Feast Day March 2
Saint John Maroun was born in Syria in 628 AD. Known first as John the Sarumite, he was educated in Antioch and then in the Monastery of Saint Maroun, where he mastered sacred scripture as well as mathematics, sciences, philosophy, theology, and linguistics.
He joined Beit Maroun, professed his monastic vows, and was ordained a priest, taking the name Yuhanna, John Maroun. He engaged in ecumenical debates with Monophysites and Monothelite heresies, standing firm to Catholic and Council of Chalcedon teaching on the divine and human nature of Christ.
Saint John Maroun was consecrated a bishop in 676 AD, and in 685 AD was elected the first Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East by Pope Sergius I, enabling Maronites to claim full apostolic succession through the Patriarchal See of Antioch, the oldest See in Christianity.
Following victory against the Byzantine Army, led by Emperor Justinian II, Patriarch John Maroun moved the Patriarchal See from Antioch to Mount Lebanon and had a monastery built in Kfar Hay, which still stands today. It is in this monastery where Saint John Maroun was laid to rest following his death in 707 AD.
O Christ our God, Sun of Justice and Light of the Father, in Your humility You taught us and gave us a perfect example of service. O Christ our God, we ask You, through the intercession of our father Saint John Maroun, to confirm the children of Your holy Church in the true faith and to keep away all divisions and strife from her.
With Your Mother Mary, our father Saint John Maroun, and all our holy fathers, make us worthy to meet You in Your Heavenly kingdom, that we may raise glory and thanks to You, to Your Father, and to Your Holy Spirit, forever. Amen.
Adapted from the Hoosoyo on the Feast of Saint John Maroun.