BEIRUT, Lebanon — A group of 45 Maronite Catholic youth of Lebanese descent came from all over the world to learn about their heritage and explore the land of their ancestors.

As participants in the Maronite Academy — an initiative of the Maronite Foundation in the World — youth from 20 countries experienced Lebanon’s historic, religious and cultural sites during the fourth annual program in August.

“I’m just very thankful that we’re given the opportunity to have something like this presented to us: to go to all the churches, to learn more about the saints,” said 32-year-old Sharon Kayrooz, an accountant from Queensland, Australia, of her two-week visit to Lebanon.

In north Lebanon, for example, the group’s itinerary included hiking in the Qadisha Valley (Valley of the Saints), a natural gorge protected by mountains that sheltered the first Maronites in the fourth and fifth centuries. They also visited the village of Becharre, situated at an altitude of 4,900 feet over the valley, the birthplace of legendary Lebanese poet and philosopher Khalil Gibran and the museum dedicated to him.

For Kayrooz, a fourth-generation Aussie who has begun the process of becoming a Lebanese citizen, Becharre has a special meaning: It’s where her father’s ancestors lived. “Just to go to a place where my ancestors are from and to walk where they walked, it’s so meaningful,” she said.

What’s more, in Becharre, the students trekked through the forest of the famous Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab), which is cited 103 times in the Bible. There, they planted a tiny cedar tree in memory of their visit.

The group also met with their shepherd, Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of Maronite Catholics, at the patriarchal summer residence in Diman, which overlooks the Qadisha Valley.

Other visits throughout the country included Our Lady of Lebanon, Harissa; the tombs and sanctuaries of Lebanon’s Maronite saints — Charbel, Rafka and Hardini — and Saydet el Mantara (“Our Lady of Waiting”) in Sidon, south Lebanon, the site where Mary waited for Jesus and his apostles as they preached.

 

A People Full of Hope

“Unfortunately, what you see in the news about Lebanon is just war and problems and incidents about the Syrian war and the conflict of Lebanon with Israel,” Maronite Father Fadi Kmeid — who has been preparing the Maronite Academy’s program and leading its participants since the annual initiative started four years ago — told the Register.

“But what the students discover here is a totally different thing,” he added.

“Many of them were very touched by the deep spiritual and historical context they experienced. A lot of them have cried.”

Gloria Eid, 26, from Vancouver, Canada, a career coach for students and young professionals, called her visit to Lebanon “an eye-opening trip of a lifetime.”

“To see it all firsthand, for me, is incredibly significant,” the first-generation Canadian told the Register.

“When I was growing up, I heard the stories from my mother and father about what it was like to live in Lebanon during the civil war (1975-90), and, now, I see a side of it that is full of hope. I see the people here committed, strong, hopeful and very rooted in God.”

Nearly 400 Maronite young people applied for the 2016 Maronite Academy. The selection process for the academy’s trip includes completion of online courses and submitting an essay. All expenses, including airfare, for the two-week visit to Lebanon are covered by the Maronite Foundation in the World, created by patriarchal degree in 2006, which aims to reconnect the Maronite diaspora to their homeland so as to preserve Lebanon’s delicate demographic balance. Nearly 40% of Lebanon’s population is Christian.

About 1 million Maronites live in Lebanon, but because of emigration, beginning mostly in the 19th century, there are approximately 5.5 million Maronites worldwide.

In collaboration with the Holy Spirit University (USEK) in Kaslik, Lebanon, the Maronite Academy’s itinerary also included a series of lectures.

One of the presentations, “Christians in the Middle East,” covered the grim realities facing Christians in the region, but also offered hope that their presence will prevail.

It was delivered by Jacques Kallassi, a prominent Maronite businessman who is general manager of Tele Lumiere, the first Christian television station in Lebanon and the Arab world, founded in 1991. It also broadcasts satellite programming worldwide under the name Noursat, of which Kallassi is chairman. He also serves on the board of trustees of the Maronite Foundation in the World.

Kallassi pointed to statistics: Christians in the Middle East were 20% of the population 100 years ago but now account for less than 4% of the population. 

 

Christians in the Middle East

Although Christians in Middle East are living in fear of a darker tomorrow, he told the Maronite Academy participants that they still have a strong will to stay in their homeland.

But currently they are facing an evil presence.

“No doubt what is happening to Christians in the Middle East is Satanic work,” Kallassi said. “This is the work of the devil, manifesting itself today in ISIS.”

Yet the world turns a blind eye, he said.

“I always ask the leaders I meet throughout the world: Why isn’t the Christian West outraged?” Kallassi said.

“The only way we can fight is with prayers,” he told the students, reminding them that “we have been ordered in our Bible by our Lord Jesus to love each other and to forgive each other — and to love your enemies.”

And Christians have an important role to play, Kallassi stressed.

“There is still a big chance to stop terrorism. Christian values and actions can stop it. We Christians have a role to play in the Middle East and all over the world. We can set the model of coexistence and tolerance,” he said, adding that “the coexistence in Lebanon can set an example for the East and the West how to live.”

“We have to preserve our culture, history and religious traditions, and you are the ambassadors,” Kallassi said. “When you go back to your home country, you should carry it and be proud.”

“And if we just leave our homelands, do you think elsewhere we will be safe?” he asked, as images of recent terrorist attacks in Europe flashed across the presentation screen. “Sorry for these pictures, but [they are] just to give you an idea [of the real horror]. I’m afraid a time will come when the same will happen all over the East and West.”

Kallissi shared, “This is what I always tell the leaders of the world: ‘Instead of helping the Christians of the Middle East leave, why not help them to stay?’” He said he also tells them: “Do not fear for the Christians if they leave the Middle East; fear for the Middle East if the Christians leave it.”

Reflecting on Kallissi’s presentation, Roxanne Elhachem, 22, from Los Angeles, who recently graduated from Chapman University with a degree in TV and broadcast journalism, told the Register that although “it’s heartbreaking” to hear about the situation for Christians in the Middle East, “a lot of us live in our little bubbles in first-world countries, and it’s important to spread awareness.”

As Elhachem said of the outlook for Christians, “There has been a lot of wars and struggles here. But people still believe, and they continue to spread the love of Christianity. It makes me believe that we will still be here. We’re not going anywhere, from the Middle East or the entire world.”

Register correspondent Doreen Abi Raad writes from Beirut, Lebanon.