"In the Maronite Church, the lay persons have always participated in the life of the church through the means of Marian brotherhoods. At the same time, the laity was always entrusted with the management of the material goods and properties of the church; others, ordained as deacon assistants helped with the relations with civil authorities. New movements were born, inspired by these foundations in the West. Some were inculturated in the Eastern Churches, and others not yet."