The school bell rings announcing the start of classes. Students rush to take their places in long rows around the school yard. Then they salute the flag and go to their classrooms. Soon after, the classrooms in the buildings around the yard become busy with students except for one building that is built from old stones; this building is the oldest in the school. It will remain empty until the completion of the rehabilitation activities and the removal of all war effects as it remained standing despite the shelling and terrorist explosions during the years of Syrian war.

Syria and Lebanon

Humanitarian Update

Reporting period: from 31 May to 7 June 2021

Nowadays, societies are suffering from an increase in the percentage of all kinds of violence, physical, sexual, psychological and social... especially during the lockdown period imposed by the Coronavirus and amidst the exacerbation of various crises. Therefore, the Service and Relief Department - Diakonia, Beirut office, organized many awareness courses for women and children in order to train them on how to confront violence and prevent it.

Pastoral letter from Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East

Answers to Essential Life Questions

In the midst of a world marked by a culture of injustice, violence, despair and hate speech... families are facing many challenges and constraints leaving their fate to the unknown. They are pushed to search for answers to the thorny and confusing questions around them. Therefore, the Church plays an important role in accompanying the family, nucleus of society, and guiding it to overcome bumps and doubts in order to reach a safer life through great faith and hope in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Following the resentment that spread among the Christian community in Amman with the Governorate of the Capital removing a sign bearing a verse from the Bible, the Middle East Council of Churches issued the following statement:

The proclamations of His Excellency Mr. Yousef Al-Shawarbeh, Mayor of Amman and former minister, and the answer and explanation of His Excellency Metropolitan Christophoros Atallah, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Amman and president of the Heads of Churches Council in Jordan, came with no surprise. Both persons were raised in the same loving united Jordanian culture that cherishes its children regardless of their religious affiliation.

On the 5th of June every year, people all over the world celebrate the “World Environment Day”. The environment, however, has become threatened due to various factors that may have negative repercussions on human life. For this reason, it has been a major concern for the Church and various international Ecumenical institutions, over the past decades.

For this occasion, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs issued a message entitled “Announcing environmental activities for the Middle Eastern Churches and their council, June 5th, World Environment Day”.

The new issue of “Momentum”, the weekly newsletter issued by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches, includes a special interview with the curate of Mount Lebanon Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese, His Eminence Bishop Georges Saliba, on the 47th anniversary of the founding of the Middle East Council of Churches.

El 5 de junio es el «Día Mundial del Medio Ambiente», y las sociedades de todo el mundo lo celebran desde su establecimiento en 1972. Este día presenta una visión básica común sobre cómo afrontar el reto de preservar y mejorar el entorno humano bajo la supervisión de las Naciones Unidas.

El «Día Mundial del Medio Ambiente 2021» se celebrará en Pakistán y tendrá como tema la «Restauración de los Ecosistemas», ya que se corresponde con el año del desafío de la pandemia del coronavirus y su derrota. Ese día también será testigo del lanzamiento de la «Década de las Naciones Unidas para la Restauración de los Ecosistemas».

Obispo Georges Saliba:

El Consejo ha dado pasos muy audaces y maravillosos basados en el amor y la comprensión

¡Forma parte de mi vida!

Es interesante escarbar en la historia del Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio y en el asombroso número de nombres importantes que lo acompañan desde la primera reunión fundacional en mayo de 1974 en Chipre.

Personas que caminaron junto al Consejo, y a través de él, por el camino de la unidad de los cristianos, en una procesión iniciada por familias de la Iglesia Oriental que creían en la riqueza en la diversidad hacia la plena comunión con Dios y entre sí.

El Líbano está siendo testigo de una ola de crisis asfixiantes que están afectando negativamente a la vida del pueblo libanés y de quienes residen en el país. Por ello, el Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio se esfuerza por ayudar a los grupos más vulnerables y necesitados a diversos niveles. En el sector de la salud, el equipo del Dispensario de Nuestra Señora, afiliado al Consejo y situado en Sabtiyeh-Líbano, sigue proporcionando medicamentos, especialmente a los ancianos con enfermedades crónicas que dependen de esta ayuda al final de cada mes.

En una conferencia presentada por el Secretario General Dr. Michel Abs

«Oriente Medio en transición, y el futuro y el papel de sus cristianos» es un tema que preocupa a los ciudadanos orientales y a sus homólogos en Occidente, especialmente a las organizaciones humanitarias internacionales, como la «United Church of Christ» (UCC) de los Estados Unidos de América, que organiza numerosos seminarios web en este marco.

The fifth of June is the World Environment Day, and societies worldwide have been celebrating it since its establishment in 1972. This day presents a common basic vision on how to meet the challenge of preserving and enhancing the human environment under the supervision of the United Nations.

A World Environment Day 2021 Consultation will take place in Pakistan and will have as theme the "Ecosystem Restoration" as it corresponds with the year of the Corona pandemic challenge and its defeat.

Lebanon is witnessing a wave of suffocating crises that are negatively affecting the lives of the Lebanese people and those residing in the country. Therefore, the Middle East Council of Churches exerts its efforts to help the most vulnerable and needy groups at various levels. In the health sector, Our Lady Dispensary team, affiliated to the Council and located in Sabtiyeh - Lebanon, continues providing medication especially to elderly with chronic illnesses who rely on this aid at the end of every month.

The Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR)

The Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR) issued its annual report for the year 2020, a year which saw many difficulties and challenges that cast a shadow over the Middle East, and plunged its population into many crises with no end. Unfortunately, Palestinian refugees, just like everyone, also have to face it.

The Beginning of An Ecumenical Era in the Eastern Church

“Building Bridges, Standing Together” Since 1974

Since 1974, the Middle East Council of Churches has been working on spreading its Ecumenical message in the East, the birthplace of Christianity and where Christ was born, died and resurrected. Its primary goal lies in deepening spirituality and communion service among the member churches and unifying their voice and efforts.

Bishop Georges Saliba:

The Council has made very bold and wonderful steps based on love and understanding

It is part of my life!

It is interesting to dig in the history of the Middle East Council of Churches and the astonishing number of important names accompanying it since the first founding meeting in May 1974 in Cyprus. People who walked alongside and through the council on the path of Christian unity, in a procession started by Eastern Church families who believed in richness in diversity towards full communion with God and each other.

Según los fiscales, el Líbano recibió el 5 de mayo un informe preliminar de Francia sobre la gran explosión ocurrida en agosto del año pasado. Los funcionarios dijeron que el informe francés beneficiará a la investigación en curso en Beirut, pero no darán detalles del mismo, en cumplimiento de la normativa.

De la Iglesia Ortodoxa Copta al mundo entero

¿Sabes qué camino siguió la familia?

«He aquí que el ángel del Señor se le apareció a José en sueños y le dijo: "Levántate, toma al niño y a su madre, huye a Egipto y quédate allí hasta que yo te diga"…» (Mt 2,13).

Con este versículo, el evangelista Mateo reveló en el segundo capítulo la huída de la Sagrada Familia a la tierra de Egipto, una huída a este país oriental de importancia histórica, geográfica y cultural, según el Papa de Alejandría y Patriarca de la Sede de san Marcos Su Santidad Tawadros II.

According to Judicial officials, Lebanon received on the 5th of May, a preliminary report from France about the massive explosion that occurred last year in August. The officials said that the French report will benefit the ongoing investigation in Beirut but will not give out details of the report, in compliance with regulations.