On this day in Christian History we go back to year 1875 and travel to Mount Lebanon, where today we remember how Charbel Markhouf became a Hermit and entered the Hermitage of St Peter and St Paul. A Maronite Monk, the Maronite Church has ancient roots. After the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, the ancient Greek city of Antioch became a center for Christianity and was where the followers of Jesus Christ first became known as "Christians". Antioch became one of the five original Patriarchates (the Pentarchy) after the Roman emperor Constantine recognized Christianity. Saint Maron, was a Syriac hermit, who attracted a large number of followers His followers migrated to the area of Mount Lebanon from Antioch establishing the nucleus of the Maronite Church. As the psalmist said:
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.
Today's podcast remembers how he moved out of the monastery and became a hermit, but how it was after his death, and the curious events around his death that he started to become famous, first locally and then internationally. We look at the alleged miracles that surround him and why people are attracted to his tomb. Is this just superstition or could God be at work?
I haven't worked out how to embed an audio file yet so you can listen to the podcast by following this link
https://www.pogp.net/post/feb-15-a-hermit-from-lebanon-brings-faiths-together