One of the typical characteristics of the countries of the Near East is the diverse composition of their population. The example of Lebanon is especially interesting. The necessity to ensure the peaceful coexistence of more than a dozen religious communities has brought about the formation of a specific system of the complex organization of relations in society - of political confessionalism. The acceleration of the religious representation in this authorities has brought about the situation where for more than 60 years the Maronite minority constituting about 20% of the population of this state has been on top of the power pyramid of Lebanon. The author of the article studies the peculiarities of the social-economic and political-ideological development of the Maronite community of Lebanon as well as some aspects of the international relations in the Near East, which have helped this Christian community marginal in the past to win the centuries-old race of religions and for the first time in history to get the reins of government in an Arab state. Such a study is important in the context of modern problems of the Lebanon society, because the roots of many of them can be traced to far earlier periods of Lebanon's history.