Patriarch Youssef Tyan (1796 - 1808)

Patriarch Youssef Tyan was born in Beirut and belonged to a prominent Maronite family, who sent him to Rome at an early age where he was educated in the Maronite College and ordained priest in 1784. In the year 1786 he was consecrated bishop of Damascus, and in 1788 he became Patriarchal Vicar. April 28th 1796 he became Patriarch Youssef Tyan. When in 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte besieged Akka, being now Patriarch he asked the Prince of Lebanon Bashir II to rally to Napoleon with his Lebanese soldiers. Bashir did not respond, but Patriarch Tyan urged the Maronites to volunteer for the French forces. The Patriarch also sent ammunition and supplies to the French army. But despite this help Napoleon failed to capture Akka. The Patriarch decided to abdicate and sent a letter to the Roman See to this effect on 3rd October 1807. On June 8th 1809, Bishop Youhanna El-Helou succeeded him.

Patriarch Tyan then retired in the hermitage of Saint Ephrem in Dar'oun, Kesserwan. A few years later he moved to a newly established Seminary college of St. John Maroun in Kfarhay Batroun, where he taught theology. Patriarch Tyan lived and died in the odor of sanctity. After his retirement from the Patriarchate, he practically lived a hermit's existence, dedicating himself to prayer, meditation, asceticism and the contemplative life. He died on February 20th, 1820 at the Patriarchal Seat of Qannoubine. His body was found to be still incorrupt a hundred years after his death.

Patriarch Youhanna El-Helou (1809 - 1823)

Patriarch Youhanna El-Helou's achievements were by no means inconsiderable. He repaired and restored the Patriarchal See of Qannoubine that had been abandoned by the Patriarchs for a hundred years. Patriarch El-Helou inhabited Qannoubine from 1811. He regained much of the church's property that had been taken away unjustly. He converted the Monastery of St. John Maroun in Kfarhay Batroun and that of Roumieh Qolay'at in Kesserwan into Patriarchal Colleges and seminaries in 1812 and 1817 respectively. In 1818, he convoked the Maronite general Council of Louayzeh. He died on the 12th of May 1823, and was buried at Qannoubine. Patriarch John el-Helou and the Synod of Louayzeh of 1818.

Patriarch John el-Helou (1809-23) made his residence in the ancient patriarchal monastery of Qannoubine, which was run down from being abandoned for many years. He tried to rebuild and restore it. He also converted the monastery of John Maron of Kfarhay into a seminary.

A significant event in the reign of Patriarch El-Helou was the holding of the Synod of Louayzeh. Pope Pius VII had called for a synod to deal with the matters of the fixed residence of bishops and of mixed monasteries (that is, the practice where house for men and women religious stood side by side). The Synod opened on April 12, 1818 at the Monastery of Our Lady of Louayzeh.

The first session dealt with the question of monasteries. There were four categories: seminaries, monasteries for men, monasteries for women, and monasteries for women leading a common life without pronouncing vows.

A special commission was designed to deal with the arguments concerning the right of patronage, that is, certain wealthy families had given land or money to establish religious houses and had rights over how they were to be administered. In the second session, the monasteries which were to serve as residences for the Patriarch and bishops were indicated. There was also a decision to have the Monastery of Roumieh as a national seminary. Pope Pius VII approved the acts of the Synod in 1819.

Although mandated by the Synod of Mount Lebanon, the practice of mixed monasteries came to an end only after the Synod of Louayzeh, during the reign of Patriarch Hobeish in 1826. In the case of residences for bishops, which was also mandated by the Synod of Mount Lebanon, because of the lack of Episcopal residences, newly elected bishops would reside in monasteries placed under the patronage of their relatives or a family which they knew, even outside their territory. The Synod of Louayzeh fixed the monastery where each would live, but it fell to Patriarch Hobeish (1823-45) to see to the definitive application of the decrees concerning residence.

Patriarch Youssef Hobeish (1823 - 1845)

Patriarch Hobeish insisted upon the application of the Code of the Lebanese Council in 1736, especially as regards to the religious instruction and preaching, and the encouragement of seminaries for the education of the clergy. He founded two new seminaries, those of Mar Abda Herheraya and St. Serge of Rayfoun. In these two seminaries and in those of Kfarhay Roumieh, and Ain-Warqa he made the teaching of Syriac, Arabic, Italian, Latin, philosophy, theology and physical sciences obligatory. In 1840, he founded a religious congregation of missionaries for the purpose of teaching religion in the villages and towns. Patriarch Hobeish was a true apostle. He used to visit the parishes of his Patriarchate, instructing the priests in their functions and obligations, teaching them theology, settling local quarrels and reuniting families. In the turbulent years of the Egyptian invasion between 1831 and 1840, Lebanon became the arena of international conflicts involving France, Britain, Turkey, Austria, Prussia and other powers. In the midst of the turmoil, Patriarch Hobeish succeeded in unifying both the Maronite community and the Lebanese multiconfessional population.

Patriarch Youssef Hobeish was elected May 25, 1823. He had neither the canonical age (40 years), nor the two-thirds majority required for patriarchal election. The Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith wished to declare the election null, but the Pope validated and confirmed the election on May 3, 1824.

Patriarch Hobeish sought to implement the reforms of the Synod of Mount Lebanon and to provide for the education of the clergy. The Maronite College in Rome had been closed by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798, and its holdings were liquidated in 1808. Patriarch Hobeish wished to revive it, but circumstances hindered him. Therefore, he reorganized the seminary of Ain-Warqa and erected two new ones, that of Mar Abda Herheraya in 1830 and that of Mar Sarkis and Bakhos in 1832. Patriarch Hobeish urged the priests and monks to follow the Synodal articles, and during his reign parish organization made progress.

Patriarch Hobeish was highly regarded by the Ottoman authorities. The Sultan accorded him the favor of having a charge d'affaires at Istanbul, and sent him the medal of mejidieh of the first class, a rare distinction for this time.

To be more accessible to the people, Patriarch Hobeish established two residences. The winter residence was at Bkerké, and the summer one in the region of the Cedars. However, instead of residing at Qannoubine in the "Holy Valley", which was of
difficult accessibility, he chose to live at nearby Dimane which dominated the valley. Here he built a church and along side it a cloister.

Patriarch Hobeish and the Maronites had to suffer through the tragedies of 1840-45. During that period he sought to provide strength and leadership. The burdens of this sad time resulted in his death on May 23, 1845.

Patriarch Youssef Al-Khazen (1845 - 1854)

Patriarch Youssef Al-Khazen was elected at Dair Mayfouq, on the 8th of August 1845. In 1845 the Turkish army ignoring the autonomy of Mount Lebanon, invaded the Mountain, to disarm the population. In Northern Lebanon the Maronites, particularly those of Akoura, Tannourine, Becharré and Ehden, opposed the Turks with the army of several thousand under the leadership of Hosn Al-Khazen and Abou-Samra Ghanem. The Maronites had nothing to face the Turkish artillery; Patriarch Al-Khazen intervened and persuaded the Turks to call a halt to the war and to agree to a settlement negotiated between the Patriarch and the Turkish government with indemnities paid by the latter.

A new code of regulations called "code of Shakeeb Afandy" was drawn up for Lebanon. After his death he was buried at Dimane, the new Patriarchal Residence in the Qadisha Valley, on 3rd November 1854, he was succeeded by Patriarch Boulos Massad.

Patriarch Boulos Massad (1854 - 1890)

In the first few years of the Patriarchate of Boulos Massad (1857-1859), the people of Kesserwan revolted against the Al-Khazen family, whose members had been strengthening Christianity in Kesserwan since the time of Fakhr-al-Din. The darkest period of the Maronite Nation occurred during the Patriarchate of Boulos Massad, with the civil war between Maronites and Druzes, in the 1860. The Patriarch could not effectively bring peace and unity during this period. Patriarch Massad died on April 18th 1890, at Bkerké and was buried in St Peter's school, in Ashqout, his native village.

After the nine-year reign of Patriarch Joseph Al-Khazen, Paul Massad was elected by acclamation on November 12, 1854. The new Patriarch inaugurated his reign by preparing for a national Synod to be held at Bkerké in 1856. He himself drafted the text, which was intended not only to assure the application of the Synod of Mount Lebanon, but also to introduce modifications as the circumstances required. However, the acts of the Synod were never confirmed officially, and remained a dead letter.

Patriarch Massad provided leadership during the tragic events of 1860. In 1867, he went to Rome to assist at the 1800th anniversary of the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul. This was perhaps the second time a reigning Maronite Patriarch had visited Rome. He did not attend the First Vatican Council (1869-70), but was represented by a mission headed by Peter Boustany, Archbishop of Tyre and Saida.

From Rome, the Patriarch went to Paris where Napoleon III welcomed him with all the honors due his rank. He traveled to Istanbul, where the Sultan Abdul-Aziz offered him hospitality in a palace where care had been taken to install a chapel.

Patriarch Massad died on April 18, 1890. Besides having been a strong and resourceful leader, he was a person of great intellect and had written many theological works.

Patriarch Youhanna El-Haj (1890 - 1898)

On April 28, 1890, the Maronite Bishops unanimously elected Youhanna El-Haj as Patriarch. He was an alumnus of the seminary of Ain-Warqa. He also had studied civil law, and his reputation was such that he was named Judge for the Christians of Lebanon in 1844 at a time of deep crisis for his countrymen. He was courageous in defending their just rights.

As Patriarch, Youhanna El-Haj embellished the residences of Bkerké and Dimane, giving them proper stature. He was decorated by France with the Legion of Honor and received from the Ottoman sultan the mejidieh of the first class and the Grand Osmanic cordon. Patriarch El-Haj gave a vigorous impetus to the establishment of schools, to the discipline of the clergy, to diverse works which would raise the level of his people. He showed himself to be a devoted, skilled defender of both Latin and Maronite foundations for the instruction of youth, for the help of the poor, and for the development of the Christian life.

While at this time there were four national seminaries in Lebanon, they were under rights of patronage in their organization of studies, discipline and temporal matters. Patriarch El-Haj wished for a seminary that would belong only to Patriarchal authority. For this purpose, he constituted a patrimony whose revenues would suffice for the project. Patriarch El-Haj also wished to establish resources outside of Lebanon so

that the Maronite seminarians could study at renowned institutions. He hoped for a center at Rome and another at Paris. Through the efforts of his Vicar, the future Patriarch Elias Howayek, the Maronite College in Rome was re-established in 1891. This was achieved through his raising funds in France and even from the sultan in Istanbul. In addition to donations he collected from Maronites, he was given a gift of 150,000 francs from the Pope. He bought a large estate in Rome on the Via di Porta Pinciana and established the Maronite College there. The College remained in operation until 1939.

Through his efforts in France, Archbishop Howayek was able to establish a Maronite church and a procurator for the Maronites in Paris. He also solicited scholarships for clerics to study in France. Patriarch El-Haj also desired to have a center in Palestine. Again, through the work of Archbishop Howayek, a procurator and a church were established in Jerusalem in 1895. Patriarch El-Haj died on December 24, 1898. On January 6, 1899, he was succeeded by Elias Howayek.