[2] French theologian Eusèbe Renaudot similarly held doubts regarding John Maron's existence.

[2] According to Maronite sources, John was born in Sarum, a town located south of the city of Antioch.

John was educated in Antioch and the Monastery of Saint Maron, studying mathematics, sciences, philosophy, theology, philology and scripture.

[4] Returning to Saint Maron's, he wrote on such diverse topics as teaching, rhetoric, the sacraments, management of Church property, legislative techniques, and liturgy.

With the ongoing Byzantine–Sasanian War and general unrest in the area, Constantinople began to appoint a series of titular patriarchs.