In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches you can find a details and pictures about the visit of a delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) to Lebanon and its tour in Syria. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it was entitled “On Political Chemotherapy”, in which he denounced all sieges and sanctions imposed on some countries, stressing on its severe humanitarian repercussions, as whole populations were affected.

As well as, you can find a podcast video including a special interview with His Grace Anba Antonios, Metropolitan of Jerusalem and the Near East for the Coptic Orthodox Church, and MECC President for the Eastern Orthodox Family.

This is not an article on politics; this is an article on what politics can do to humankind and society.

When the doctor decides that there are malignant disease cells in the body and decides to eliminate them, he is certain, and informs the person concerned, that this treatment is a chemical invasion of the human body, targeting disease cells and leaving in his way all forms of expected and unexpected damage to the human body. In short, the therapeutic goal justifies the harmful means, and that collateral damage is inevitable on the path to healing the body.

In politics, it seems that the influential people in this world, who have positioned themselves as judges of humanity, impose on societies what they call sanctions, have adopted this invasive method from within, just as chemotherapy does.

You see them collectively or individually, judge so-and-so that he is a tyrant, and that his people will be in a better condition without him. Hence, they promise this people a better future, and none of that will be achieved. Rather, peoples' situations become worse, and history testifies to that.

Egypt Is a Model for Coexistence!

Following his election as President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Eastern Orthodox Family in the Council’s twelfth General Assembly, His Grace Anba Antonios, Metropolitan of Jerusalem and the Near East for the Coptic Orthodox Church, visited Lebanon, carrying in his heart the concerns of the children and Christians of the region, fully aware of their suffering due to the deepening economic, health and political crises.... that affected them.

His Grace Anba Antonios, faithful shepherd of the Word of God, clinging to his hope of building bridges between Churches and stressing on the necessity of bridging the distances between them, made a tour to the Churches of the East in Beirut, and had an Ecumenical visit to the headquarters of the MECC General Secretariat, as well as to Our Lady dispensary affiliated to MECC, in the Sabtieh region - Beirut. His Grace stressed on the need of overcoming obstacles between all the Church families.

I have grown up in a Catholic family that has experienced the Palestinian refugee crisis following the Arab Israeli War of 1948. My refugee parents, living together with 4 children in one congested room, in contrast to the small independent house they had in Qatamon prior to 1948, insisted on the best private education for my siblings and me in Catholic schools, part of the private educational scene in Palestine prior to 1948 and after.

Because of a good education and upbringing, I was able to pursue university education in the USA, on a scholarship from the US Embassy in Amman, Jordan. This opportunity enabled me to carry on the legacy of my parents, Zachary and Marguerite, and to offer our children, my wife Mary’s and mine, the possibility of a good education here and abroad.

The World Council of Churches Acting General Secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca visited Syria, alongside the Middle East Council of Churches Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, the General Secretary of ACT Alliance Mr. Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, and Syria’s Programme Executive Mr. Michel Nseir.

This visit aims at strengthening the fraternal relations between the Churches in the East and West and to listen to the concerns of the children and Christians of the region amidst all the difficult living conditions they are passing through. Hence, the delegation will raise the needs and expectations of the Middle Eastern people to the WCC eleventh General Assembly, that will be held between 31 August and 8 September, 2022 in Karlsruhe in Germany.

The delegation started its tour in the city of Damascus, with a visit to His Beatitude John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, in the Patriarchal residence, where the discussions centered around the situation of the Church and its existential role amidst the crisis that the region is passing through, especially in Lebanon and Syria, and the need to support Christians so they can stay in their homeland. As well as, attendees stressed on the necessity of ongoing coordination with local Churches in order to overcome the challenges that might have impacts on the Christian presence in the region.

Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian: The Jubilee Celebrations Are an Opportunity to Glorify God, Be Humble Before the Lord, And Strengthen Hope in Times of Decadence

We Prayed for A New Beginning in the Life of the Church

The Armenian Evangelical Church starts a new bright era in its path, as it celebrates its 175th anniversary, crowned with faith and martyrdom, pursuing its mission with great hope and determination. For the occasion, the Armenian capital Yerevan witnessed many celebrations between 1st and 7 July 2022, during which the children of the Armenian Evangelical Church met together and intended to celebrate, coming from the United States of America, Europe, Australia, Canada and the East.

Participation of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East

Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, President of Haigazian University, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Evangelical Family, participated in these Jubilee and historical celebrations.

And A Pledge to Convey the Concerns of the Eastern Churches to the WCC General Assembly in Germany

Weeks ahead the 11th General Assembly of the World Council of Churches, the WCC Acting General Secretary, Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, visited Beirut, heading a delegation from WCC including the Director of the Communication Department Mrs. Marianne Ejdersten, and Syria’s Programme Executive Mr. Michel Nseir, on Thursday 7 July 2022. The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs accompanied the delegation.

This visit aims at strengthening the fraternal relations between the Churches in the East and West and to listen to the concerns of the children and Christians of the region amidst all the difficult living conditions they are passing through. Hence, the delegation will raise the needs and expectations of the Middle Eastern people to the WCC 11th General Assembly, that will be held between 31 August and 8 September, 2022 in Karlsruhe in Germany.

From the gateway to the eastern Mediterranean and its pearl, Beirut, this ecumenical delegation came to the Middle East in order to visit spiritual leaders who historically constituted the pillars of ecumenical work.

The leading delegation came to visit Lebanon and the Levant at the kind invitation of His Beatitude Patriarch John X, President of the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches. Its visits will include Beirut, Damascus, Aleppo and their suburbs, either to meet our regional ecumenical leaders as well as to visit projects that constitute a model of ecumenical and human solidarity at the global level.

The present speech was delivered as an introductory intervention during the visit of the member of the Presidium of the Middle East Council of Churches representing the Oriental Orthodox Family during his meeting with the central MECC Team. The aim of the meeting was for praying together and exchanging ideas on ecumenical affairs.

We seek to institutionalize the occasional proceeding, for the team to meet with the leaders of the MECC and the leaders of the churches in open sessions during which matters are raised frankly and lovingly with the aim of establishing an institutional and social cohesion between the leaders of the Council and the working teams in the field.

Report: June 2022

Nearly every nation in the region is struggling to cope with the aftermath of the war in Eastern Europe. Some succeeded in implementing policies that would adequately address ramifications such as grain and fuel shortages. Others still struggle with past hurdles and are finding it difficult to maneuver in the difficult situation, especially when they are still mired with corruption. Nevertheless, the world is looking towards the Middle East to solve the energy crisis and this might provide the required impetus for a new beginning.

The Council Is a Place for Gathering, Harmony and Building Bridges Away from All the Obstacles

On his first pastoral visit to Lebanon following his election as MECC President for the Eastern Orthodox Family at the MECC 12th General Assembly, His Grace Anba Antonios, Metropolitan of Jerusalem and the Near East for the Coptic Orthodox Church, made an Ecumenical tour in Beirut, accompanied by the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, today, Monday 4 July 2022. Firstly, His Grace welcomed Dr. Abs at the St. Mary & St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Sin El Fil region, in the presence of Father Andraos Al Anthouny, Pastor of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Lebanon, and Deacon Sami Tadros.

MECC Accompanies a Group of Priests and Lay People Spiritually and Psychologically

After the forced hiatus due to the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches resumed the “Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling” program, and implemented a new training in Amman entitled “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6: 31). This training was dedicated to a group of 16 participants, which included Priests from different Churches, and lay people working in different pastoral sectors or social services. They came from Amman and other regions of the Kingdom, as well as from the West Bank in Palestine, the Holy Land and the Gaza Strip. The sessions took place between 19 and 23 June 2022, at the Rosary Sisters Visitation Home in Amman, and were organized by the program coordinator Sister Emilie Tannous.

The following report video, which was broadcasted on Sama TV, sheds light on the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) campaign launched by the Diakonia and Social Service Department, at the Middle East Council of Churches, Syria’s Office, within the Cash for Work Program, aiming at supporting the local community and preserving the beauty and cleanliness of the city. The campaign included roads sweeping, removal and transportation of waste from the city entrances and squares, as well as removing the dry grass from the roads.

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches you can find a news about the first meeting of the MECC new Executive Committee that thanked His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, for hosting the activities of the MECC 12th General Assembly, and discussed the recommendations issued by this General Assembly, and ways to develop the work mechanisms. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it was entitled “Reflections on the Feast of the See of Antioch”.

It is the feast of the two apostles, Peter and Paul, the founders of the See of Antioch.

Today, after more than two millennia, we pause and reflect on the path of the Christian faith and the Church that embodies it, and which the Lord has built on the Rock.

This "small cluster" of fishermen, full of faith in their belief, was able to capture the world and establish it within the body of her love.

They were very few, the leaven of faith and righteousness, however they were able to possess the human race and bring it to the Faith.

Neither did horrors frighten the Church, nor did adversities deter her, because she carries in the depths of her bosom the faith of the Master.

From Antioch the fishermen set out to the world, to the unknown, laying their very lives on their hands, unaware of difficulties they encountered. Their final destination was one, clearly defined: Humankind!

The Communication and Public Relations Department at the Middle East Council of Churches have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of July 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.

Thanking His Holiness Pope Tawadros II

And Planning for A Renewed Ecumenical Work

Following the 12th General Assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches, the elected Executive Committee, representing the four ecclesiastical families that constitute the Council, held its first meeting, online, on Monday 27 June 2022.

The meeting was attended by the elected MECC presidents His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East and MECC President for the Orthodox Family, His Grace Archbishop Anba Antonios, Metropolitan of Jerusalem and the Near East for the Coptic Orthodox Church and MECC President for the Eastern Orthodox Family, His Excellency Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Federation of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East and MECC President for the Evangelical Family. In addition to the members of the Executive Committee elected by the General Assembly, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, the Associate Secretaries General Father Nicolas Bustros and Mr. Adel Syryani, as well as the General Secretariat team from various departments.