Greek Orthodox Christianity in Lebanon

Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christians
المسيحية الأرثوذكسية الشرقية في لبنان

Total population
300,000-400,000
Languages
Vernacular: Lebanese Arabic
Religion
Christianity (Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch)

File:Lebanon religious groups.jpg

An estimate of the area distribution of Lebanon's main religious groups

Lebanon religious groups distribution

Greek Orthodox Christianity in Lebanon (Arabic: المسيحية الأرثوذكسية اليونانية في لبنان) refers to adherents of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch in Lebanon, which is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and is the second largest Christian denomination in Lebanon after the Maronites.

The Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christians are believed to constitute about 8% of the total population of Lebanon. Most of the Greek Orthodox Christians live in the capital city of Beirut, the Southeast (Nabatieh/Beqaa), and North, near Tripoli.

Under the terms of an unwritten agreement known as the National Pact between the various political and religious leaders of Lebanon, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and the Deputy Prime Minister in Lebanon are obligated to be Greek Orthodox Christians.

History

The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch adheres to the Eastern Orthodox Church, which is composed of several autocephalous jurisdictions united by common doctrine and by their use of the Byzantine rite. They are the second largest Christian denomination within Christianity in Lebanon. Historically, these churches grew out of the four Eastern Patriarchates (Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople) of the original five major episcopal sees (the Pentarchy) of the Roman Empire which included Rome. The final split between Rome and the Eastern Churches, who came to oppose the views and claims of the Popes of Rome, took place in 1054. From that time, with the exception of a brief period of reunion in the fifteenth century, the Eastern Churches have continued to reject the claims of the Patriarchate of Rome (the Catholic Church) to universal supremacy and have rejected the concept of papal infallibility. Doctrinally, the main point at issue between the Eastern and Western Churches is that of the procession of the Holy Spirit and there are also divergences in ritual and discipline.

The Greek Orthodox include many free-holders, and the community is less dominated by large landowners than other Christian denominations. In present-day Lebanon, the Eastern Orthodox Christians have become increasingly urbanized, and form a major part of the commercial and professional class of Beirut and other cities. Many are found in the Southeast (Nabatieh/Beqaa) and North, near Tripoli. They are highly educated and well-versed in finance. The Greek Orthodox church has become known in the past for its pan-Arab orientation, possibly because it exists in various parts of the Arab world. The Greek Orthodox church has often served as a bridge between Lebanese Christians and the Arab countries.

Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christians have a long and continuous association with Eastern Orthodox Churches in European countries like Greece, Cyprus, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania. The church exists in many parts of the Arab world and Greek Orthodox Christians have often been noted for pan-Arab or pan-Syrian leanings; historically, it has had less dealings with Western countries than the Maronite Church. The Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christians are believed to constitute about 8% of the total population of Lebanon, including the Palestinian Greek Orthodox community, many of whom have been given Lebanese citizenship.

The political parties, supported by the community are the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, the Lebanese Communist Party, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Marada Movement, the Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb, the Democratic Left Movement, and the Future Movement.

Greek Orthodox Christian settlements

In Lebanon, the Greek Orthodox Christians are found in Beirut, the Southeast (Nabatieh/Beqaa) and North, near Tripoli, Koura, and also in Akkar, Batroun, Matn, Aley, Zahlé, Miniyeh-Danniyeh, Hasbaya, Baabda, Marjeyoun, Tripoli, Rashaya, Jbeil, and Zgharta.

Cities and towns with a majority Greek Orthodox population in Lebanon

Achrafieh, Amioun, Kousba, Anfeh, Deddeh, Kfaraakka, Aaba, Afsdik, Bdebba, Batroumine, Bishmizzine, Btourram, Bkeftine, Bsarma, Btaaboura, Darchmezzine, Fih, Kaftoun, Kelhat, Kfarhata, Kfarhazir, Kfarsaroun, Ras Maska, Miniara, Cheikh Mohammad, Zawarib, Hamat, Douma, Dhour El Choueir, Bteghrine, Mansourieh, Broummana, Kafarakab, Bhamdoun, Souk El Gharb, Marjayoun, Deir Mimas, Rachaya Al Foukhar, Aita al-Foukhar, and others.

Cities and towns with an important Greek Orthodox minority

Ras Beirut, Tripoli, El Mina, Chekka, Bourj Hammoud, Zahleh, Halba, Batroun, Bikfaya, Baskinta, Antelias, Ras el Matn, Aley, Bechamoun, Machgara, Hasbaya, Kfeir, Niha Bekaa, Rit, and others.

Achrafieh was once ruled by seven prominent Greek Orthodox Christian families that formed Beirut's High Society for centuries: Trad, Geday, Fernaine, Araman, Bustros, Sursock, Fayyad, and Tueini.

Notable Greek Orthodox figures in Lebanon

• Lydia Canaan – Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christian singer-songwriter, poet, humanitarian, activist, and pioneering first rock star of the Middle East
• Farid Makari – Lebanese politician, former Lebanese Minister, Member of Parliament, Deputy Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament
• Charles Debbas – former President (1926–1934)
• Christos Baghdatis (Arabic: كريستوس باغداتيس) – Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christian who is the father of Cypriot tennis player, Marcos Baghdatis
• Charles Malik – former President of the United Nations General Assembly and Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Antun Saadeh – Lebanese Syrian Nationalist philosopher and founder of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party
• Antoine Andraos – Lebanese politician and a vice-president of the Movement of the Future
• Elias Murr – former Deputy Prime Minister
• Michel Murr – politician and former Deputy Prime Minister
• Michel Sassine – former Lebanese Minister, Member of Parliament, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, and Deputy Prime Minister
• Mounir Abou Fadel – Political figure of Lebanon, Member and Vice Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament
• Roger Achkar (Arabic: روجر الأشقر) – Lebanese award-winning author, engineer, business thinker, painter, and musician
• George Antonius – Lebanese-Egyptian author and diplomat, one of the first historians of Arab nationalism
• Moukheiber Al Ashkar – Lebanese journalist
• George N. Atiyeh – Lebanese librarian and scholar
• Souha Bechara – Lebanese resistance fighter and member of the Lebanese Communist Party
• Yousef Beidas – Palestinian Lebanese banker
• Gabrielle Bou Rached – Lebanese model and actress
• Elie Frizli – Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christian politician
• Fawaz Gerges – Lebanese-born US citizen professor and author
• Farid Habib – Lebanese politician and a member of the Lebanese Forces party
• Nicolas Hayek – Swiss-Lebanese American entrepreneur, co-founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Swatch Group
• Saint Joseph of Damascus – Greek Orthodox Christian priest and educator who was canonized as a saint in 1993
• Samir Kassir – Lebanese professor of history at Saint-Joseph University, journalist and a prominent leftist political activist
• Wehbe Katicha – Lebanese politician and a former general in the Lebanese Army
• Elias Khoury – Lebanese novelist, playwright, critic, and a prominent public intellectual
• Giselle Khoury – talk show host on the Al Arabiya news channel
• Jacobo Majluta Azar – Former President of the Dominican Republic
• Mikhail Mishaqa – first historian of modern Ottoman Syria
• Tarek Mitri – Lebanese Greek Orthodox university professor and independent politician
• Samir Mouqbel – Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon
• Ibrahim Najjar – lawyer and a Lebanese politician
• Octavia Nasr – journalist who covers Middle-Eastern affairs
• Mona Ofeich – Lebanese politician
• Assi Rahbani – Lebanese composer, musician, and producer
• Ziad Rahbani – Lebanese producer, lyricist, composer, arranger, orchestra conductor, pianist, and singer
• Mansour Rahbani – Lebanese composer, musician, poet, and producer
• Raphael of Brooklyn – first Orthodox bishop to be consecrated in North America
• Salim Saade – Lebanese politician and member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party
• Christina Sawaya – Lebanese beauty queen
• Lady Cochrane Sursock – philanthropist, a prominent public figure, and an advocate of the arts in Lebanon
• Nassim Nicholas Taleb – Lebanese American essayist and scholar whose work focuses on problems of randomness, probability, and uncertainty
• Petro Trad – Lebanese lawyer, politician, and former President of the French Mandate of Lebanon for a brief period (22 July 1943 – 21 September 1943)
• Gebran Tueni (journalist) – famous Lebanese journalist and a figure of the Arab Renaissance
• Ghassan Tueni – veteran Lebanese journalist, politician, and diplomat who headed An Nahar, one of the Arab World's leading newspapers
• Nayla Tueni – Lebanese journalist and politician
• Nancy Ajram – Lebanese singer

Gallery

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  Saint George Orthodox Cathedral in Downtown Beirut

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  The St. Georges Greek-Orthodox Cathedral on Nejme Square

See also

• Arab Orthodox
• Antiochian Greek Christians
• Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch
• Eastern Orthodox Church
• Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Beirut
• Religion in Lebanon
• Christianity in Lebanon
• Roman Catholicism in Lebanon
• Maronite Christianity in Lebanon
• Melkite Christianity in Lebanon
• Protestantism in Lebanon
• Demographics of Lebanon
• Freedom of religion in Lebanon
• Orthodox Christianity in Syria
• Orthodox Christianity in Jordan
• Orthodox Christianity in Egypt
• Orthodox Christianity in Saudi Arabia
• University of Balamand
• Shi'a Islam in Lebanon
• Sunni Islam in Lebanon
• Druze in Lebanon