Professor Michel Abs

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

In our Eastern churches of the Levant, memory plays a fundamental role in maintaining the cohesion of the faithful community and preserving its beliefs, rituals, and traditions.

In the Antiochian Levant, as in Anatolia, attempts were historically made to uproot this presence, from Armenian massacres to massacres of the Syrians, Assyrians, and Anatolian Greeks, which claimed millions of victims and displaced people, destroyed large portions of these peoples’ civilizations, and emptied vast areas of their historical homelands, where roots run deep from prehistoric times.

His Beatitude Patriarch John X, the Most Blessed, the Thirteenth of the Righteous Apostles, fully understands this reality, experiencing it in both past and present, and approaches it with the intent not only to keep memory alive but to link it to contemporary reality, making it a support for a future that is resilient and enduring until the end of time.

In everything He does and says, He ensures that the faithful are fully aware of their memory, reinforces their present with the confidence required to persevere, and opens horizons to a future he envisions as promising in presence and role.

In Damascus, at the Mariamite Patriarchate; in Tel Kawkab, where the Incarnate Lord appeared to Saul; in various regions of Lebanon; and today in the northern Antiochian Levant, through his blessed pastoral visits to Mersin, Antioch, and Alexandretta, His presence continually ties past, present, and future.

In Mersin, surrounded by the Bishops of the Holy Synod, His Beatitude recalled history and consecrated Bishop Paul of Tarsus, honoring the Apostle to the Nations, Paul, who played the greatest role in spreading the salvific doctrine worldwide…

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of May 2026. It includes the Ecclesiastical and Liturgical Feasts of the various Families of Churches in the Middle East. In addition to international days identified by the United Nations, and which are related to the MECC identity and its spiritual and human mission.

مرصد فلسطين – تقرير الخميس 30 نيسان/ أبريل 202

In light of the worsening humanitarian and social conditions in the region due to the escalation of security operations, the Middle East Council of Churches presents a weekly report entitled "Palestine Monitor," which includes the latest developments in Palestine, especially amid the deteriorating living, social, and security conditions in the country. Some texts will be in Arabic, and some others in English, depending on the source.

في ظلّ تفاقم الظروف الإنسانيّة والاجتماعيّة في المنطقة جرّاء تصاعد العمليّات الأمنيّة فيها، يقدّم مجلس كنائس الشرق الأوسط تقريرًا أسبوعيًّا بعنوان "مرصد فلسطين" حيث يتضمّن آخر المستجدّات الّتي تشهدها فلسطين خصوصًا وسط تدهور الظروف المعيشيّة والاجتماعيّة والأمنيّة في البلاد. ستكون بعض النصوص باللغة العربية، وبعضها الآخر باللّغة الإنكليزيّة، وذلك حسب المصدر.

Middle East Socioeconomic Overview

Report: April 2026

The United States and Iran declared a ceasefire so that negotiations can take place. While back and forth talks are underway and ideas are being circulated between involved parties, one cannot help but notice that only minor achievements are being made. Still both sides refuse to bulge and make critical concessions that would put an end to the war. Currently, there is an ongoing maritime blockade enforced by the US on Iran to steer negotiations the way it pleases. Yet, Iran seems to be determined to hold on to its demands at all costs. Whether or not that changes in the future, things remain obscure. What is for certain, things are heading towards a final scenario: conflict or resolution.