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The Syriac language serves to connect the Maronites to their Oriental roots and vibrant diaspora, while also highlighting their close ties to both Arabs and Jews. Therefore, Charles Malek argues that the Maronite community must work toward establishing a genuine balance among these three Levantine and Middle Eastern components.
During his time in Germany where he trained under Martin Heidegger, Charles Malek immersed himself in German philosophy, particularly its Romantic phase spanning the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He delved into the works of Johann Gottfried von Herder and Johann Gottlieb Fichte, drawing significant insights from both. Herder emphasized the role of language in shaping cultural identity, while Fichte defined the concept of the nation-state as rooted in that identity.
Worldview
Charles Malek was exposed to linguistic research and its philosophical approach, ranging from Wilhelm von Humboldt to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which argues that perception or worldview is relative and shaped by language. Thus, language defines the cognitive traits of a given group, transforming it into a cultural entity with a unified understanding of history and shared aspirations for the future. These characteristics form the foundation of political affinities and, by extension, the concept of the nation-state.
As an Orthodox Greek, Charles Malek observed the disappearance of ancient languages, including Greek, from the Levantine cultural landscape. In contrast, Syriac had remained alive in Maronite churches, monasteries and even mountain schools until the 1960s. He questioned the reason behind the persistence of this unique continuity.
Once again, this faithful believer rejected the principle of coincidence and sought the intervention of Divine Providence. In his letter More is required of you, composed of the ten gifts entrusted to the Maronites, he addressed the linguistic and existential issues, respectively in the ninth and tenth gifts.
Ninth Gift: The Syriac Heritage
He then emphasized that the Maronites had inherited an ancient Syriac heritage that connects them, historically, culturally and religiously, to the remnants of ancient Eastern civilization. In his time, this civilization still survived through the Assyrian-Chaldean, Syriac Catholic and Syriac Jacobite communities, both in the East and in the diaspora. These living communities carried within them the echoes of Phoenicia, Syria and Mesopotamia.
Charles Malek highlighted that their Syriac heritage is valued, recognized, studied and taught at academic institutions across Russia, Europe and America, where it is the subject of numerous theses. Of all these Syriac communities, only the Maronites possess cultural institutions and universities in the East capable of teaching this illustrious legacy.
But Charles Malek issued yet another warning. For him, it was clearly not about studying this heritage in the Western manner—through historical and theoretical lenses, with the curiosity reserved for intellectual elites. This language is not meant to be preserved in museums. It must remain vibrant, spoken in classrooms, heard in church pews and reflected in literary and theatrical productions. Its mission is “to connect them in a living, cultural, and spiritual way” both to the ancient Eastern civilizations and to their thriving communities in the diaspora.
Regarding this particular language, Charles Malek said, “Who is more worthy than the Maronites to respect, honor, admire, study and perpetuate the Aramaic language? It has been given to them. It is living in their quintessence. They –not others– are primarily accountable for it.”
Tenth Gift: The Relationship With Arabs and Jews
The importance of the Syriac language, which has survived unlike the majority of other idioms of ancient Eastern antiquity, inevitably leads us to the existential question of its raison d’être.
Beyond its ability to connect them to their Eastern roots and dynamic diaspora, their Syriac language distinguishes the Maronites as the people most closely linked to both Arabs and Jews. This is because they translated and composed works in the Arabic language. Their Syriac idiom, like Hebrew, belongs to the Northern Semitic family, marking the two as sister languages with shared affinities. The Syriac liturgy of the Maronites, along with their theology, remains deeply rooted in Old Testament texts and values, and thus in the Judaic heritage.
Charles Males emphasizes that “language is the most important cultural phenomenon because, in its deepest sense, it is life. It defines roots, origins, and heritage.”
What allowed the Maronite language to survive all these centuries and reach us, against all odds? Was it chance or destiny? Was it the security or natural isolation afforded by their mountain? The Christian philosopher Charles Malek rejected such explanations. To him, the believer sees through his faith, “Providence behind everything, above everything, and before everything.” It exists even when its will and purpose are unknown. The Christian believes in it and remains hopeful, awaiting its revelation.
Raison d’Être
The philosopher then pondered why the Maronites had remained so firmly attached to their Syriac heritage over the centuries. While he rejected the idea of coincidence as a rule, he felt compelled to explore what Divine Providence truly foresees. “If God exists, and if His Providence exists, isn’t it legitimate to ask what the survival of the Maronites and their ancient Syriac heritage means, and what its purpose might be in these very times and in this particular region?”
For Charles Malek, the land of the Levant is marked by a constant imbalance. It is a tripod resting on just two supports, two entities: the Arabs and the Hebrews. To form the third support that ensures balance, the Maronites must exist not as a community within either of these two entities, but as a distinct component, with their own identity and historical, cultural and linguistic heritage.
The Orthodox philosopher called for this role of salvation and peacekeeping to be embraced by all of Lebanon. In his letter to the Maronites, written in Jounieh in 1974, he already placed upon them a national responsibility that transcended confessional divisions. He cautioned that the Maronites assume a particular and primary level of responsibility. If they waver, we all fall into deception and confusion; but if they take on their responsibility, we would feel strengthened, and we would all take one solid national stand. Malek also added that if Lebanon were to falter under the many burdens and tribulations imposed by its fate, “under no circumstances would I ever accept that the Maronites place the blame on anyone other than themselves.”
This philosopher, the sole Orthodox figure within the Lebanese Front, was the one who was able to probe, read and discern the true destiny and aspirations of a Maronitism responsible for Lebanon, yet so often distracted by the daily struggles for survival, and at times too prone to concessions, even to the point of forsaking the fundamentals of existence.
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