The Maronite Catholic Church recently concluded a 3-year synod.
BEIRUT, Lebanon – The Maronite Catholic Church’s patriarchal synod is a "new Pentecost" for Maronites around the world, said an Australian Maronite bishop and synod participant.
"We felt the need to come together to have a new spring and to have a church of new horizons for new times," said Bishop ‘Ad Abikaram of St. Maron of Sydney, Australia. The synod also represented an opportunity for Maronites to "rediscover our Maronite-ness."
The three-phase Maronite synod, which began in June 2003 and ended June 11, was a reflection and examination of issues and suggested reforms related to the Maronite Catholic Church, an Eastern rite in communion with Rome, with about 5 million Maronites around the world.
The first Maronite synod to be held in Lebanon since 1818, it included a three-week first session in June 2003 that had 433 participants, 255 of whom were laypeople. Representatives from other religious communities – including Sunni and Shiite Muslims and Druze – attended as observers.
This is a daily reading of the Prayers of the Faithful or Divine Office for the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church.