RITES IN THE UNITED STATES 235 



arrived in 1879, but did not remain. Very Rev. Louis Kazen, 

 of Port Said, Egypt, came later, but, as there were very few 

 of his countrymen, he likewise returned. On 6 August, 1890, 

 the Rev. Butrosv Korkemas came to establish a permanent mis- 

 sion, and after considerable difficulty rented a tiny chapel in a 

 store on Washington Street, New York City. He was accom- 

 panied by his nephew. Rev. Joseph Yasbek, then in deacon's or- 

 ders, who was later ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop 

 Corrigan, and founded the Maronite mission in Boston; he is 

 now Chor-Bishop of the Maronites and practically the head 

 of that rite in America. 



A church was later established in Philadelphia, then one in 

 Troy and one in Brooklyn, after which the Maronites branched 

 out to other cities. At present (1911) there are fifteen Maro- 

 nite churches in the United States: in New York, Brooklyn, 

 Troy, Buffalo, Boston, Lawrence, Springfield, Philadelphia, 

 Scranton, St. Paul, St. Louis, Birmingham, Chicago, Wheel- 

 ing and Cleveland. Meanwhile new congregations are being 

 formed in smaller cities, and are regularly visited by mission- 

 ary priests. The Maronite clergy is composed of two chor- 

 bishops (deans vested with certain episcopal powers) and 

 twenty-three other priests, of whom five are Antonine monks. 

 In Mexico there are three Maronite chapels and four priests. 

 In Canada there is a Maronite chapel at New Glasgow and 

 one resident priest. There are only two Arabic-English 

 schools, in New York and St. Louis, since many of the Maro- 

 nite children go to the ordinary Catholic or to the public 

 schools. There are no general societies or clubs with religious 

 objects, although there is a Syrian branch of the St. Vincent 

 de Paul Society. About fifteen years ago Nahum A. Mokarzel 

 founded and now publishes in New York City the daily news- 

 paper, "Al Hoda" (The Guidance), which is now the best- 

 known Arabic newspaper in the world and the only illustrated 

 one. His brother also publishes an Arabic monthly magazine, 

 "Al Alam ul Jadia" (The New World), which contains modern 

 Arabic literature and translations of American and English 

 writers. There are also two Maronite papers published in 

 Mexico. The Maronites also have in New York a publishing 

 house on a small scale, in which novels, pamphlets and scien- 

 tific and religious works are printed in Arabic, and the usual 

 Arabic literature sold. 



