Dr. Michel E. Abs

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)

During this period, we live several significant events that carry profound lessons for humanity. Among the most noticeable are Easter, the commemoration of the abduction of the Archbishops of Aleppo on April 22, the commemoration of the Armenian massacres on April 24, and later, the commemoration of the Syriac-Assyrian-Chaldean massacres on June 15, referred to as Sayfo.

In this emotionally charged period, the Christian believer pauses to contemplate these events that have shaped a crucial part of human history. All revolve around the Christian faith, the Christian mission, and the Christian role in this region and the world.

Christ was unjustly arrested, tried by hypocrites, and crucified by tyrants who believed the hypocrites’ words. However, He triumphed over annihilation through resurrection, offering hope and new life to humanity. His “crime” was teaching and practicing love, challenging all those who harbor spite, hatred, fanaticism, and corruption.

The Armenian people, followers of Christ’s faith, suffered a similar fate. They were unjustly “arrested” and slandered, tried by a group of hypocrites and tyrants, and subjected to all forms of torture, humiliation, and abuse. This group of tyrants committed murder against more than one community under its authority, sparing no human group that it perceived as weak.

A delegation from the Islamic Azad University of Qom, Iran, visited the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs, on Tuesday 23 April 2024, at the offices of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut. The delegation included the President of the University in Qom Sheikh Dr. Hassan Khairi, and the Head of the University’s Office in Lebanon Dr. Mohammad Mahdi Kourani.

During the meeting, the attendees discussed modern directions in the human sciences and the defects that have afflicted these sciences in the West, in addition to the necessity of creating innovative, authentic human sciences stemming from the Eastern culture.

The attendees also discussed various curricula in some universities, stressing the need to intensify conferences, seminars and meetings between these universities for joint thinking and drawing a new direction in the human sciences.

Full Video of the Conference Organized by MECC About the Armenian Genocide

22 April 2024 – At the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Geitaoui, Lebanon

On the occasion of the fiftieth year of the founding of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), in commemoration of the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and with the blessing and presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Catholic Family, MECC held a conference entitled “Keeping Memory Alive”, about the Armenian Genocide, presented by the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs. It took place on Monday 22 April 2024, at the Theatre of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Geitaoui, Lebanon.

Hence, you can find in the video the full conference which also included a speech delivered by His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian.

More information about the conference

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: If the perpetrators of massacres had been held accountable in an appropriate manner, this would not have been repeated in other parts of the world

On the 109th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian people are still waiting for justice, striving to achieve it and commemorate this event, which constituted a turning point in their history. April 24 is a date that Armenians will never forget... a date that bears witness to massacres committed against a people who have long struggled to preserve their existence. It is true that the Armenians are still experiencing great sadness and pain, but they are deriving their strength and determination to persevere in their faith in Jesus Christ, the world-giver of great mercy.

In commemoration of this painful anniversary, within the activities of the Fiftieth Year of the Founding of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and under the auspices of His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Catholic Family, MECC held a conference entitled “Keeping Memory Alive,” about the Armenian Genocide, on Monday 22 April 2024, at the Theatre of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Geitaoui, Lebanon.

The conference which was followed by a speech by His Beatitude Patriarch Minassian, was delivered by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs who presented a historical and geopolitical overview of the era in which the Armenian Genocide occurred, in addition to the facts of these crimes and their repercussions.

Video - An Exclusive Interview with His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian:

“We are witnessing in the principles that we live by in our societies a kind of genocide or crime against spiritual and humanitarian values”

109 years have passed since the Armenian Genocide, and the Armenians' wounds have not yet healed. It is a massacre and a tragedy committed against people who have always striven and struggled to survive and achieve truth and justice... But are there any listening ears to all this pain? The pain is deep and the international community is not doing anything, but what is certain is that the memory will remain engraved forever in the hearts of the Armenian people and that heavenly justice will be revealed and achieved, “For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face” (Psalm 11: 7).

In commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, on the occasion of the Fiftieth Year of the Founding of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and with the blessing and presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Catholic Family, MECC organized a conference about the Armenian Genocide entitled “Keeping Memory Alive”, delivered by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs. It was held on Monday 22 April 2024, at the Theatre of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Geitaoui, Lebanon.

In this context, the team of the Communication and Public Relations Department at the Middle East Council of Churches made an exclusive interview with His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, in which he spoke about his aspirations regarding the Armenian issue, stressing the necessity of consolidating spiritual and human values.

“Keeping Memory Alive”

The video presents a highlight about the conference held by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) about the Armenian Genocide under the title “Keeping Memory Alive”, in commemoration of the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, on the occasion of the Fiftieth Year of its Founding, and and with the blessing and presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Catholic Family.

The conference, which also included a speech by His Beatitude Patriarch Minassian, was delivered by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs, on Monday 22 April 2024, at the Theatre of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Geitaoui, Lebanon.

On the Occasion of the 109th Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide

And as part of the Activities of the Fiftieth Year of Its Founding

MECC Organizes a Conference About the Armenian Genocide

 “Keeping Memory Alive”, Delivered by the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs

On the Occasion of the 109th Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, as part of the activities of the Fiftieth Year of the Founding of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and with the blessing and presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Catholic Family, MECC held a conference entitled “Keeping Memory Alive”, about the Armenian Genocide, presented by the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs. It took place on Monday 22 April 2024, at the Theatre of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Geitaoui, Lebanon.

Attendees in this conference which you can watch by clicking here, were His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, represented by Father Sarkis Abrahamian, His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, represented by His Eminence Monsignor Antonio Wakim, representatives from various Church families, their Eminences Bishops, Pastors and Priests, Nuns from the Lebanese Hospital Geitaoui, Seminary students, the President of the Syriac League in Lebanon Mr. Habib Afram, legal and social figures, guests, media, and the MECC family. The event, was presented by the journalist Lea Adel Maamary.

Arcbishop Boulos Yazigi and Mar Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim,

the Middle East Council of Churches has issued a statement

As we mark the eleventh year, the fate of the two bishops of Aleppo, beloved by their churches, their parishioners, and all who knew them, remain unknown. What can we say to a world that remains silent and indifferent to this tragedy? Do we raise our voices loudly, knowing it is deaf? Do we appeal to its conscience, knowing it has lost all sense of mercy? Do we turn to its institutions, knowing they are ineffective? The world today seems to live by the rule, ‘He would have answered if whom I called is alive, but there is no life for those whom I call.’

Under the Auspices of the University’s President Professor Father Salim Daccache

With the aim of helping students to learn about the labor market, the Saint Joseph University (USJ) in Beirut organized a job fair, in which the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) participated, on Thursday 18 April 2024, at the Campus of the University’s Faculty of Humanities - Museum, Beirut.

The job fair provided a space for students to learn about the various types of institutions and organizations, as well as their work and tasks, where they were able to search for job opportunities that may suit their specializations and professional future.

During the job fair, the MECC Senior Human Resources Officer Roula Saliba, and the MECC Media and Communication Officer Elia Nasrallah, presented to the students an overview of the Middle East Council of Churches’ work and the programs it implements at the various Ecumenical, Theological, and humanitarian levels, in addition to the activities it is doing on the occasion of the Fiftieth Year of its Founding.

As well as, Professor Father Salim Daccache, President of the Saint Joseph University (USJ), visited the Middle East Council of Churches’ stand at the job fair and was briefed on its updates, praising the tasks it is accomplishing.

A Conference Organized by the Department of History in the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences at the Lebanese University and the Lebanese Historical Society

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Attends One of Its Sessions

The Department of History in the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences at the Lebanese University (Second Branch) and the Lebanese Historical Society held the annual conference under the title “Famine in Lebanon During World War I (1914 - 1918): A Study of Origins and Primary Sources”. It took place on Thursday 16 and Wednesday 17 April 2024, in Dr. Youssef Farhat Hall - Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences - The Lebanese University – Al Fanar.

Attendees were Deans and Professors from the Lebanese University and other Universities, writers and intellectuals, Religious, political and social figures, and guests. As well as, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs attended one of its sessions.

During the debate, Dr. Abs presented an intervention in which he praised the conference and the importance of its topic, and informed the attendees and participants that the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) classifies the famine in Lebanon under the category of wars of genocide and ethnic cleansing. He also informed them that MECC is organizing a series of seminars on massacres and genocidal wars in the region, including the events that befell the Armenians, Syriacs, Kurds, Alawites, and Yazidis. Hence, Dr. Abs invited the Department of History at the Lebanese University and the Lebanese Historical Society to cooperate in this field.

Dr. Michel E. Abs

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)

Next week, we in the Levant will commemorate two painful occasions, though they differ in historical context and magnitude.

The first occasion, which falls on the 22nd of April, marks the day of the abduction of the Archbishops of Aleppo, Archbishop Boulos Yazigi and Archbishop Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim. They were captured in the Mansoura area, west of Aleppo, while returning from the Turkish border. Nothing has been known about them since that day, and they have been missing for eleven years.

The second occasion, which falls on the 24th of April, is the beginning of the massacres against the Armenian people. These took place in the northeast of Antioch, Cilicia, as well as in the rest of Anatolia, where the Armenian presence in those regions was almost completely eliminated. These massacres occurred eleven decades ago.

In both cases, the saying circulating in the literature of political and social sciences applies: “Killing a man in a forest is an unforgivable crime, but killing a peaceful people is a matter of consideration?”

By Professor Hranush Hagopian

The Middle East Council of Churches Participates in the Ceremony

“Homeland - Diaspora Cooperation – Ten Years Course of Action”, was the title of Professor Hranush Hagopian’s book review, which took place on Monday 15th April at Aztag News Paper’s Punig Hall at Shaghzoyan Center in Bourj-Hammoud – Lebanon.

A Huge number of people assisted to the event expressing their loyalty, love and respect to a woman who for ten successive years was the Minister of Diaspora in Armenia from 2008 till 2018.

Professor Hagopian was the Chair of the Armenian Genocide Centenary Committee of the Republic of Armenia & Diaspora, she had a huge contribution and effort in reuniting Diaspora Armenians to homeland Armenia with various projects and programs.

“Wars, Abduction, Absence, and Ways to Reduce Harm”

Thursday 25 April 2024 - 7 pm Beirut time

On the commemoration of the day of the kidnapping of the two Archbishops of Aleppo, Metropolitan Boulos Yaziji and Metropolitan Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim, and on the commemoration of the "The Ecumenical Day for the Abducted and the Forcibly Absented", which the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) had launched and designated on 22 April of each year, MECC invites you to participate in its monthly webinar, entitled “Wars, Abduction, Absence, and Ways to Reduce Harm”, on Thursday 25 April 2024 – 7 pm Beirut Time.

You can participate in the webinar via the following Zoom link https://www.tinyurl.com/2wbyvvyr, and live on the MECC Facebook Page.

Within the framework of strengthening the Ecumenical relations between the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and its partners, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs held an online meeting with the ACT Alliance Regional Representative – MENA, Mrs. Rachel Luce, on Tuesday, 16 April 2024.

During the meeting, Dr. Abs and Mrs. Luce discussed ways to enhance cooperation between both parties, in addition to the future of joint projects in the Middle East, especially in Jordan and Egypt, as well as the programs planned to be implemented in Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine.

Dr. Abs and Mrs. Luce also talked about various other topics, especially the establishment of the ACT Alliance Forum in Jordan. Hence Mrs. Luce invited Dr. Abbas to attend the ACT Middle East meeting that will be held soon in Amman.

Our role in this time of conflicts and wars must be taken very seriously as to how we can become instruments of goodwill and peace

Within the activities of the Fiftieth Year of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Founding, the Secretary General of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Reverend Professor Dr. Jerry Pillay, visited Lebanon during last March, in solidarity with the Lebanese and Eastern people amidst the difficult security, social, economic and health conditions that the region is witnessing, as well as in order to Pray with the Church Families and listen to their challenges and aspirations.

As part of this visit, the team of the MECC Communication and Public Relations Department made an exclusive interview with Reverend Dr. Pillay. The interview focused on several issues related to the path of Christian unity, the challenges of Ecumenical work, and consolidating the Christian presence in the region, in addition to various Theological and Ecumenical topics.

In view of the emerging conditions, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) announces the postponement of the workshop that its Diakonia and Social Service Department, was going to implement in cooperation with the TearFund organization, on Churches in Disasters, during this month in Lebanon, to a date to be determined later.

Noting that the workshop aims to empower participants and develop their capabilities in order to support them in responding in times of crises. The workshop also aims at providing the participants with skills that will enable them in turn to train members of their congregations, so they can all help the Church heal the wounds of the most affected people in times of disasters, on various humanitarian, social, health and psychological levels.

In a world of diversities and different contexts, the worldwide Christian fellowship represents unity in faith across national borders, cultural traditions, and ethnic backgrounds. Understanding the challenges that current developments in different parts of world pose to the ecumenical movement is vital for communicating its message of unity, justice, and peace effectively.

On a monthly basis, professional communicators from regional ecumenical organizations around the globe gather online to share experiences and deliberate on how to communicate around the vast amount of challenges facing the ecumenical movement. Initiated during the pandemic as a forum for coordinating urgent communication needs, the Regional Ecumenical Advisory Group on Communication, has expanded its scope to cover a broad spectrum of issues where communication plays a pivotal role in supporting strategic objectives.

“We realized early on that bringing communicators with different outlooks together on a regular basis would enhance our capabilities to provide such support. Perspectives from regional ecumenical organizations are indispensable,” explains Marianne Ejdersten, director of Communications at the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) has released the new issue of Momentum, the weekly newsletter of the Middle East Council of Churches, on 10 April 2024

Recent events in Lebanon have starkly revealed the fragility of civil peace within our country. Any incident, no matter how seemingly minor, can have far-reaching negative consequences for Lebanese society and its people.

The gravity of what occurred cannot be overstated. A person was kidnapped from his local area, robbed of his car, and taken beyond the country’s borders. Tragically, he was later found dead. Such an occurrence cannot be dismissed as a mere footnote in the Lebanese daily life, especially considering the victim’s esteemed reputation. Notably, he holds two significant positions: first, as the director of informatics in one of Lebanon’s largest banks, and second, as a party coordinator within a pivotal political movement for an area considered to be the heart of Mount Lebanon.

The rumor mill sprang into action, fueled by the vivid imaginations of the Lebanese populace. Amidst this rich and diverse society—comprising artists, intellectuals, and technical experts—there exists a troubling contradiction. Despite their considerable competencies, individuals readily succumb to the temptation of hurling accusations and engaging in hate speech.