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About Us
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The Maronite Church
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The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of
Lebanon (Psalm 92:12)
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About Us
by Fr. John H. Nahal
The One Church of Jesus Christ
The concept of the Christian church was derived from New
Testament references to the gathering of Christ’s followers: Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain
to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but
some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I
am with you always, to the end of the age.”[1] When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together
in one place. And suddenly from heaven, there came a sound like the rush of a
violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided
tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
languages, as the Spirit gives them ability.[2]
The concept behind the term
church, other than defined as a
building specifically designated for worship, evolved from the Greek word
ekklesia,[3]
which originally simply meant assembly. The concept developed to signify a
communal gathering of believers; hence, since early Christian times, the term
church has been used to designate an
organized community of those faithful to Christ and his teachings. The early
Christian assembly was a unique reality, whose characteristics were described by
Saint Paul as the mystical proof of Christ’s presence on earth and, in
heaven, of the holy company of all those whom He saved.[4]
Thus, the Christian assembly was different from all other kinds of organizations
and assemblages known up to that time. The increasing number of Christians eventually led to the
expansion of the Church and the attendant creation of various offices and
services to the needy of many Hebrews and Hellenists. Consequently, there
emerged dissatisfaction and disquiet between these two groups.[5]
About the middle of the first century A.D., a dispute involving Jews and
gentiles was finally referred to church leaders, who convoked the Council of
Jerusalem in response.[6]
One of the hotly contested issues decided upon during this convocation was that
the early Christian community would be composed of both gentiles and Jews. The
Church would have to adapt itself to the political, social, cultural, and
spiritual realities of the times.[7]
[1] Mt 28:16-20.
[2] Acts 2:1-4.
[3]
The Englishman’s Greek Concordance of the New Testament (London: Samuel Bagster and Sons,
Limited, [1903]), 225-226.
[4] 1 Cor 1:1-2; 12:27.
[5] Acts 6:1.
[6] Acts 15:1-41.
[7]
Raymond E. Brown, The Churches
the Apostles Left Behind (New York: Paulist Press, 1984), 20-24.
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