Patriarch Howayek, Prophet of Coexistence (1/4)

Juvenis ad majora natus "Born for greatness." This is the motto of Saint Stanislaus, noted prophetically in the margin of Elias Boutros Howayek's booklet at the end of his theological studies. He was 27 years old at the time and had been in Rome since 1866, sent by Patriarch Boulos Massaad to complete his theological studies, which he had begun at the Ghazir Seminary in 1859, and to prepare for the priesthood.

Marked by his keen intelligence and his meticulous adherence to the rules, this man destined for greatness would become no less than the 72nd representative of a long line of holy Maronite patriarchs, of whom he is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding figures. His greatest achievement was his battle for the birth of Greater Lebanon (1920).

He owes his beatification today to a miracle attributed to his intercession: the healing of a Druze Lebanese army officer, Nayef Abou Assi, a family man who had been disabled due to a spinal condition (bilateral spondylolysis).

One morning in April 2005, the man woke up free of all his symptoms. He attributed this miracle to a man dressed in white, holding a staff, whom he saw in a dream and who appeared to him announcing his recovery.

Born in 1843 in Helta (Batroun), a tiny village in an obscure corner of the Ottoman Empire, Elias Howayek was indeed the man of Providence who would go on to champion, before Georges Clemenceau and then before the League of Nations, the idea of creating a Greater Lebanon — two months after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles (June 28, 1919), which placed part of the Middle East under French mandate.

It has become fashionable these days to criticize the defender of the Lebanese state for his choice — which was not his alone — in favor of a pluralistic Lebanon, at the risk of seeing Christians become a numerical minority.

And yet behind this decision — to say the least — lies a rare degree of political, economic, and ecclesiological foresight. First, Greater Lebanon shielded Lebanese Christians from dhimmitude; furthermore, by incorporating Beirut, Tripoli, the Bekaa Valley, and Jabal Amel into the "Lebanese mountain" core of the Mutasarrifate, it restored the country's "breadbasket" and protected it from a famine similar to that of 1915. It also secured rich water resources for the country, and crowned it with one of the most beautiful coastlines in the Mediterranean, along with a uniquely strategic promontory.

But if geographic Lebanon was a true gem, its human and spiritual calling was no less precious: in the mind of its champion, it was meant to serve as a setting for coexistence, bringing together "the wolf and the lamb" (Isaiah) — a messianic biblical ideal that Lebanon would strive to embody, and of which John Paul II would say it is "a model of freedom and pluralism for the East and the West" — a model that continues to inspire Lebanon to rise above itself, despite all the historical failings the country has faced.

An exemplary and formative journey

Before being unanimously elected on January 27, 1898, to the weighty office of Patriarch of the Maronites — a role he carried out with equal integrity and competence until his death in 1931 — the man had followed, again providentially, a thorough and formative path.

The eldest of eight children and the son of a priest who himself became a priest (he was 7 years old when his father was ordained) and later a bishop, Elias Howayek became the personal secretary and trusted confidant of Patriarch Boulos Massaad, who entrusted him with several delicate missions to the Sublime Porte, the Holy See, and the French capital. He then served as patriarchal vicar for 17 years, mastering the subtle inner workings of the patriarchal curia, before being elected. His bearing was such that when he defended himself before the Sultan in the midst of the World War against accusations of 'treason' over his ties with France, no interpreter was needed — such complete sincerity was written across his face.

Sent to Rome in 1897 by Leo XIII to head the Maronite College, Patriarch Howayek gave up that role two years later upon the death of Patriarch Massaad. Upon his return to Lebanon, he went directly to the patriarchal seat of Bkerké, where a synod was in session. He was elected unanimously on the very day after his arrival.

Explanations

A little over five years after the proclamation of the State of Greater Lebanon on September 1, 1920, at the Residence des Pins, the Patriarch had the opportunity to elaborate on his political position. The government of Aristide Briand had appointed, on December 23, 1925, the diplomat Henry de Jouvenel as High Commissioner. Upon his arrival in Lebanon, he set about actively reassuring the various components of Lebanese society and gathering their views. In the same spirit, he launched the drafting of a Constitution for the nascent state, which was adopted on May 23, 1926.

Thus, in response to the sixth question of a fundamental questionnaire addressed to the Maronite Patriarchate — 'Should parliamentary representation be confessional or not, and why?' — Patriarch Elias Howayek and the Maronite bishops set out, on January 8, 1926, the reasons for their position in the following terms:

"The country is made up of diverse religious communities. They differ not only in their beliefs, but also in their traditions, customs, social mores, and approach to social issues. Consequently, election on a confessional basis allows these communities to be represented in the assembly in a defined proportion. There they learn to know one another and to reach agreement, each accepting to give ground through mutual concession. This dynamic will gradually lead to an osmosis and a unification of political life. Conversely, abolishing the political system based on communal distribution at this point in time would upset the balance, favor one community at the expense of another, and breed rivalry and resentment. For this reason, we believe that representation must remain based on confessional affiliation" (Archives of Patriarch Elias Howayek, Document A 46, File 45)."

"What strikes the reader in this masterful exposition, which combines conciseness with depth," comments Professor Georges Hobeika, Vicar General of the Maronite Lebanese Order (OLM) and Rector Emeritus of the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, "is that Patriarch Howayek approaches diversity, pluralism, and divergence within human societies as a natural given. He sees nothing abnormal in the heterogeneity of traditions, customs, social mores, and views shaped by religious beliefs. He respects the right to difference and holds it firmly as a sacred, non-negotiable right. Anything less would have been surprising."