Bkerké is a village within the district of Jounieh in Lebanon. It houses the seat of the Maronite Patriarchate for the entire East and serves as the winter residence of the Maronite Patriarch, transferred from the Qadisha Valley. Bkerké is the tenth seat of the Maronite Patriarchate after Antioch.

Monastery of Bkerké 
In 1703, Sheikh Khattar el-Khazen built the Monastery of Bkerké, which included a small church and a house for the priest. In 1730, the Antonine monks took possession of it, and in 1750, Bishop Germanos Safar and the nun Hindiyya el-Ajami received it to make it the seat of the Brotherhood of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was dissolved by an apostolic bull in 1779. This decree ordered that the Monastery of Bkerké be dedicated to the benefit of the Maronite community.

Maronite Patriarchal See 
The Maronite Synod considered the Monastery of Bkerké as dependent on the See of Qannoubine. In 1823, it became the patriarchal seat for the winter season. In 1890, Patriarch Jean el-Hajj renovated it, adding a section to the ground floor and a complete upper floor, designed by Brother Léonard Lazarist. In 1970, Patriarch Paul Meouchi undertook a new restoration. The outer gate was built in 1982 under Patriarch Antoine Khreich. In 1995, Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir added a wing to preserve the archives and create a museum dedicated to the patriarchal seat. He also arranged tombs for the patriarchs and adorned the church with decorated stained glass windows.

 

Patriarchs of Bkerké 
Ten patriarchs have succeeded one another between Dimane (summer residence) and Bkerké (winter residence):