The Maronite Divine Liturgy
Enter a Maronite church on a Sunday morning and what you will hear first is the chanting. Not organ music, not a hymn in your own language, but a long, winding line of syllables carried on the human voice: Qaddishat aloho, qaddishat hailthono, qaddishat lo moyuto. Holy are you, O God. Holy are you, O Strong One. Holy are you, O Immortal One. The words are Syriac, the liturgical descendant of the Aramaic that Jesus spoke, and the chant has been sung in almost the same form since the fourth century. The liturgy you are hearing is the Qurbono, the Maronite Divine Liturgy, and it is one of the oldest continuously celebrated forms of Christian worship on earth.
This article explains what the Qurbono is, where it comes from, how it is structured, the six anaphoras the Maronite Church uses, and how it differs from the Roman rite. It is written for readers who may have attended a Maronite Mass and wondered what was happening, for Roman Catholics curious about their Eastern brethren, and for Maronites who want to understand more deeply what they have been praying since childhood.
The Word Qurbono
Qurbono (ܩܽܘܪܒܳܢܳܐ, also transliterated Qurbana or Qorbono) is the Syriac word for "offering" or "sacrifice." It shares a root with the Hebrew korban, the same word used in the Book of Leviticus for the Temple offerings. For a Maronite, the Qurbono is not only the ritual of the Eucharist. It is the act of offering — the offering of bread, wine, word, and self to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. The name is the theology.
The full Syriac name is Qurbono Qaddisho, the Holy Offering. Arabic-speaking Maronites often call it al-Quddas al-Ilahi, the Divine Holy Thing. Roman Catholics would call this the Holy Mass. The realities are the same. The names belong to different liturgical families.
Where the Qurbono Comes From
The Book of Acts records that the first Christians were called Christians at Antioch. That same city — on the Mediterranean coast of what is now southern Turkey and northern Syria — produced one of the earliest Christian liturgies. By the fourth century, the Antiochene liturgy had split into two families: West Syriac (out of which came the Maronite, Syriac Orthodox, and Syriac Catholic liturgies) and East Syriac (the Chaldean and Assyrian liturgies). The Maronite Qurbono is the direct inheritor of the West Syriac-Antiochene tradition.
The hermits and monks who followed Saint Maron in the fourth and fifth centuries brought this Antiochene liturgy with them into the Lebanese mountains, where it was preserved and developed over fifteen hundred years. Latin influence, especially after the Crusades and after the Maronites' formal reunion with Rome in the twelfth century, gradually added some Roman elements. In the twentieth century, a series of reforms, culminating in the 1992 and 2005 revised liturgical books, restored much of the original Syriac character while keeping the parts that had become dear to the people over centuries.
The Structure of the Qurbono
The Maronite Qurbono has two main parts, a pattern it shares with every ancient Christian liturgy: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Within those two parts, the structure is specific to the Maronite tradition.
1. The Preparation and Opening
The priest prepares the bread and wine at a side altar while the people gather. The liturgy then opens with incense, the sign of the cross ("In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"), and a Trinitarian greeting. A hushmo, a short hymn of praise, follows. In some seasons, the Qolo or Madrosho, a more extended chant, takes the place of the Roman Gloria.
2. The Liturgy of the Word
The Maronite lectionary offers readings from the Old Testament, an Epistle, and a Gospel. Before the Gospel, a chanted Alleluia or, in Lent, a Mzamor (Psalm-based chant) is sung. The Gospel is proclaimed by the priest or deacon, often facing the people and with a blessing of the congregation. The homily follows.
3. The Creed and the Transfer
The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed is recited, often in a mix of Arabic, Syriac, and the local language. The offertory that follows is called the Transfer of the Gifts: the priest carries the bread and wine in procession to the main altar, accompanied by incense and a solemn chant.
4. The Anaphora (Eucharistic Prayer)
This is the heart of the Qurbono. The priest begins with a dialogue: "Peace be with you." — "And with your spirit." — "Lift up your minds and hearts." — "They are with the Lord." The Sanctus (Qaddish, qaddish, qaddish — Holy, holy, holy) is chanted. Then follows the particular anaphora chosen for the day, culminating in the Words of Institution (almost always in Syriac, even when the rest is in English or French), the Epiclesis (the invocation of the Holy Spirit on the gifts), and the commemorations of the saints and the departed.
5. The Fraction and Communion
The priest breaks the consecrated bread — the fraction — and speaks a set of long prayers called the Meshadsonutho, which meditate on the meaning of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Lord's Prayer follows. Communion is distributed, usually by intinction (the bread is dipped into the chalice and placed in the mouth), with the priest saying, "The Body and Blood of Christ, for the pardon of sins and the life eternal." The leavened bread used in the Maronite tradition differs from the Roman unleavened host and is itself a sign of the Resurrection.
6. The Dismissal
A final prayer, a blessing, and a dismissal. Maronite dismissals often include a short procession of thanksgiving, during which the priest anoints the faithful on the forehead with the oil of Saint Charbel or the oil of blessing used at the feast, a practice the community loves and visiting Roman Catholics often remember long after.
The Six Anaphoras
Where the Roman rite has a small number of Eucharistic Prayers (with one, the Roman Canon, dominating for most of its history), the Maronite tradition preserves a rich family of anaphoras. Each has its own theological emphasis, its own poetry, and its own assigned place in the liturgical year. The six used most commonly in the current Maronite liturgical books are:
The Anaphora of Saint James, Brother of the Lord. The oldest and the most solemn. Used on great feasts including the Nativity, Pascha, and the feast of Saint James. Its roots are in the fourth-century liturgy of Jerusalem. It is the anaphora that most strongly preserves the texture of the earliest Christian worship.
The Anaphora of Saint Peter the Apostle. A shorter, sober anaphora prayed often on Sundays of the year. Its structure is close to the Antiochene family.
The Anaphora of Saint John the Evangelist. A mystical, contemplative anaphora, used on feasts of Saint John and on certain Sundays of the Season of Pentecost.
The Anaphora of Saint Mark the Evangelist. A distinctly Alexandrian-influenced anaphora that entered the Maronite tradition through the early ecumenical contact of the patriarchates.
The Anaphora of Saint Sixtus of Rome. A testimony to the Maronite Church's early and enduring link with Rome.
The Anaphora of Sharar (the "Third Anaphora of Saint Peter"). Called Sharar from its opening word in Syriac ("confirm"), this anaphora is among the closest in the world to the liturgical forms used in the very earliest Christian communities. Scholars have noted its remarkable resemblance to the liturgies described in the late first-century Didache.
Other anaphoras exist in the Maronite patrimony — some eighty have survived in manuscript form — and a priest may use them on specific occasions. The rotation through the anaphoras is one of the marks of a liturgy alive with tradition: the same Eucharist, in ever-varying words.
The Qurbono in Syriac, Arabic, and the Local Language
Since the Second Vatican Council and the Maronite reforms that followed, the Qurbono is celebrated in a mix of languages. The Words of Institution ("This is my Body…") are almost always chanted in Syriac. The fixed hymns — the Trisagion, the Sanctus, the Creed, the Our Father — are often chanted in Syriac or Arabic. The readings and the homily are in the local language: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Arabic depending on the country.
For diaspora parishes, this mix is practical and deeply symbolic. A Maronite teenager born in Montreal or Sydney may follow the homily in English or French, sing the Trisagion in Syriac, recite the Creed in Arabic, and receive communion to the Syriac formula. The liturgy itself teaches continuity across language, generation, and ocean.
How the Qurbono Differs from the Roman Mass
Both liturgies are fully Catholic. Both confect the same sacrament. But the two belong to different families, and the differences are worth knowing.
Language. The Roman Mass is Latin (or the local language). The Qurbono is Syriac-Aramaic, Arabic, and the local language.
Eucharistic bread. The Roman Mass uses unleavened bread (a thin host). The Qurbono uses leavened bread, rich with yeast, a sign of the Resurrection.
Communion. Roman communion is usually the host alone, with the chalice on occasion. Maronite communion is standardly by intinction — the consecrated bread is dipped into the Precious Blood.
Eucharistic prayers. The Roman rite has a small, fixed number. The Maronite rite rotates through a family of anaphoras, some over sixteen centuries old.
Orientation. Many Maronite parishes still celebrate ad orientem, with the priest facing east alongside the people during the anaphora.
Chant. Maronite liturgy is heavily chanted. Even a simple daily Qurbono has more sung elements than a typical Roman Low Mass.
Married priests. The Maronite Church ordains married men to the priesthood (though not to the episcopacy), following the ancient practice of the Eastern Churches.
The Qurbono in the Life of a Maronite Family
The Qurbono is not only a Sunday obligation. It is the rhythm through which a Maronite family marks its life. A child is baptized, chrismated, and receives first Eucharist in one liturgy (see Maronite Baptism Traditions). A couple is married under the Rite of Crowning (see Maronite Wedding Traditions). The dead are commemorated on the 3rd, 9th, and 40th day in offered Qurbonos. Each feast of the Maronite liturgical calendar brings its own proper anaphora and its own chants. For a Maronite family, the Qurbono is the thread that ties every moment to every other.
Attending a Maronite Qurbono for the First Time
If you are visiting a Maronite parish for the first time — perhaps in the United States, France, or Brazil — a few notes will help.
You do not need to know Syriac. A bilingual missal or a parish booklet will be available, with the text in English (or French, Portuguese, Spanish) alongside the Syriac or Arabic. The chants will lift you along. Sit, stand, and kneel with the congregation; when in doubt, simply follow. The sign of peace in the Maronite rite is offered by the priest from the altar and passed outward, person to person, rather than exchanged horizontally.
If you are Catholic, you are welcome to receive communion. The intinction is offered on the tongue; approach with hands folded. After communion, many Maronite parishes observe a brief anointing of the forehead at the dismissal, especially on feasts of Saint Charbel.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Qurbono?
Qurbono is the Syriac word for "offering" and is the proper name of the Maronite Divine Liturgy, the Maronite Catholic celebration of the Eucharist. It belongs to the West Syriac-Antiochene liturgical family, one of the oldest Christian liturgical traditions.
What language is the Maronite Mass in?
A mix of Syriac (the liturgical descendant of Aramaic), Arabic, and the local language of each parish — English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish. The Words of Institution are traditionally chanted in Syriac in every parish in the world.
How is the Maronite Mass different from the Roman Catholic Mass?
Both are fully Catholic, but they come from different ancient traditions. The Qurbono is chanted, uses leavened bread, rotates through multiple anaphoras (Eucharistic prayers), preserves Syriac-Aramaic liturgical texts, and often faces east (ad orientem).
What is an anaphora?
The Eucharistic prayer of the liturgy — the central prayer in which the bread and wine are offered and the Holy Spirit is invoked. The Maronite Church uses six main anaphoras, the oldest being the Anaphora of Saint James, brother of the Lord.
Can Roman Catholics attend and receive communion at a Maronite Mass?
Yes. The Maronite Church is in full communion with Rome. A Roman Catholic fulfills their Sunday obligation by attending a Maronite Qurbono and is welcome to receive communion.
See also: The Maronite tradition. What language did Jesus speak?. The Maronite liturgical calendar. Maronite Baptism Traditions. Maronite Wedding Traditions. Eastern Christianity.