Notables and Clergy in Mount Lebanon: The Khāzin Sheiks and the Maronite Church (1736-1840) by Richard van Leeuwen (review)

BOOK REVIEWS481 ues of the eighteenth century, but because of the Gospel values which permeated the Congregation's mission, Constitution, and very way of life. Given the scope of this first volume, the authors are successful for the most part in their attempt to make the history of this religious community come alive.This is not to say that it is a complete success.The text is at its best when incorporating original materials into its narrative.The letters of St. Alphonsus and his first companions infuse the history with meaning and life. It is least successful when recounting details of daily orders, attire, and aspects offormation. These details leave the reader wondering how they are to affect his or her life. For future volumes to be ofinterest, this chasm must be bridged.What is clear is the purpose of this volume: to bring the passion of the Redemptorist community to the public. And what is this passion? It is best summed up in the final phrase of the text taken from the Redemptorist constitution: "Saintly and learned for the sake of apostolic ministry" Joseph R. Gibino Seminary ofthe Immaculate Conception Huntington, New York Notables and Clergy in Mount Lebanon: The Khäzin Sheiks and the Maronite Church (1736-1840). By Richard van Leeuwen. [The Ottoman Empire and Its Heritage, Volume 2.] (Leiden: E. J. BrUl. 1994. Pp. xi, 290. $89-50.) The Maronite Church has many distinctions that make it unique within the famUy of Christian communities. It is the only church that had a monastic origin ; it lived for centuries as a self-contained Christian island in a Muslim sea on the slopes of Mount Lebanon; and it is the only Eastern church that came into communion with Rome in the Middle Ages. Richard van Leeuwen, a Dutch scholar, picks up the story of the Maronites in the eighteenth century, carrying it forward for a century. His interest is in placing the church in its political and economic roles as a smaU, but important, player in one of the Arab eyalets of the Ottoman Empire.The reader should not look here for information on the sacramental or devotional aspects of Maronite life, for unless it touches the public life of the community, it does not find a place in this volume. The story is told in terms that an economic historian will find on the mark. When it begins Mt. Lebanon's traditional authorities, the sheikhs of the Khäzin clan, are in uncontested control.They are the church's protectors and patrons and have a major voice in appointments to clerical and monastic offices. Even the patriarchs defer to their judgment, especially after the Khäzin emirs begin to hold the title "consuls of France." 482BOOK REVIEWS Then matters change. Mt. Lebanon is increasingly drawn into a capitalist economic system that produces silk for export. Silver flows into the hands of merchants and moneylenders, creating a Maronite middle class. NaturaUy the Khäzins sought ways to participate in the creation of this new wealth, but capitalism proved too diffused and the members of their own clan too dispersed for them to keep on top of affairs. Enter the French missionaries and representatives of the Papacy, who have their own agenda for the Maronites. Rome wants the Maronites to get in line with the legislation ofthe CouncU ofTrent. Its messengers to Mt. Lebanon bring two major demands: to set up bishoprics with the incumbents making their residence within their dioceses, and to break up the double monasteries that housed both men and women. One further development was the foundation of aWestern-style religious order of monks. The book traces the economic and political struggles between traditionalists and modernists until the Khäzins find themselves outdistanced. The combination of economic development, active Roman intervention, and the growing independence of patriarchs and bishops causes their hold on the Maronites to crumble. The Khäzins did not go down quietly. Constant litigation over wakfs, properties that provided income, clashes with Ottoman governors, papal legates, patriarchs ,bishops, monasteries, and the sheikhs ofother clans fill the pages ofthe book. Some wording is awkward, for example, "to perform the sacraments" and to call Pope...