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Le Synode Libanais de 1736. Tome One: Son influence sur la restructuration de l'&Eglise maronite. Tome Two: Traduction du texte orginal arabe. By Elias Atallah. (Paris: Cero-Letouzey & Ane. 2002. Pp. xii, 308,388. euro44.) The Synod of Mt. Lebanon of 1736, held under the auspices of a papal legate and approved in 1741 by Pope Benedict XIV informa speciflca,was one of the most important events in the life of the Maronite Church. It was the culmination of several papal missions sent to the Maronite Church beginning in the sixteenth century. Their purpose had been to assure Rome of the doctrinal integrity and liturgical correctness of the Maronites, and also to lend support and encouragement to this Eastern Catholic church. There were a number of reasons for the convoking of the Synod of 1736. The Church of Rome desired to implement the teachings of the Council of Trent among the Eastern churches. There was a need to clarify liturgical practice and to codify particular law for the Maronite Church. In previous decades serious tensions had arisen between the patriarch and the bishops....