The monastery was built by Sheikh al-Hajj Youssef Saqr (Saad) of Rechmaya in 1656, in honor of Saint John the Baptist, during the patriarchate of the Maronite Patriarch Saint Stephen Douaihy, who visited the monastery and blessed it in 1686. It is the oldest monastery of the Lebanese Maronite Order.
The monastery was first headed by Father Ibrahim bin Sahweh al-Ghaziri in 1685.
Following the establishment of the Maronite Order in 1699, Father Ibrahim joined the Order and assumed responsibility for the monastery, which became, from 1706, part of the endowment of the Order.
This monastery was the third to be established after the Monastery of Saint Elisha the Prophet and the Monastery of Mart Moura (Bsharri). The seat reserved for the Abbot of the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist holds a precedent position in the general assemblies of the Order, owing to the important role played by the head of this monastery.
The monastery was destroyed during the Lebanese war, but was later restored after the return of Christians to the Mountain.
