What Is the Triodion Period?

“Lord, I have cried out on to Thee,” ... “Let us all make haste to humble the flesh by abstinence, as we set out upon the divine and unblemished Fast...” “I beseech Thee: cleanse me in the waters of repentance, and through prayer and fasting make me radiant…” with these hymns, the Orthodox Church prepare on the eve of the Vespers of Forgiveness Sunday for the journey, a fasting journey towards the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches presents the message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, entitled this week “Affiliation and Cultural Mutual Maturation”. In the issue also, the MECC General Secretariat extended its warmest congratulations to Rev. Rifaat Fikri, MECC Associate Secretary General after his election as President of the Evangelical Conference of Cairo by acclamation.

Ever since his birth, man finds himself in a state of belonging, more precisely in a plethora of multiple affiliations. He is the son of his family, his clan, tribe, race, sect, region and country, of course, apart from the affiliations that he gathers during his social upbringing. But when he becomes an adult, the dimensions of affiliation increase in his life, as he adds to them various affiliations and activities, from the cultural to the political, passing through various types of life choices.

The Service and Relief Department – Diakonia, at the Middle East Council of Churches distributed food and hygiene kits to poor families in Dara’a Al Balad in Dara’a Governorate.

In addition to the food and hygiene kits, the families having children aged 4 and below received infant kits so that each of these families received a maximum of three kits.

Read Sajida’s Story

White mask, palette of 6 colors: yellow, pink, blue, violet, black and gold.

A 12-year-old girl took a brush and chose the blue and black. She painted the mask with these two colors and then chose the yellow to paint the remaining white part of the mask.

The story of the mask and colors was narrated by Sajida Ismail Dib who hid her sadness by her smile.

Under the slogan of “I am the light of the world”, Egypt will be launching the days of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2022 during many celebrations that will start on Thursday 3 March 2022 and end on Saturday 12 March 2022, organized by the Egypt Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches. Noting that MECC chose the theme of the Week of Prayer for this year “We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage” (Matthew 2:2) and prepared its international booklet of prayers.

“Building bridges, standing together,” is the slogan of the Middle East Council of Churches, which pledged since its establishment to be a Christian platform that crosses all religions, reflecting the Christian reality in the Middle East in a unified voice emanating from the cradle of Christianity towards all the world.

In the constant pursuit to reinforce the council's ecumenical and human mission and to shed lights on all the Churches in the East through all media platforms, a new channel is now launched on the Telegram application.

A Workshop on Media and Advocacy, the Preparations Begun!

With great hope, the Middle East Council of Churches General Secretariat, continues its preparations for its 12th General Assembly of the Council under the title “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid” (Matthew 14:27), between May 16 and 20, 2022, hosted by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, in Egypt. Given the importance of the media's role in shedding the light on Christian reality in the East and serving mankind, the General Assembly has included in its activities a workshop on Christian Media in the Middle East.

President by Acclamation of the Evangelical Conference of Cairo

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:21).

After the election of Rev. Rifaat Fikri as President of the Evangelical Conference of Cairo by acclamation, the General Secretariat of the Middle East Council of Churches extended its warmest congratulations and best wishes to Reverend Fikri, wishing him success on his new journey.

You can find the list of participants in the MECC 11th General Assembly, held between 6 and 8 September 2016 in Amman, Jordan, under the title of “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 136: 1).

Report: February 2022

While may not be acknowledged or observed due to the events happening around the world, Egypt will be a main player in the socioeconomic development of the region. Fueled by satellite images of scientific discoveries in Egypt and North Africa, major sources of energy are being continuously discovered which allow it to assume a leadership not only at the level of the Middle East but also at the level of the world.

The new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches presents the message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, entitled this week “Human Folly”.

The issue also includes a news about the ATIME meeting aiming at continuing its work on its bylaws. In addition to details on the launching of the Season of Creation 2022 and its theme for this year.

The Church is Preparing for the Feast of Feasts, Are we ready yet?

Few days and Christians will start a season that is considered one of the holiest Christian stations in history. It is the season of Holy Lent, the safe path towards the Feast of the Resurrection, the feast of feasts and the Holy Season. Hence, the Lent is a time of spiritual renewal and a journey during which Man passes from danger to safety, sin to salvation, and anxiety to contentment.

Christians prepare for their Lenten Journey following the path of Jesus Christ who was led, just after his baptism, by the Holy Spirit into the desert where he fasted for 40 days and defeated Satan.

Social crises intensify in severity, and with them the rates of poverty, unemployment, crime, family rupture and social disintegration rise. And as society becomes unable to manage its crises, it gets vulnerable to all forms of conflicts and external interventions, thus losing its autonomy and is misled into the path of decay.

There are no limits to human greed, just as there are no limits to human stupidness resulting from this greed. When those in charge of the resources of societies accumulate wealth to the extent that they become unable to manage them, at a time when some groups of the same societies lack the minimum necessities of a decent life leads to a state of uncontrolled aberration.

“Listen to the Voice of Creation”

In response to the call of creation groaning due to human violations, the ecumenical family around the world is preparing to celebrate once again the annual season of creation, which has been launched this year in an online international event held today by the organization of the Laudato Si’ Movement, in the presence of leaders of the different Ecumenical Churches and the participation of Christians concerned by this global issue.

The Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME) held, on Tuesday morning, February 22, 2022, an online meeting that gathered the deans of the faculties and institutes and their representatives from Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. It was attended by members of the Executive Secretariat and the Director of the MECC theological and Ecumenical Department Father Antoine Al Ahmar.

The meeting was presided by the President of the Association, and Dean of the Faculty of Religious and Theological Sciences at Université La Sagesse in Beirut Father Tanios Khalil, and moderated by Father Dr. Mikhael Kanbar, ATIME Executive Secretary.

The Communication and Public Relations Department at the Middle East Council of Churches have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of March 2022. 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. Noting that the remaining months of the year will be published consecutively.

You can find a video about the MECC activities in support of Iraqi refugees in Syria since the beginning of the war in Iraq until the end of 2011, with the support of the MECC’s partners and local Churches in Syria. The video was presented during the Council’s 10th General Assembly, held between 29 and 30 November 2011 in Paphos, Cyprus, under the title of “And all who believed were one heart” (Acts 4: 32).

The new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches presents the final statement of the MECC Executive Committee meeting held online on February 11, 2022. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it was entitled “Social Justice and the Misery of Humanity”.