"Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" 2023 in Egypt

With the blessings and presence of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, Churches in Egypt began the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2023, in a Prayer celebration hosted by the Wednesday weekly meeting of His Holiness. The Prayer was held on Wednesday 15 February 2023, in the Church of Saint Mary and Anba Bishoy, St. Mark's Cathedral, in Abbasiya.

During the celebration, Dr. Gergis Saleh, Honorary Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches, delivered a speech in Arabic for the occasion, which you can listen to and watch it via the video.

"Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" 2023 in Egypt

The "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" 2023 began in Egypt, and extends between 15 and 22 February 2023. An opening Prayer was held with the blessings and presence of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, on Wednesday 15 February 2023, in the Church of Saint Mary and Anba Bishoy, St. Mark's Cathedral, in Abbasiya.

During the celebration, Rev. Refaat Fikri, Associate Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches, delivered a speech for the occasion, which you can listen to and watch it via the following link.

A Celebrations’ Program Bringing Together the Various Church Families

Under the theme “Learn to do right; seek justice” (Isaiah 1:17), the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" 2023 begins in Egypt, during which the Church Families unite in Prayer to the Lord Jesus for the desired and awaited unity since decades. For the occasion, the Middle East Council of Churches and the Egypt Council of Churches invite you to a series of celebrations in Egypt between 15 and 22 February 2023.

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Middle East Council of Churches, Communication and Public Relations Department, you can find the statement issued by MECC following the earthquake that hit the north of the Antiochian Levant, in which the MECC calls on the international community for emergency aid and urges for lifting the sanctions on Syria. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, which title is “Reflections on harsh times”, and has the subtitle “On the sidelines of the earthquake in the north of the Antiochian Levant”, he praises the rescue and relief work being made by various parties in Turkey and Syria, which were affected by the earthquake. He also stresses the importance of assisting others’ during their tragic times and helping the neediest.

On the sidelines of the earthquake in the north of Antioch

The ordinary observer, as well as the social and psychological analyst, cannot fail to notice the reactions of states and people, regarding the rescue and relief work that is taking place in our northern Antiochian Levant region, where the earthquake occurred, in two neighboring countries, Turkey and Syria.

The spontaneous rapprochement that has emerged between people, as well as between states, is worth contemplating because of the humanitarian and peaceful potentials it carries that bode well for the future of humanity.

We will not go into the names, because everyone watches and sees, and is certain of what you are talking about.

In conversations, people's natures is revealed, their merit floats to the surface of events, and their goodness appears in public, and this is what we want to underline in this article.

The quarreling states and peoples have forgotten or set aside the differences and conflicts between each other, and have rushed automatically to provide whatever logistic, in-kind and monetary assistance they can to the affected communities.

An Ecumenical Gathering Bringing Together Parishes’ Ministers and their Associates from the Middle Eastern Countries

Under the title “Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile” (Mark 6: 31), the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches is organizing the second phase of the Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling Program, for Parishes’ ministers and their associates from the Middle Eastern countries. Attendees are 28 participants from different Church Families, and the program is being held between Sunday 12 and Saturday 18 February 2023, at the St. Augustine Center in Kafra region, Lebanon.

Report: February 14th, 2023

The Middle East Council of Churches is being involved in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in Syria under the name of "Rescue Syria Campaign" through which the Council shall be dealing with the relief efforts in this emergency period and later on with rehabilitation plans in order to help people survive properly and resume a normal life with dignity.

MECC will be publishing a periodical report under the name of "Rescue Syria Update" which will keep you informed about the developments of MECC action as well as the overall situation in a context analysis perspective. 

Following the catastrophic earthquake that struck Syria and hit it to the core, the team of the Middle East Council of Churches in Syria made an interview with His Eminence Ephraim Maalouli, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Alexandretta and Dependencies, in which, and via the following video, he describes the first moments of terror they passed through due to the earthquake and how the Church worked to heal the wounds of the affected and afflicted people.

Report: February 12th, 2023

The Middle East Council of Churches is being involved in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in Syria under the name of "Rescue Syria Campaign" through which the Council shall be dealing with the relief efforts in this emergency period and later on with rehabilitation plans in order to help people survive properly and resume a normal life with dignity.

MECC will be publishing a periodical report under the name of "Rescue Syria Update" which will keep you informed about the developments of MECC action as well as the overall situation in a context analysis perspective. 

Video - Georges Batikha Survives the Disaster and Highlights the Urgent Needs

The earthquake which occurred at dawn on Monday 6 February 2023, was nothing but a fatal blow to the Syrians, who lost everything they owned. Immediately, the Middle East Council of Churches launched a relief appeal calling on the international community to support the Syrian people, urging the lifting of sanctions on wounded Syria.

Hence, the MECC team in Syria is seeking to heal the wounds of the afflicted people and support them on various levels.

In the video, Georges Batikha, a survivor of the earthquake, describes the difficulties they witnessed during the first actions they had to make following the disaster, stressing that the urgent needs are increasing daily.

Video - Rogina Makhoul Describes the Fear of the Afflicted Families and Children

The situation in Syria is very touching... Children are living in constant anxiety, families keep praying, hoping that hope will be restored despite all the pain. In fact, the earthquake that hit Syria is a great tragedy which left many people without a roof protecting them.

The Middle East Council of Churches, in coordination with the Churches of Syria, is making its efforts to help those affected. MECC launched an appeal in which it calls on the world to support Syria and help the country overcome this ordeal, and urges for the lifting of sanctions on the Syrian people.

In the video, Rogina Makhoul, a mother who survived the earthquake, highlights the first moments of terror that they experienced, describing the state of panic, fear and anxiety that families in Syria are suffering from.

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Middle East Council of Churches, Communication and Public Relations Department, you can find the statement issued by MECC following the earthquake that hit the north of the Middle East, in which the Council calls on the international community for emergency aid and urges for lifting the sanctions on Syria. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General, Dr. Abs, which title is  “Listen, Little Creature!”, he stresses the repercussions of the catastrophe that struck Syria following the earthquake and the suffering of the Syrian people due to the blockade. He also mentioned how people are weak amidst huge events, and their need to the Creator’s love and to cling to Christian’s values. Dr. Abs called again for the lifting of sanctions on the country.

New Photos Shows the Massive Disaster

The Syrian people are living very difficult days after the earthquake that struck the region and hit Syria to the core... The country is facing a huge catastrophe which destroyed the future of its people.

In fact, the Churches opened their doors to be a safe shelter for the afflicted and affected people who lost, in less than minutes, everything they owned. However, Prayer remains their only source of strength so that they can overcome this ordeal with deep faith and great hope in Jesus Christ.

You can find new photos taken by the Middle East Council of Churches’ team in Syria, showing the difficult humanitarian conditions in the wounded Aleppo, Syria.

It takes just a few seconds and everything changes!

A few seconds are enough to turn buildings into ruins, stable families to homelessness, living people obliterated from the face of the earth, rich people into beggars, and flourishing cities into hidden remnants.

Seconds and everything turns into  ashes!

The earthquake that hit the north of the Antiochian Levant reminded man, once again, how small, helpless, and worthless a creature he is without the protection of the Creator.

He  who was arrogant, arbitrary, and oppressive, you find him transformed into a dependent creature, in need of the least necessities of life in order to go on living.

How petty you are, O creature armed with might, in front of the horror of nature created by the Creator, He whom you forget when you are at the peak of your power.

You forget that He, who suspended the earth on the waters, washed the feet of his disciples and gave Himself for you. In the height of your dominance, you forget.

In Some Photos Taken by MECC

Amidst the political, economic, and health crises that the Syrian people are suffering from, Syria drowned, in less than moments, in a new catastrophe due to the earthquake that hit it at dawn on Monday 6 February 2023… Syria is stricken at the core.

The earthquake resulted massive destruction in the streets and heavy losses to public and private properties. As for the Syrians who survived the disaster, they passed through very difficult moments of terror which will remain engraved in their minds forever.

Video - Safir Salim Describes the Situation in the Salesian Church in Aleppo

In the aftermath of the earthquake which hit Syria to the core, the Middle East Council of Churches team in wounded Syria visited the Churches that received the afflicted and affected people...and asked them about their concerns, needs, and ways to support them.

In the following video, Safir Salim, a member of the MECC relief team in Aleppo, describes the first earthquake moments they passed through, and explains how they took refuge in the Salesian Church, hoping that it will be a safe shelter for them.

It is worth mentioning, that the Middle East Council of Churches launched a humanitarian appeal, in which it calls on the international community for emergency aid to the affected people, urging for the lifting of sanctions on Syria.

And calls for the Lifting of Sanctions on the Syrian People

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs was the guest of the journalist Hala Haddad, in “Every Day by Day” program on Radio Van, on Tuesday 7 February 2023, during which he highlighted the MECC appeal issued following the earthquake that struck the region. He also shed lights on the Council’s relief actions with its international partners and in coordination with its member churches in order to help the afflicted and affected people in Syria. As well as, Dr. Abs called for the lifting of sanctions on Syria so that the blockade would not be a genocide, stressing the difficult living conditions that the Syrian people are passing through.

You can find the full interview of Dr. Michel Abs.

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Calls for the Lifting of Sanctions on Syria

Following the catastrophic earthquake that struck the north of the Middle East, the German newspaper, “Berliner Zeitung”, made an interview with the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs, in which he called for the lifting of sanctions on Syria, highlighting the MECC relief mission in supporting the affected and afflicted people by the earthquake.

The interview was made by the German journalist Dr. Michael Maier, and was published in German on the website of “Berliner Zeitung”: https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/wirtschaft-verantwortung/christliche-kirchen-fordern-ende-der -eu-sanktionen-gegen-syrien-li.315264.

You can find below the English version of the interview.

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake which struck Syria, Turkey and some countries of the Middle East, the international community have directly shown solidarity with the people of the region to help and support them and unite with them in Prayer.

In a message to the Middle East Council of Churches, Reverend Edwin Gonzalez-Castillo, the new director for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance at the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A (PCUSA), prays for the affected and afflicted people in Syria and Turkey, asking God to provide them determination and strength in overcoming this disaster with great faith.