The
Archdiocese of Byblos & Botris (Mount Lebanon) prides itself with
apostolic roots. The first bishop to preside over the archbishopric of Byblos
was Saint Marc the Evangelist. And the first bishop on the
archbishopric of Botris was Saint Silas (Silouan).
Saint Peter set these two bishops during his journey, together with the
apostles, from Jerusalem to Antioch after the martyrdom of Saint
Stephen.
In the beginning these two dioceses were under the jurisdiction of the
archdiocese of Tyre. The fourth Ecumenical Council (451
A.D.) confirmed this legal situation by freeing these two bishoprics
from the dominance of the bishop of Beirut-who had subdued them to his
jurisdiction and by declaring the legitimacy of Tyre’s litigate.
The
orthodox population in the area of the present archdiocese increased in
number along the following centuries mainly due to migrations,
persecutions, invasions and wars of different characters. Byzantine
wars, Crusades, Mamluk invasions—all contributed in the constant
demographic reshaping of Mount Lebanon’s area—which now was
officially subdued under the jurisdiction of Beirut and become known as
the Archdiocese of Beirut and all Lebanon.
Starting
from 1861, the number of the Orthodox commenced rising again in the
province of Mount Lebanon due to the increased migration from Damascus
after the wave of massacres that the Christians suffered in these areas
(during which St. Joseph of Damascus was martyred). All these
demographic modifications made the archdiocese of Beirut and all Lebanon
vast and hard for pastoral management.
Some of the faithful of Beirut, who noticed the pastoral deficiency and
the poor situation in the parishes of Mount Lebanon, founded the
organization of St. Paul to help assisting these parishes. In 1889 this
organization demanded, during their annual gathering, that the group of
Mount Lebanon's villages should form a separate archdiocese. After the
repose of metropolitan Gabriel (Shatila), Lebanon’s orthodox wrote to
the Antiochian Holy Synod asking independence for their archdiocese. In
November 1901, the Holy Synod decided to separate Mount Lebanon from
Beirut, granted it independence and gave it the title: "The
Archdiocese of Byblos & Botris (Mount Lebanon)". The
archimandrite Paul (Abou Adal) was elected archbishop of the new
archdiocese until his repose in the Lord in 1929. In 1935 Metropolitan
Elyia (Karam) succeeded him until1969.
Since
1970, this archdiocese is under the vigilant care of Metropolitan
George who is now residing in Brumana (originally the archdiocese'
summer residence) after the destruction of the original archdiocese
headquarters in the town of Hadath during the Lebanese civil war.
