Although the early history of the Maronite Church remains contested and controversial, it is much easier to trace the later evolution of Maronite history. From the seventeenth century onward, the Maronite Church has sought to reinvent itself and present its official view of its origins and development to the world. Although many scholars, both inside and outside of the Church, have disputed this official interpretation of Maronite history, it continues to form the basis for the Maronites’ own perception of their religious and communal identity. This identity has become integral to Maronites in the Middle East and in the diaspora, for whom a shared belief in a national Church forged in the Lebanese mountains defines a new generation’s search for spirituality, in the twenty-first century.‬