St Abraham

From Maronite History

Theodoret also wrote about St Abraham (ca. 350 – 422) a monk who was born in Cyrrhus, the region sowed by St Maroun, and gathered there “the wealth of ascetic virtue”. After living as a hermit he and his companions left to the mountains of Lebanon after hearing that a large village “was engulfed in the darkness of impiety”. He successfully converted the village to Christianity after almost being killed by its citizens in his attempts such as when the citizens heard the singing of psalms and the divine liturgy. He served as a priest there for three years and then had another of his companions appointed in his place and returned to ascetic life.

This village may well be Afka near the top of the river Adonis. Legend has it that the Adonis river, which is named after a Phoenician God, was changed to Abraham (or Ibrahim) river after the saint and after the region was Christianised by Abraham and his companions. We do not know how many companions were with Abraham but it is possible that with them he established the first monastic community in Mount Lebanon in this village. It may be that Christians were already living in Mount Lebanon prior to St Abraham visiting the area. Theodoret only mentions one village that was engulfed in impiety rather than a number of villages. But this approach cannot be conclusive.

Source: Marounia, The Maronite Lebanese Heritage Centre.