Emigration since the 19th century means that about two-thirds of the Maronite Church's roughly 3.5 million members in 2017[15] were located outside "The Antiochian's Range", where they are part of the worldwide Lebanese diaspora.

The six major traditions of the Catholic Church are Alexandrian, Antiochene, Armenian, Chaldean, Constantinopolitan (Byzantine), and Latin (Roman).

[18] The Maronite Patriarchal Assembly (2003–2004) identified five distinguishing marks of the Maronite Church: Maron, a fourth-century monk and a contemporary and friend of John Chrysostom, left Antioch for the Orontes River in modern-day Syria to lead an ascetic life, following the traditions of Anthony the Great of the Desert and of Pachomius.

Following Maron's death in 410 AD, his disciples built Beth-Maron monastery at Apamea (present day Qalaat al-Madiq).

Correspondence concerning the event brought the Maronites papal and orthodox recognition, indicated by a letter from Pope Hormisdas (514–523) dated 10 February 518.

An outbreak of civil war during the reign of Emperor Phocas brought forth riots in the cities of Syria and Palestine and incursions by Persian king Khosrow II.

In the aftermath of the war, the emperor Heraclius propagated a new Christological doctrine in an attempt to unify the various Christian churches of the East, who were divided over accepting the Council of Chalcedon.

[25] However, Donald Attwater, a 20th-century historian of Eastern Christianity, affirmed the view that Maronites broke communion with Rome over monothelitism, however briefly.

[19] In 687, as part of an agreements with Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, Byzantine emperor Justinian II sent 12,000 Christian Maronites from Lebanon to Armenia,[27] in exchange for a substantial payment and half the revenues of Cyprus.

[31] After they came under Arab rule following the Muslim conquest of Syria (634–638), Maronite immigration to Lebanon, which had begun some time before, increased, intensifying under the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (813–33).

[30] To eliminate internal dissent, from 1289 to 1291 Egyptian Mamluk troops descended on Mount Lebanon, destroying forts and monasteries.

[32] Following the Muslim conquest of Eastern Christendom outside Anatolia and Europe in the 7th century and after the establishment of secured lines of demarcation between Islamic caliphs and Byzantine emperors, little was heard from the Maronites for 400 years.

Raymond later returned to besiege Tripoli (1102–1109) after the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, and relations between the Maronites and European Christianity were subsequently reestablished.

[35] Peter Hans Kolvenbach notes, "This contact with the Latin Church enriched the intellectual world of Europe in the Middle Ages.

Phares notes that "The emirs prospered from the intellectual skills and trading talents of the Maronites, while the Christians gained political protection, autonomy and a local ally against the ever-present threat of direct Ottoman rule.

[39] The relationship between the Druze and Christians has been characterized by harmony and peaceful coexistence,[40] with amicable relations between the two groups prevailing throughout history, with the exception of some periods, including 1860 Mount Lebanon civil war.

[31] Late in the 16th century, Pope Gregory XIII sent Jesuits to the Lebanese monasteries to ensure that their practice conformed to decisions made at the Council of Trent.

Patriarch Stephan al-Duwayhî (1670–1704), (later beatified), was able to find a middle ground between reformers and conservatives, and re-vitalized Maronite liturgical tradition.

Wherever this occurred, the Second Vatican Council has urged them to rediscover their full identity, because they have "the right and the duty to govern themselves according to their own unique disciplines.

[35] This represents an attempt to return to the original form of the Antiochene Liturgy, removing the liturgical Latinization of past centuries.

Patriarch Sfeir stated that Sacrosanctum concilium and the Roman liturgical changes following Vatican II apply to the Maronite Church.

[16] There are four other claimants to the Patriarchal succession of Antioch: Clerical celibacy is not strictly required for Maronite deacons and priests of parishes outside of North America; monks, however, must remain celibate, as well as bishops who are normally selected from the monasteries.

[48] Due to a long-term understanding with their Latin counterparts in North America, Maronite priests in that area have traditionally remained celibate.

Deacon Akiki is the first married man to be ordained to the Maronite priesthood in North America and will not be expected to remain continent.

In a decree of the Sacred Congregation for the Eastern Churches, Bishop Francis Mansour Zayek was appointed the first exarch.

[18] John George Chedid, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, was ordained as the first Bishop of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles at the Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Los Angeles, California, where he served until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 80.

Eparchies operate in São Paulo in Brazil, as well as in Colombia, Mexico, France, Australia,[61] South Africa, Canada and Argentina.