The Maronite church is one of the Eastern Rites within the Catholic church, in FULL COMMUNION with the Holy See in the Vatican. It is important to stress out that the Maronite church has ALWAYS been in full communion with Rome. Also important to mention that maronites make up the largest population of catholics in the Middle-East. The Maronite rite is an Antiochian rite. Antioch is the city where the term "Christians" was first used to describe believers in Jesus. Saint Peter was the first bishop of Antioch before becoming first bishop of Rome. The liturgic language during mass is Syriac as opposed to Latin in the Roman rite. Syriac is a language that is very closely associated with Aramaic the language that our Lord Jesus-Christ spoke.

The Maronite church started in the late 4th century A.D. with Saint Maron and his followers.St. Maron was a priest who later became a hermit, retiring to a mountain of Taurus in the region of Cyrrhus, near Antioch.His holiness and miracles attracted many followers, and drew attention throughout the empire.......(For a more detailed biography of Saint Maron check the following site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maron)