The Greek Orthodox Community of Northern Lebanon in the Beginning of the Ottoman Epoch

This article is devoted to a less-known period in the political history of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, namely the early decades of the Ottoman rule (1530s–1540s). The lack of historical narratives on the Melkites of that epoch can be partly balanced by information taken from colophons and notes of Arab Christian manuscripts which have not been properly studied yet. The main sources for this research are colophons of Melkite books of the 15th and 16th centuries from collections of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (St Petersburg) and Balamand monastery (Lebanon) that deal with the history of the Church of Antioch. The main object of the study is the Arab Christian elite of Northern Lebanon, particularly the powerful sheikh ʻIsa from Tripoli and a circle of high-status clergy of the Antioch and Jerusalem Churches connected with him. The most prominent fi gure in this group was the ambitious metropolitan Macarius Hilal who ruled a number of bishoprics in the Kalamun plateau and the Lebanon mountains. He was in obvious confl ict with the patriarch of Antioch Mikhail IV ibn al-Mawardi (1523–1540) but actively cooperated with his successor Dorotheus III (1540–1543). Being infl uenced by the Melkite elite of Northern Lebanon, including such persons as sheikh ʻIsa and Macarius Hilal, Dorotheus concluded an unprecedented agreement on the Unia with the Maronite Church. In the 16th century, both communities maintained close interactions including common use of churches and even participation in tribal vengeance in Lebanese highlands. Trying to facilitate inter-communal contacts, the Melkite and Maronite Patriarchs agreed about the mutual recognition of the Holy Sacraments and mixed marriages, while the doctrines of the both Churches were left untouched. The Maronite clergy did it best to keep this treaty in secret from Rome. However, the Greek Orthodox society saw the acts of Dorotheus as a violation of the Church canons. The council of the three Orthodox Patriarchs deposed him and replaced him with Yuwakim IV ibn Djumʻa (1543–1576). Macarius Hilal, who supposed himself to be a successor of Dorotheus, also made a claim for the throne of the Patriarch. This led to a schism in the Church of Antioch, which lasted for the period of 1543–1550