BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai kicked off a pastoral tour in Metn and Kesrouan regions over the weekend, urging the Lebanese to preserve the country’s diverse cultural and religious makeup as well as upholding unity among its factions.

Addressing believers in Baskinta in northern Metn, Rai called Sunday on the Lebanese to renew their trust in Lebanon as a model state for coexistence. “We should renew trust in Lebanon as a state, people, regime and message,” he said.

The patriarch hailed the Lebanese model as one which promotes diversity but maintains unity among its various communities.

“Both Muslims and Christians have agreed in the national pact to reject a religious state of the East and a secular one that sets God aside, similar to the West,” Rai said.

During a tour Saturday in Kesrouan region, Rai stressed the importance of promoting a culture which encourages the Lebanese to unite, as, he said, the Lebanese society faces the threat of disintegration.

Local delegations had gathered to welcome the patriarch as he embarked upon his tour, as well as Christian representatives of Lebanon’s rival March 14 and 8 coalitions.

Since his election earlier this year, Rai has sought to unite Christian parties over the need to boost the role of Lebanon’s Maronite community in state institutions.

In line with such efforts, Rai has undertaken several pastoral tours across the country, including one to Sidon earlier this month which made him the first head of the Maronite Church to visit the southern coastal city in 275 years.

The patriarch’s latest efforts aimed at uniting Christian parties witnessed a meeting convened to discuss the adoption of a new parliamentary electoral law ahead of the 2013 polls, seeking a united stance between major Christian parties in Parliament.