An Ecumenical Prayer Service in Bkerke at the Invitation of the Episcopal Committee for Ecumenical Relations for the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Participates in the Celebration

The “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2023 comes to an end. In fact, it is an annual Ecumenical occasion full of hope towards an eagerly awaited unity. It invites us to continue praying and meeting together all year long. For the occasion, an Ecumenical prayer service was held at the invitation of the Episcopal Committee for Ecumenical Relations for the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon, on Sunday 22 January 2023. It was hosted by the Maronite Church at the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerke, Lebanon, under the patronage and presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East.

A delegation from the “Center for the Christians of the Orient”, including Dr. Boutros Labaki, Dr. Mounir Sader, General Charbel Abou Zeid and Mr. Wassim Abou Rjeily, visited the headquarters of the Middle East Council of Churches in Beirut, on Monday 23 January 2023. They met with the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, and discussed with him their activities, their presence in various countries of the Middle East, and the possibility of implementing joint projects in the future.

Hoy comienza la Semana de oración por la unidad de los cristianos, que se celebra del 18 al 25 de enero. Es una semana adoptada por las Iglesias del mundo como expresión de su rechazo a la división de los cristianos y de su anhelo de unidad de espíritu, de testimonio y de función.

El Consejo se ha asociado a esta actividad, ecuménica por excelencia en sus inicios.

Ha llevado a cabo diversas tareas para que fuera un éxito. En primer lugar, está firmemente convencido de la necesidad de la unidad entre los cristianos y, en segundo lugar, ha pasado a formar parte del calendario anual de los trabajos ecuménicos.

Fue un espectáculo maravilloso ver, el pasado domingo, en la apertura anticipada de esta semana en la catedral ortodoxa de San Jorge, en una de las ciudades del Monte Líbano, cómo el mayor número de líderes eclesiásticos se reunía para celebrar y rezar juntos en el contexto de la continuidad de las actividades de la Semana de Oración por la Unidad de las Iglesias.

By Damaris Dilling,

Next Sunday, 22 January, Ms Sally Azar will be ordained as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, making her the first female pastor in Palestine. In 2006, the Evangelical Church had laid the foundation for this by deciding that women could also be ordained.

I arrive at the German Redeemer Church in the Old City of Jerusalem, where I have arranged to meet Sally for an interview and can literally feel the hustle and bustle and the special atmosphere inherent in the days before the significant ceremony. A journalist from the German television channel ARD is taking a few photos of Sally and her father, Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar. The liturgy for Sunday needs to be finalized, the first guests from Germany have already arrived and want to have a few words with Sally. After a brief chat with Bishop Azar, Sally takes me to the church café. We order two large cappuccinos and sit down in a quiet corner of the open courtyard of the old sanctuary. Despite the tension, Sally seems relaxed and looks forward to my interruption and takes time to answer my questions.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land announced that it will ordain Ms. Sally Azar, daughter of Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar, to be a Reverend in the Church, becoming the first female pastor in Palestine, on Sunday 22 January 2023, at 3pm Jerusalem time.

You can watch the livestream of the ceremony on the YouTube channel of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, through the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5ClyaldZZU.

"The Prisoner and Human Dignity"

Thursday 26 January 2023 - 9:30 am To 2:30 pm

As part of its series of monthly seminars, the Middle East Council of Churches has the honor to invite you to a round table entitled "The Prisoner and Human Dignity", on Thursday 26 January 2023, from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm, at the headquarters of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut. You can participate in it on Zoom via the following link: https://tinyurl.com/9kzwm2be, or live on the MECC Facebook page.

The round table will start with an opening and welcome speech by Dr. Laure Abi Khalil, which will be followed by the speech of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs.

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 the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Abs, which is entitled “Praying for Unity: A Phase of a Cultural Faith Process in the Making”, on the occasion of the beginning of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity”. Dr. Abs highlighted the importance of building bridges and meeting together, stressing the need to strengthen the Ecumenical culture.

As part of the “Week of Payer for Christian Unity” celebrations, the issue presents a video report about the significance of the date of this week which extends between 18 and 25 January 2023. This is in addition to this week’s booklet, and the daily Prayers and reflections which you may publish and distribute every day.

Today begins the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which runs from the eighteenth to the twenty-fifth of January. It is a week adopted by the churches of the world as an expression of their rejection of Christian division and of their yearning for unity of spirit, testimony, and role.

The Council has been associated with this activity, which was ecumenical par excellence at its outset.

It has been carrying out various tasks in order to make it a success. First, it is firmly convinced of the need for unity among Christians, and second, it  has become part of the annual calendar of ecumenical work.

It was a wonderful sight to see, last Sunday, at the early opening of this week in the St. George's Orthodox Cathedral in one of the towns of Mount Lebanon, how the largest number of church leaders came together to celebrate and pray together in the context of keeping up with the activities of the Week of Prayer for Church Unity.

A Joint Seminar Between MECC and OHCHR

It is true that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the Lebanese expert Charles Malik wrote its final version. A Declaration that guarantees the preservation of human rights and dignity, but solidarity, awareness and preventing infringement of dignity have become necessary efforts today amidst some violations and obstacles.

Hence, the Middle East Council of Churches, in partnership with the Regional Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), held an intellectual seminar entitled "Dignity, Freedom and Justice", on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was organized on Wednesday 11 January 2023, at the headquarters of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut.

The video presents an overview of this seminar, its topics and participants. It is produced by the MECC Communication and Public Relations Department.

Before the war in Syria, livestock breeders used to find high-quality fodder at reasonable prices in the market. However, the livestock sector, like other sectors, was affected by war and started to face many challenges, the most important of which are high prices of fodder and periodic vaccinations.

This, in turn, has affected the ability of many livestock breeders in poor villages who resort to breeding in order to sell milk and dairy products to support their families. Many livestock breeders will no longer be able to continue their work taking into consideration constant losses resulting from high fodder prices.

An Annual Historical Occasion Between 18 and 25 January, What is its Significance?

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated annually during eight days of daily Prayers worldwide. It is an historic annual ritual which extends between 18 and 25 January in the global Christian calendar, in the Northern part of the world. As for the Southern part, people are in holidays during this period, therefore Churches celebrate the Week of Prayer around Pentecost.

A unity our Lord Jesus Christ prayed for and entrusted us with as he said: “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” (John 17:21)

The week of prayer carries with it profound Christian and theological meanings through which Christians move on their annual ecumenical journey. Setting a date for the week itself has a special significance, turning it into a Christian tradition that started in 1908.

With the beginning of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2023, let us unite together in Prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ, carrying in our hearts and deed this year’s theme “Do good; seek justice” (Isaiah 1:17).

You can find in Arabic the Prayer for Christian Unity.

El momento y el contenido de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos constituyen hitos en la historia de la humanidad, ya que se produce tras una feroz guerra que destruyó una parte importante de la civilización humana, durante la cual se adoptaron métodos de matanza y letalidad que se remontan a siglos atrás. La humanidad se ha visto en la necesidad de fortificarse frente a prácticas sociales, políticas, de derechos humanos, así como a prácticas económicas que pueden devolverla al punto cero, donde no hay retorno, en el camino de la aniquilación.

El texto de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos es completo, exhaustivo, suficiente y adecuado, ya que abarca todos los aspectos de la vida, en varios niveles, y recuerda a las personas lo que se puede y no se puede cometer contra ellas.

En el preámbulo, la Declaración habla de «un reconocimiento de la dignidad inherente a todos los miembros de la familia humana» y subraya sus «derechos iguales e inalienables», y considera que la dignidad y los derechos son «el fundamento de la libertad, la justicia y la paz en el mundo».

The “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2023 starts with a hope towards a desired and awaited unity since decades. It is a week which includes 8 daily Prayers and extends between 18 and 25 January every year. We unite in Prayer, reflection, and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ. But what does the date of the Week of Prayer symbolize?

In the video, the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches Father Dr. Antoine Al-Ahmar explains the significance and meanings of 18 and 25 January.

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 details and photos about the intellectual seminar held by MECC in partnership with the OHCHR under the title "Dignity, Freedom and Justice", for the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on Wednesday 11 January 2023, at the headquarters of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Abs, it is entitled “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights... and Dignity”, and it was the speech which he delivered at the seminar.

The timing and content of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights constitute milestones in the history of mankind, as it comes in the aftermath of a fierce war that destroyed an important part of human civilization, during which methods of killing and lethality dating back to centuries were adopted. Humanity has found itself in the need to fortify itself from social, political, human rights as well as to economic practices that may return it to zero point, where there is no return, on the way to annihilation.

The text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is complete, comprehensive, sufficient, and adequate, covering all aspects of life, at various levels, and reminding people of what may and may not be committed against them.

In the preamble, the Declaration speaks of "a recognition of the inherent dignity of all members of the human family" and stresses their "equal and inalienable rights" and considers dignity and rights to be "the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world".

MECC and OHCHR in a Seminar with Recommendations at the MECC’s headquarters in Beirut

"Dignity, Freedom and Justice"

The UN Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon Mr. Imran Riza: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was able to enact rights which protect people and preserve their dignity

Secretary General Professor Michel Abs: we need a culture of human rights in order to make sure that humanity has left the jungle towards society never to return

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Middle East Council of Churches, in partnership with the Regional Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), organized an intellectual seminar entitled "Dignity, Freedom and Justice". It was held as part of the MECC work to spread and defend the human rights’ principles, on Wednesday 11 January 2023, at the headquarters of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut.

Attendees were the UN Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Mr. Imran Riza, Professor Michel Abs, MECC Secretary General, Lebanese Deputy Dr. Michel Moussa, Dr. Habib Charles Malik, Lawyer Dr. Antoine Sfeir, Professor Antoine Messarra, alongside intellectuals, jurists, researchers and activists working for human rights and humanitarian social issues...

in a Christmas Visit to the Primate of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Lebanon

 Father Andraos Al Anthouny

On the occasion of Christmas, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs visited the Primate of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Lebanon Father Andraos Al Anthouny, on Thursday 11 January 2023, at the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Beirut. Dr. Abs was accompanied by a delegation from the MECC General Secretariat, which included the Associate Secretary General Mrs. Seta Hadeshian, the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, and the Executive Assistant to the Secretary General Mrs. Caroline Haddad.