Land of Holiness 1 - Saint Rafqa Hemlaya, Lebanon

“With Freedom of Conscience and Sincere Faith”

The Apostle Paul contrasts slavery and freedom. Slavery, which is sometimes described as servitude or bondage, is also a central theme in Galatians chapters 4–5.

When the obligation of the Old Testament Law, or any law, is used as the primary means of justification before God and humanity, it becomes a heavy yoke that keeps people in both inward and outward bondage. This was the issue surrounding circumcision that troubled the earliest Christians. What constituted Christian sufficiency: the written law, or something more?

The Apostle’s teaching was clear: if religion presents itself merely as a set of obligations defined by law, or as submission to forms and rituals, then faith is emptied of its spirit. Belief is reduced to a list of things to be performed.

In Christ, believers are no longer children under guardians and trustees, but sons and daughters of God through sincere faith in Christ (Gal. 4:1–7). This is why Apostle Paul declares, “Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5:1). This freedom is first and foremost liberation from the condemnation of sin, from the compulsion to earn salvation through good works, and from every human effort to seek righteousness apart from the grace of God.

Upon this foundation evangelical theology has emphasized the freedom of the Christian conscience…

MECC Participates in the Celebration

On the occasion of the 180th Anniversary of the founding of the Armenian Evangelical Church, the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE) held a celebratory Worship Service under the theme “Freedom of Conscience and the Responsible Faith” (Galatians 5.1), on Sunday, June 21, 2026, at the First Armenian Evangelical Church in Beirut.

Attendees were 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 (MECC) for the Catholic Family; the Representative of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches; the Representative of His Eminence Archbishop Hosam Naoum, Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem and Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, and Member of the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches; and the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Professor Michel Abs.

The celebration brought also together Representatives of various Church Families, as well as official, Religious, cultural, intellectual, and social figures.

As part of its efforts to develop capacities and enhance skills, colleagues from the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) participated in a training workshop entitled “Time Management and the Four Management Personalities”, led by the trainer Mr. Samir Costantine, Director and Founder of “Wazanat”. The workshop was organized by the Christian Publisher League (CPLL) at the Bible Society in Lebanon, on Friday, June 19, 2026, at the Society’s headquarters in Beirut.

This workshop was the eighth session in the training series “Effective Christian Publishing and Its Methods,” which brings together representatives from various organizations and publishing houses with the aim of enhancing professional competence and developing the skills of those working in the field of Christian publishing.

“Momentum”

19-6-2026

This issue includes reports, videos, news, articles, and a full coverage of the latest developments of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), as well as the Church, Ecumenical, and social events…

This is in addition to the weekly word of the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs which is entitled in this issue “Sayfo, Justice, and Memory, From the Perspective of the Middle East Council of Churches”.

You can check the issue via the following link: https://mailchi.mp/06af911a306d/momentum-mecc-weekly-newsletter.

You can also subscribe to the Momentum Newsletter via the following link:
https://mecc.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?id=fd3381352a&u=1db32cafe9ea32b38eb90480a.