior to 1695, there was no monastic or eremitic organization in the modern legal sense. Monastic life in the Maronite community was organized as such in 1695, the date of the restructuring of the independent monasteries in Lebanon under one religious order. "Three Maronites from Aleppo helped him [Patriarch Duwaihi] to realize his desire [i.e., to introduce in the monasteries the system of religious orders of the West]: Gabriel Hawa (later Archbishop of Cyprus), Abdallah Qaraali (later Archbishop of Beirut), and Joseph el-Bethn".

Under Duwaihi's auspices, the three Maronites Aleppines (referring to Aleppo in Syria) undertook the challenge of reform. They drew up their plan and "received from his hands the monastic habit and cowl on November 10, 1695. In 1698, when they had completed drawing up the statues, their institute already counted many new recruits. They called themselves at first the Aleppine monks, from the name of the town of their founders Aleppo.