The Maronite Church is led by the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, who is elected by the Maronite Synod of Bishops and receives confirmation (ecclesiastical communion) from the Pope of Rome. The Patriarch has wide-ranging authority over the Maronite Church's internal governance, but papal primacy is fully affirmed and the Patriarch remains in full communion with the Bishop of Rome.

The Synod of Bishops plays a central governance role in the Maronite Church, consistent with the Eastern Catholic model of conciliarity. The Synod of Mount Lebanon (1736), convened under the authority of Rome and the Patriarch, was a landmark moment in Maronite institutional development, standardizing liturgical, canonical, and administrative practices. The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO, 1990) now governs Maronite church law. The Maronite Church's close historic ties to Lebanese national identity give its Patriarch significant cultural and political as well as religious significance.