It is an ethnoreligious group that has existed since at the 400ss in what is today Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. They have their own patriarch (and might be named after their first one, John Maron) but are in communion with the Catholic Church and are considered part of it. They survived the Arab conquest, and remained a separate identity for over 1,000 years despite Crusaders and successive Muslim rulers in the region. Recently their numbers have declined due to low birth rates. Maronites today make up about 1/4 of the population of Lebanon. As part of a longstanding agreement, they hold the presidency — all Lebanese presidents have been Maronites — and the other two highest positions are held by a Shia Muslim and a Shiite Muslim. Interestingly, they believe they are Phoenician descendents and value this genetically tenuous claim.
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