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In 2016, and in the yearly commemoration of the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Romaïan Cultural Society began implementing its Administrative Board’s decision to establish the “Golden Registry of Deceased Romaïan Endowed Persons”. The first to be honored in this Registry was the late Professor Ernest Majdalani, founder of pediatrics in Lebanon, chairman of the pediatrics department at Saint Joseph University, and head of pediatrics at Saint Georges University Hospital in Beirut.
Homage was paid, under the auspices of H. E. the Governor of Beirut, Judge Zyad Chebib, in Al-Walid Bin Talal Hall at the Lebanese Order of Physicians premises in Beirut. A large number of physicians, colleagues and students of Dr. Majdalani, participated in the event that was organized by the Honoring Committee headed by Professor Jacques Mokhbat.
The event’s program included:
1. A speech by the President of the Romaïan Cultural Society, Professor Negib Geahchan, who introduced the project of the Golden Registry and explained its objectives,
2. A speech by Dr. Hilda Chacar, one of Dr. Majdalani’s students, entitled: “Ernest Majdalani, a professor of Medicine”,
3. A speech by Dr. Pierre Majdalani, the son of Ernest Majdalani, entitled: “Ernest Majdalani, father and head of a family”,
4. A speech by Dr. Rami Ghobril, one of Dr. Majdalani’s students, entitled: “Ernest Majdalani, an inspired musician”,
5. A speech by the president of the Lebanese Pediatric Society, Professor Bernard Gerbaka, entitled: “The role played by Ernest Majdalani in the Lebanese specialty of pediatrics”,
6. A speech by the President of the Lebanese Order of Physicians, Professor Antoine Boustani, entitled: “The Legacy of the endowed physicians of Lebanon”,
7. A speech by the chairman of the Health Committee in the Lebanese Parliament, Dr. Atef Majdalani, entitled: “What did we acquire from the legacy of great men like Ernest Majdalani?”,
8. A speech by H. E. the Governor of Beirut, Judge Zyad Chebib, entitled: “How to honor venerable Beiruti citizen?”.
The gathering started with the Constantinopolitan anthem, which was adopted by the Romaïan Cultural Society as its hymn of thanksgiving to the Theotokos, and by which it kicks off its festive events. The celebration included broadcasting pictures from Dr. Majdalani’s archive, and playing some of the musical pieces he composed. At the end of the event, the president of the Romaïan Cultural Society handed to the family of the late Dr. Majdalani an honorary shield bearing his name and the date of his registration in the Golden Registry of the Deceased Romaïan Endowed Persons.
Who is Dr. Ernest Majdalani?
Ernest Majdalani (1920-2014) is one of the most prominent pediatricians in Lebanon who marked the twentieth century with their major achievements. He was born and raised in an ancient Romaïan Orthodox family of Beirut. He received his elementary, secondary and medical education at the Jesuit Schools of Beirut and at the French Faculty of Medicine, and obtained his Medical Doctor degree in 1945. He chose to specialize in pediatrics in Paris where he became a professor of this medical specialty in 1952. He started to teach at Saint Joseph University in 1961.
Professor Majdalani introduced this new specialization to Saint George Hospital in 1966. He headed the department and established, in 1970, the unique specialization program of Pediatrics recognized, at that time in Lebanon, by the French state. This program taught and trained more than 100 specialists in pediatrics. Dr Majdalani published 28 scientific articles.
He has a great credit for the specialty of pediatrics in Lebanon, as he created it and developed its practice. He also had a great impact on the health of thousands of Lebanese children who had been embraced by his care and blessed with his human behavior for decades. The Lebanese state, the French state and the Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East honored him, offering him medals and shields of appreciation. In the year 2016, the Administrative Board of the Romaïan Cultural Society decided to include him in the Golden Registry of the Deceased Romaïan Endowed Persons.
