As discussed in Panels 4 and 5, the Council of Trent (1545–1563) marked a period of intensified Latinization within the Maronite Church, where the Latin Church actively sought to integrate the Maronites by encouraging the adoption of its legislative decrees and liturgical practices (Amar, 2011).

Subsequently, this integration process progressed significantly, culminating in the 1736 Synod of Mount Lebanon. Convened under papal aegis at Saydet Louaize Monastery in Zouk Mosbeh, the Synod formally codified and institutionalized these Latinizing influences, thereby transforming the Maronite Church's liturgical and canonical practices (Dib, 1924). In this context, Beggiani (2003) observes that “there were a number of reasons for the convoking of the Synod of 1736. The Church of Rome desired to implement the teachings of the Council of Trent among the Eastern churches. There was a need to clarify liturgical practice and to codify particular law for the Maronite Church.”

Moreover, Giuseppe Simone Assemani (Yūsuf Simʿān al-Simʿānī, 1687–1768), one of the most recognized alumni of the Maronite College, polymath, first Custodian of the Vatican Library, and titular bishop of Tyre, was appointed papal legate to the synod. While in Rome and prior to his arrival in Lebanon, he drafted a synodal text in Latin (Mohasseb Saliba, 2022). An Arabic translated version was provided to the Maronite Patriarch Yūsuf Ḍurghām al-Khāzin (1733-1742) and the bishops shortly before the opening of the synod. The synodal fathers offered changes and amendments to the text during three days of sessions and gave final unanimous approval on October 2, 1736 (Beggiani, 2003).

An important outcome of the 1736 Synod was its groundbreaking decision to make primary education compulsory for both boys and girls (Daccache, 2022). Rizk (2000) notes that the Synod encouraged education and made it free and mandatory for both boys and girls. These measures were considered revolutionary for that day and age in this part of the world. In parallel, the Synod further required the opening of schools—an unprecedented demand in its scope and ambition.

Furthermore, Khalil (2020) stated that “The synod requested those in charge of dioceses, cities, villages, and monasteries to appoint a teacher where there was none, as the responsibility for education at that time generally fell to clergy, both Christian and Muslim, who had a certain level of education.”

In fact, the Louaize Synod of 1736 initiated the process for formalizing and structuring the educational system in Lebanon. The Maronite Church, with the support of the Holy See and local families, embarked on establishing schools in rural and urban areas, making education one of the main pillars of the mission of the Maronite Church and the monastic orders (N., 2013).

Consequently, the synod mandating families to send their children to school (Khalil, 2020) led to a higher enrollment of Christians in these educational institutions, creating a gap between the Christian and Muslim populations in terms of education by the end of the nineteenth century (Courbage & Fargue, 1992). This gap, combined with Muslim commoners’ reluctance to send their children to missionary-run schools due to fears of proselytization, spurred the growth of locally established schools and contributed to an educational renaissance in the last quarter of the 19th century (Moeller, 2011).

Moreover, the educational progress occurred at an opportune time, coinciding with the evolution taking place on economic, social, and political levels not only in Lebanon, but also in the Ottoman Empire, Europe, and the world. For Christian minorities in the Ottoman Empire, access to ‘modern’ education in the nineteenth century enforced identity formation, leading to empowerment and emancipation. Le Thomas (2012) observed that “Christians became more educated, urban, and influenced by European culture than their Muslim counterparts, resulting in better economic opportunities and the potential for emigration as a means of improving their lives. This modern education also contributed to the significant role Christians played in the Arab cultural and political awakening (al-Nahda) during that period.”

Le Thomas’ observation was echoed in a recent publication on the synod of 1736 by Al-Ayyash in 2012, in which he synthesizes that “the reforms introduced by the Lebanese Synod are viewed as having played a pivotal role not only in advancing Maronite society and the Church but also in fostering the broader development of Lebanese society. By prioritizing education in its decrees, the Synod significantly contributed to the revival of the Nahḍa in Arab culture. Thus, the Maronites' connection with the Roman Catholic Church and France can be credited with bringing progress, enlightenment, and cultural growth to Lebanon, benefiting all of its communities.”

Photo Credits

Fig. 14.1: MS Bkerke I, 119. (1736). The Arabic autograph of the Lebanese Synod (f. 209v).
Fig. 14.2: al-Majmaʿ al-lubnānī (Lebanese Synod), Shuwayr: Press of the Monastery of St. John the Baptist.
Fig. 14.3: Synodus Provincialis... (1820).Romae: Typis S. Congregationis de Propaganda Fide.

References

• Al-Ayyash, G. (2021). المجمع اللبناني 1736 مخاض ما قبل الإصلاح (The Lebanese Synod of 1736: Labor Pains Before Reform). Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Sā'ir al-Mashriq.
• Amar, J. (2011). Maronite Church. In Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition (e-GEDSH). Gorgias Press. https://bit.ly/3sNULcN
• Beggiani S. J. (2003). Le Synode libanais de 1736 (Review). The Catholic Historical Review, 89(4), 786-788. The Catholic University of America. https://doi.org/10.1353/cat.2003.0185
• Courbage, Y., & Fargues, P. (1992). Chrétiens et juifs dans l'Islam arabe et turc. Paris: Fayard.
• Daccache, S. (2022, May 28). Réalités et défis de l’Éducation au Liban [Lecture]. Évêché maronite Antélias, Église Saint-Maron Bauchrieh. https://usj.edu.lb/photos/pdf/discour_pdf1_3648.pdf
• Dib, P. (1924). Les conciles de l'Église maronite (de 1557 à 1644). Revue des Sciences Religieuses, 4(2), 193-220. https://doi.org/10.3406/rscir.1924.1253
• Khalīl, R. (2020). Malāmiḥ min al-ḥayāh al-taʿlīmīyah fī Jabal Lubnān wa-baʿḍ manāṭiq al-wilāyah āwākhir al-qarn 19. Almanara Magazine. https://bit.ly/3EKcYX5
• Le Thomas, C. (2012). Education and minority empowerment in the Middle East. In D. F. Eickelman (Ed.), Religious Minorities in the Middle East (Vol. 108, pp. 267-287). Social, Economic and Political Studies of the Middle East and Asia (S.E.P.S.M.E.A.). https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004216846_013
• Moeller, E. (2011). Les écoles françaises au Liban 1909-1943 : Lieux de la « mission civilisatrice » ? Documents pour l’histoire du français langue étrangère ou seconde, 46. https://doi.org/10.4000/dhfles.2130
• Mohasseb-Saliba, S. M. (2022). Joseph-Simon Assémani, le synode du Mont Liban (1736) et la réforme monastique. In Actes du Congrès "L'Orient chrétien dans l'Occident latin": 300e anniversaire de la Bibliotheca Orientalis d'Assémani (1719-2019) (Vol. 48, Tome II). Parole de l'Orient. Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik (USEK). https://bit.ly/3Jg5Jrj
• N., C. (2013, March 28). Un système éducatif structuré dès ses origines autour du privé. Le Commerce du Levant. https://bit.ly/3PCkhOy