Murhej Nayrun al-Bani
From Maronite History
Contents |
Introduction
Murhej Nayrun al-Bani (Faustus Nayron) (?-1711) has endeavored extensively to explain the name origin of the Maronites. He is a graduate of the Maronite Roman College that educated young men in the Roman Catholic faith. He wrote two books:
- Dissertatio de origine nomine et religione Maronitarum (Rome, 1679)
- Evolplia fidei catholicae romanae historico-dogmatica (Rome, 1694)
Nirun al-Bani was the first to assert that the term "Maronite" derived from the Monastery of Marun, which had adopted the name of a fifth-century ascetic named Marun. He further believed that the Maronites were called "Mardaites" or "Marada" prior to the end of the seventh century.
Origins
His father was from Ban in northern Lebanon, but Murhej was born in Rome around 1625. His Lebanese name Murhej was translated into Latin as Faustus.
Studies and ordination
Faustus entered the Maronite Roman College in 1636. He achieved his studies in 1649 and returned to Lebanon. In 1650, he was ordained priest at Mar Abda at Herharaya by the Patriarch Yuhanna Safrawy.
Mission to Rome
Right after his ordination, the Patriarch sent again to Rome to take cars of the impression of Al Phenqith, the Maronite Proper of the Saints in Syriac. While in Rome, and in order to obtain the permission to print the book, he had to translate it to Latin and submit the the translation to a Roman committee for examination. Abraham Echellensis, brother in law of Faustus, was one of the five members of this committee. The book was printed in 1666, by the Comgregation of the Propagande in Rome.
Sources
- Butros Dau - Religious, Cultural and Political History of the Maronites (Lebanon, 1984)
- Matti Moosa - The Maronites in History (Syracuse University Press, 1986).
