Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir
Encyclopedia
Patriarch Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir (, ; born May 15, 1920) is the patriarch
emeritus
of Lebanon's largest Christian body, the Maronite Church
, an Eastern Catholic Church in communion with the Holy See
. He is also a Cardinal
. He was elected Patriarch of Antioch for the Maronites on April 27, 1986, and his resignation was accepted on February 26, 2011. He is the third Maronite Cardinal and he was the 76th Patriarch of the Maronite Church with the official title of "His Beatitude and Eminence the seventy-sixth Patriarch of Antioch
and the Whole Levant".
. He was educated in Beirut
, and at Mar Abda School in Harharaya where he completed his primary and complementary studies, and Ghazir where he completed his secondary studies at St. Maron seminary. He graduated in philosophy and theology in 1950 at Saint Joseph's University in Beirut. He was ordained to the priesthood in the same year on May 7. From 1951 to 1955 he served as priest to the parish of Rayfoun. In 1956, he was appointed the secretary of the Maronite Patriarchate, based in Bkerké
. In the same year, he became the professor of translation in literature and philosophy at the Frères Maristes (Marist Brothers) School in Jounieh
. In July 16, 1961 he was consecrated the titular bishop of Tarsus by Patriarch Paul Peter Meouchi
and he served as Patriarchal vicar.
on May 7, 1986.
, which represents an attempt to return to the original form of the Antiochene Liturgy. Its Service of the Word has been described as far more enriched than previous Missals, and it features six Anaphora
s (Eucharistic Prayers).
, which raged from 1975 to 1990. He has often spoken out against social and political injustices, and for the poor and disenfranchised. His writings and sermons set out his vision of how Lebanon can achieve a free and prosperous future. Like his predecessor, Sfeir largely stayed out of politics during the first few years of his tenure as patriarch, generally deferring to the stance of the Lebanese President, but by 1989, he had become embroiled in national politics.
in Rome in late 2010, but his resignation was not initially accepted because six Maronite bishops have submitted their resignations after reaching the retirement age of 75 in June 2010 His resignation was finally accepted by Pope Benedict XVI
on February 26, 2011.
Cardinal Sfeir was followed by Bishop Bechara Boutros Rahi who was elected as the new Patriarch for Antioch on March 15, 2011.
by Pope John Paul II
in the consistory
of November 26, 1994. As the Patriarch
of a sui juris particular Church
who has been made a cardinal, Sfeir is a Cardinal Bishop.
Sfeir is fluent in many languages: Syriac
, Aramaic
, French
, Italian
, Latin
, and English
, as well as his native Arabic
, being proficient in both classical
and Lebanese
dialect
s.
. In the spring of 1989, when Aoun launched a campaign to achieve control of militia-dominated areas, 23 Christian deputies of parliament met at the seat of the Maronite Church in Bkerké, under the auspices of Sfeir, and called for a cease-fire. While hundreds of thousands Lebanese (Christians and non-Christians) gathered in the Baadba presidential palace in support for Aoun, a couple of thousands of Christians demonstrated in Bkerki against Aoun. Under what some say was pressure from the Vatican
, he backed the Taif Agreement
and hence the Syrian mandate over Lebanon in order to end the civil war, saying that it was "a fatal error to believe that we can live alone on an island in which we run our affairs as we like." A few days later, he declared that Aoun's nonacceptance of the Taif Agreement was illegal and unconstitutional. On November 5, as parliamentary deputies met at an abandoned air base in Syrian-controlled North Lebanon to elect a new president, Sfeir warned in a sermon that Aoun's stand "would lead to partitioning of the country."
became directly involved in reorganizing the Maronite Church. Speaking before a gathering of Lebanese bishops in November 1989, the papal nuncio
in Lebanon, Pablo Puente, condemned "the interference of clerical persons and institutions in politics without being officially mandated to by the church hierarchy... an end must be put to political visits and declarations that have no clear Church mandate." The Vatican later sought to temper nationalist views in the clergy by appointing "visiting bishops" to supervise three especially militant monastic orders. In 1990 Sfeir called for the rival government in West Beirut to take over Aoun's "Christian enclave" in the east. "The legitimate government should spread its authority over the whole nation," he said in one interview. "It should not wait for an invitation from anyone to do so." Finally on October 13, 1990, the Syrian army
crushed Aoun's insurgency and the long civil war finally came to an end. Aoun's main objection to the Taif Accord was that it had no firm timetable for Syrian withdrawal and that it abolished most of the Maronite president's power giving them to the Sunni prime Minister. The Syrians were to occupy Lebanon for another 15 years.
(see Cedar revolution
); at the end of April 2005 - Sfeir was at times a vocal critic of Syrian prevarication in carrying out its pledge to withdraw, up until around 2003, falling silent again just as anti-Syrian views were becoming more widespread. His restraint in his comments at this time appeared to have lost him the support, in particular, of a majority among those Christians who had fled the country. The Cardinal also urged restraint in anti-Syrian rhetoric, and for Lebanon to focus on its economic development rather than political rifts. Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese (mostly Christians) gathered in Bkerke and the roads leading to it on March 27, 2001, to welcome back the Cardinal from a tour in the United States, during which he asked for the withdrawal of the Syrian army. He blessed in 2001 the establishment of Christian Qornet Shehwan Gathering
opposed to the Syrian role and in the aftermath of the Hariri assassination he restated his opposition to Syria's predominant role in Lebanese politics and the political changes following Syrian withdrawal appear to have largely restored his previous position as the main spokesperson for his community.
should serve the remainder of his term of office (which was specially extended under Syrian pressure in 2004 until November 2007). At the same time, he stressed that Lahoud should be removed only by lawful and constitutional means and that the continued smooth functioning of government and a national consensus on his successor were the main priorities. In order to discuss the July 2006 Israel-Lebanon war and American policy on the affair, he met with Vice President Dick Cheney
at the White House, and later talked with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
.
held gatherings in which anti-patriarchal slogans were raised, denouncing Cardinal Sfeir's political stands, which they consider contradictory to the will of the FPM Christians in Lebanon. The FPM bloc, led by retired general and current MP Michel Aoun
, constitutes the largest Christian bloc in the Lebanese parliament.
Relations between The cardinal and The FPM and Hizbullah further deteriorated when the patriarch made an eleventh hour appeal diectly before the 2009 elections renouncing Hizbullah and the FPM and warning Christians against voting for them. A stance which many believe to have severely cut Christian support to March 8 Alliance, especially when Aoun emerged as the biggest loser in the 2009 elections according to some estimates. The FPM blame the cardinal for making them lose 20% of Christian support using religious rhetoric, and for not objecting against the transfer of 15,000 sunni voters from Bekaa villages to the Christian district of Zahle which lost the FPM 8 MP's there. Currently the FPM and it's allies have one out of twelve orthodox seats, two out of eight catholic seats, two out of six Armenian seats and almost half of maronite seats with the rest belonging to 14 March yet FPM still retains the biggest Christian single parliamentary block of 27MPs, but these 27 belongs to the "movement of change and reform(حركة التغير و الاصلاح)" not only the to the FPM, also not all of them are Christians.
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
of Lebanon's largest Christian body, the Maronite Church
Maronite Church
The Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See of Rome . It traces its heritage back to the community founded by Maron, a 4th-century Syriac monk venerated as a saint. The first Maronite Patriarch, John Maron, was elected in the late 7th...
, an Eastern Catholic Church in communion with the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
. He is also a Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
. He was elected Patriarch of Antioch for the Maronites on April 27, 1986, and his resignation was accepted on February 26, 2011. He is the third Maronite Cardinal and he was the 76th Patriarch of the Maronite Church with the official title of "His Beatitude and Eminence the seventy-sixth Patriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch
Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the Bishop of Antioch. As the traditional "overseer" of the first gentile Christian community, the position has been of prime importance in the church from its earliest period...
and the Whole Levant".
Early life and ordination
Sfeir was born in Rayfoun, LebanonLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. He was educated in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, and at Mar Abda School in Harharaya where he completed his primary and complementary studies, and Ghazir where he completed his secondary studies at St. Maron seminary. He graduated in philosophy and theology in 1950 at Saint Joseph's University in Beirut. He was ordained to the priesthood in the same year on May 7. From 1951 to 1955 he served as priest to the parish of Rayfoun. In 1956, he was appointed the secretary of the Maronite Patriarchate, based in Bkerké
Bkerké
Bkerké is the See of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate, located 650 m above the bay of Jounieh in Lebanon....
. In the same year, he became the professor of translation in literature and philosophy at the Frères Maristes (Marist Brothers) School in Jounieh
Jounieh
Jounieh is a Mediterranean coastal city about 16 kilometers north of Beirut, Lebanon. Jounieh is known for its seaside resorts, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs, as well as its old stone souk, ferry, and cablecar , which takes passengers up the mountain to the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in...
. In July 16, 1961 he was consecrated the titular bishop of Tarsus by Patriarch Paul Peter Meouchi
Paul Peter Meouchi
Patriarch Cardinal Paul II Peter Meouchi , was the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch from 1955 until his death in 1975, and the first Maronite Cardinal.-Life:...
and he served as Patriarchal vicar.
Patriarch
He was elected to the primacy of the Maronite Church by the Council of Maronite Bishops, on April 19, 1986, and he was confirmed by Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
on May 7, 1986.
Liturgy
Sfeir is keen on accelerating liturgical reforms. This work bore fruit in 1992 with the publication of a new Maronite MissalMissal
A missal is a liturgical book containing all instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the year.-History:Before the compilation of such books, several books were used when celebrating Mass...
, which represents an attempt to return to the original form of the Antiochene Liturgy. Its Service of the Word has been described as far more enriched than previous Missals, and it features six Anaphora
Anaphora (liturgy)
The Anaphora is the most solemn part of the Divine liturgy, Mass, or other Christian Communion rite where the offerings of bread and wine are consecrated as the body and blood of Christ. This is the usual name for this part of the Liturgy in Eastern Christianity, but it is more often called the...
s (Eucharistic Prayers).
Role during the civil war
Serving as the Vicar for two previous patriarchs prepared Sfeir for the role in both the ecclesiastical and civil spheres. He became a strong voice for reason and sanity in the latter years of the Lebanese Civil WarLebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
, which raged from 1975 to 1990. He has often spoken out against social and political injustices, and for the poor and disenfranchised. His writings and sermons set out his vision of how Lebanon can achieve a free and prosperous future. Like his predecessor, Sfeir largely stayed out of politics during the first few years of his tenure as patriarch, generally deferring to the stance of the Lebanese President, but by 1989, he had become embroiled in national politics.
Resignation
Cardinal Sfeir submitted his resignation to the Congregation for the Oriental ChurchesCongregation for the Oriental Churches
The Congregation for the Oriental Churches is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for contact with the Eastern Catholic Churches for the sake of assisting their development, protecting their rights and also maintaining whole and entire in the one Catholic Church, alongside the liturgical,...
in Rome in late 2010, but his resignation was not initially accepted because six Maronite bishops have submitted their resignations after reaching the retirement age of 75 in June 2010 His resignation was finally accepted by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
on February 26, 2011.
Cardinal Sfeir was followed by Bishop Bechara Boutros Rahi who was elected as the new Patriarch for Antioch on March 15, 2011.
Cardinal
Sfeir was made a cardinalCardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of November 26, 1994. As the Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
of a sui juris particular Church
Particular Church
In Catholic canon law, a Particular Church is an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognised as the equivalent of a bishop.There are two kinds of particular Churches:# Local particular Churches ...
who has been made a cardinal, Sfeir is a Cardinal Bishop.
Works
Sfeir has written several books, including "The sources of the Gospel-Bkerké", (1975); "Personalities that disappeared 1961-1974" - (two volumes); and "Sunday sermons: spiritual reflections and stand of national positions", (several volumes, 1988).Sfeir is fluent in many languages: Syriac
Syriac language
Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
, Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, as well as his native Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, being proficient in both classical
Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
and Lebanese
Lebanese Arabic
Lebanese or Lebanese Arabic is a variety of Levantine Arabic, indigenous to and spoken primarily in Lebanon, with significant linguistic influences borrowed from other Middle Eastern and European languages, and is in some ways unique from other varieties of Arabic...
dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s.
Spring of 1989
The cardinal has found himself both within the Syrian camp and outside it http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4348129.stm. At the beginning of the 1990s he did not support Syria's role against General Michel AounMichel Aoun
Michel Naim Aoun is a former Lebanese Army Commander and he is one of the allies of Hezbollah. From 22 September 1988 to 13 October 1990, he has served as Prime Minister of the legal one of two rival governments that contended for power. He declared "The Liberation War" against the Syrian...
. In the spring of 1989, when Aoun launched a campaign to achieve control of militia-dominated areas, 23 Christian deputies of parliament met at the seat of the Maronite Church in Bkerké, under the auspices of Sfeir, and called for a cease-fire. While hundreds of thousands Lebanese (Christians and non-Christians) gathered in the Baadba presidential palace in support for Aoun, a couple of thousands of Christians demonstrated in Bkerki against Aoun. Under what some say was pressure from the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, he backed the Taif Agreement
Taif Agreement
The Taif Agreement was an agreement reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon." Negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia, it was designed to end the decades-long Lebanese civil war, politically accommodate the demographic...
and hence the Syrian mandate over Lebanon in order to end the civil war, saying that it was "a fatal error to believe that we can live alone on an island in which we run our affairs as we like." A few days later, he declared that Aoun's nonacceptance of the Taif Agreement was illegal and unconstitutional. On November 5, as parliamentary deputies met at an abandoned air base in Syrian-controlled North Lebanon to elect a new president, Sfeir warned in a sermon that Aoun's stand "would lead to partitioning of the country."
Opposition within the Church
The patriarch's authority was challenged even within the Church itself, as several monastic orders issued proclamations supporting Aoun and denouncing the Taif Accord. To bolster the patriarch's authority, the VaticanHoly See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
became directly involved in reorganizing the Maronite Church. Speaking before a gathering of Lebanese bishops in November 1989, the papal nuncio
Nuncio
Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...
in Lebanon, Pablo Puente, condemned "the interference of clerical persons and institutions in politics without being officially mandated to by the church hierarchy... an end must be put to political visits and declarations that have no clear Church mandate." The Vatican later sought to temper nationalist views in the clergy by appointing "visiting bishops" to supervise three especially militant monastic orders. In 1990 Sfeir called for the rival government in West Beirut to take over Aoun's "Christian enclave" in the east. "The legitimate government should spread its authority over the whole nation," he said in one interview. "It should not wait for an invitation from anyone to do so." Finally on October 13, 1990, the Syrian army
Military of Syria
The Syrian Armed Forces are the military forces of Syria. They consist of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Air Defense Force.-Manpower:The President of Syria is the commander in chief of the Syrian armed forces, comprising some 646,500 troops upon mobilization. The military is a conscripted force;...
crushed Aoun's insurgency and the long civil war finally came to an end. Aoun's main objection to the Taif Accord was that it had no firm timetable for Syrian withdrawal and that it abolished most of the Maronite president's power giving them to the Sunni prime Minister. The Syrians were to occupy Lebanon for another 15 years.
Cedar revolution
The Syrian invasion was 'forced' under international pressure to withdraw its forces from Lebanon, following the political upheaval and large scale street protests which followed the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik HaririRafik Hariri
Rafic Baha El Deen Al-Hariri , was a business tycoon and the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 until his resignation, 20 October 2004.He headed five cabinets during his tenure...
(see Cedar revolution
Cedar Revolution
The Cedar Revolution or Independence Intifada was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.The primary goals of the original activists were the...
); at the end of April 2005 - Sfeir was at times a vocal critic of Syrian prevarication in carrying out its pledge to withdraw, up until around 2003, falling silent again just as anti-Syrian views were becoming more widespread. His restraint in his comments at this time appeared to have lost him the support, in particular, of a majority among those Christians who had fled the country. The Cardinal also urged restraint in anti-Syrian rhetoric, and for Lebanon to focus on its economic development rather than political rifts. Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese (mostly Christians) gathered in Bkerke and the roads leading to it on March 27, 2001, to welcome back the Cardinal from a tour in the United States, during which he asked for the withdrawal of the Syrian army. He blessed in 2001 the establishment of Christian Qornet Shehwan Gathering
Qornet Shehwan Gathering
The Qornet Shehwan Gathering is a Lebanese political organization, comprising politicians, intellectuals, and businessmen, mostly Christian and ranging in ideology from the centre-right to the center-left. The organization is not a political party in the classical sense: its members belong to,...
opposed to the Syrian role and in the aftermath of the Hariri assassination he restated his opposition to Syria's predominant role in Lebanese politics and the political changes following Syrian withdrawal appear to have largely restored his previous position as the main spokesperson for his community.
Reaction to political paralysis
In the first half of 2006 the Cardinal was critical of the political paralysis created by the controversy over whether President Émile LahoudÉmile Lahoud
General Émile Jamil Lahoud is a former President of Lebanon. Lahoud is a Maronite-Catholic, as is required for the Lebanese presidency. Under Lebanon's unwritten constitutional agreement, the National Pact, the presidency is earmarked for Maronite_Catholic, the parliament speaker's post for a Shia...
should serve the remainder of his term of office (which was specially extended under Syrian pressure in 2004 until November 2007). At the same time, he stressed that Lahoud should be removed only by lawful and constitutional means and that the continued smooth functioning of government and a national consensus on his successor were the main priorities. In order to discuss the July 2006 Israel-Lebanon war and American policy on the affair, he met with Vice President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
at the White House, and later talked with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
.
Relations with the Free Patriotic Movement
On October 15, 2006, the predominantly Christian Free Patriotic MovementFree Patriotic Movement
The Free Patriotic Movement , also known as the "Aounist Movement" , is a Lebanese political party, led by Michel Aoun and allied with Hezbollah, The movement was officially declared a political party on September 18, 2005Though most of the party's support comes from Lebanon's...
held gatherings in which anti-patriarchal slogans were raised, denouncing Cardinal Sfeir's political stands, which they consider contradictory to the will of the FPM Christians in Lebanon. The FPM bloc, led by retired general and current MP Michel Aoun
Michel Aoun
Michel Naim Aoun is a former Lebanese Army Commander and he is one of the allies of Hezbollah. From 22 September 1988 to 13 October 1990, he has served as Prime Minister of the legal one of two rival governments that contended for power. He declared "The Liberation War" against the Syrian...
, constitutes the largest Christian bloc in the Lebanese parliament.
Relations between The cardinal and The FPM and Hizbullah further deteriorated when the patriarch made an eleventh hour appeal diectly before the 2009 elections renouncing Hizbullah and the FPM and warning Christians against voting for them. A stance which many believe to have severely cut Christian support to March 8 Alliance, especially when Aoun emerged as the biggest loser in the 2009 elections according to some estimates. The FPM blame the cardinal for making them lose 20% of Christian support using religious rhetoric, and for not objecting against the transfer of 15,000 sunni voters from Bekaa villages to the Christian district of Zahle which lost the FPM 8 MP's there. Currently the FPM and it's allies have one out of twelve orthodox seats, two out of eight catholic seats, two out of six Armenian seats and almost half of maronite seats with the rest belonging to 14 March yet FPM still retains the biggest Christian single parliamentary block of 27MPs, but these 27 belongs to the "movement of change and reform(حركة التغير و الاصلاح)" not only the to the FPM, also not all of them are Christians.