MECC
Video - The MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department
Organizes a Regional Workshop as Part of the of the “Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling” Program
The Secretary General Professor Michel Abs Visits the Participants and Supports Them
With the Aim of Empowering Their Role in Society
MECC Organizes a Health Awareness and PSS Training for Deaf and Mute Women
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, MECC, through its Service and Relief Department – Diakonia, organized a health awareness and psychological support (PSS) training for deaf and mute women in Damascus.
Twenty-four women participated in the training which focused on delivering information through sign language using simplified methods that take into account their specific needs.
After the training, the participants visited five families that include deaf and mute individuals, where they shared the useful information they had received.
This initiative falls within the framework of efforts to effectively integrate deaf and mute women into society and to empower them by expanding the circle of beneficiaries and spreading awareness in the community.
One of the participating women, aged 30, said: “this was the first time ever she had attended a health awareness and PSS training tailored for the deaf and mute.”
United in Prayer - Feast of the Holy Family’s Entry into Egypt
"Where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Matthew 2: 15).
On the Feast of the Holy Family’s Entry into Egypt, let us proclaim together with one heart: “O Holy Family of Nazareth, who lived a silent life, and suffered from poverty, persecution and displacement, help our families to faithfully carry out their responsibilities, overcome with faith the life’s troubles and hardships, care generously for the needs of others, and fulfill God’s will with joy. O Holy Family of Nazareth support our families and guide them towards the path of holiness, and help live them with love, unity and fidelity in the heart of the world” (Prayer to the Holy Family).
Commemoration of the Entry of the Holy Family into Egypt
From the Coptic Orthodox Church to the Whole World
Do You Know What Path the Family Took?
Media of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)
"Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you..." (Matthew 2:13). With this verse, Matthew the Evangelist revealed in the second Chapter the Holy Family’s refuge to the land of Egypt, an escape to this eastern country holding a historic, geographic and cultural importance, according to His Holiness Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Mark Tawadros II. But why fleeing? What is the path the family has taken?
Matthew the Evangelist mentions the reason for Jesus’ fleet to Egypt in the same chapter and the same verse, when he said, “Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him” (Matthew 2:13). This boy, whose almost suffered the same fate as the rest of the children of Bethlehem who were killed by King Herod after his failure to destroy Jesus through the Magi, for “having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.” (Matthew 2:12)
Joseph obeyed the angel and took his family to escape from Herod's tyranny to the land of Egypt, despite the hardships and dangers of travel at that time; The entry of the Holy Family to this country became a celebration of the Coptic Orthodox Church with the Fraihi rite on the 24th of the month of Bashans of the Egyptian calendar or the first of June of each year, as celebrated in the first centuries AD.
Video - The Holy Family's Journey to Egypt
A Blessing for the Country and a Source of Spiritual and Human Values
Our Colleague Lea Adel Maamary Participates in the 59th World Media Day Mass at St. Takla Church in Bkassine - Jezzine
Our Colleague Lea Adel Maamary, the Media Officer and the Coordinator of the Church and Media Relations at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and the Director of the North Office of Noursat-Télé Lumière, participated in the 59th World Media Day Mass at St. Takla Church in Bkassine - Jezzine. She said the following intention:
"We pray for every journalist to realize the importance of their work as a transmitter of hope, to avoid all forms of misinformation and polarization at the expense of truth, and to courageously commit ourselves to humanitarian and social causes that preserve human dignity."
The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Issues Its Weekly Newsletter
This issue includes reports, videos, news, articles, and a full coverage of the latest developments in the activities of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), as well as the Church, Ecumenical, and social events…
This is in addition to the weekly word of the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs which is entitled in this issue “The Month of Mary: A Common Religious Space”.
You can check the issue via the following link: https://mailchi.mp/d0b8a8.../momentum-mecc-weekly-newsletter.
His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian Receives the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs
زار الأمين العام لمجلس كنائس الشرق الأوسط البروفسور ميشال عبس، غبطة البطريرك روفائيل بدروس الحادي والعشرين ميناسيان، كاثوليكوس بطريرك بيت كيليكيا للأرمن الكاثوليك، ورئيس مجلس كنائس الشرق الأوسط عن العائلة الكاثوليكيّة، وذلك يوم الجمعة 30 أيّار/ مايو 2025، في مقرّ البطريركيّة في الرميل – بيروت.
خلال اللّقاء، رحّب غبطته بالأمين العام مطّلعًا منه على آخر مستجدّات عمل مجلس كنائس الشرق الأوسط على مختلف الصعد ومثنيًا على كلّ المشاريع والمبادرات والبرامج الّتي تقوم بها دوائر المجلس. كما شدّد غبطته على ضرورة بناء الجسور وتضافر الجهود والعمل معًا لما فيه خير الكنيسة والمجتمع.
The Middle East Council of Churches Congratulates His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II
On the Occasion of the Yearly Anniversary of His Enthronement as Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the World
On the occasion of the Yearly Anniversary of the Enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II as Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the World, the Secretary General Professor Michel Abs, on behalf of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) family, extends his warmest congratulations to His Holiness, who is Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), wishing him continued health and success in his pastoral service as a faithful servant of the Church of Christ.
The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) also raises its Prayers to God on the intention of His Holiness to bless his service, bestow His graces upon him, and grant him the power of the Holy Spirit to lead his Church to the salvation in the name of Jesus Christ, and to remain a model of love and endless giving in the field of the Lord, wishing him many years of goodness, blessing, and holiness.
The MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department
Organizes a Regional Workshop as Part of the of the “Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling” Program
The Secretary General Professor Michel Abs Visits the Participants and Supports Them
The Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) implemented a new workshop to train the trainers, as part of the regional program "Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling". It took place between May 25 and 30, 2025, at the Monastery of Notre Dame du Puits in Beqanaya - Lebanon.
Participants were a group of Clergy, Nuns, lay people, and pastoral workers, representing various Church Families and countries of the Middle East such as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt. Noting that they had previously participated in national workshops organized in their countries as part of the same program, and are now trained to develop their capacities to provide support within their communities.
This workshop was held in response to the urgent psychological and spiritual needs of communities suffering from crises and instability in the region. Therefore, the program aimed to enhance participants' awareness of the concept of trauma and ways to heal it through pastoral ministry, as well as to empower them to support others in similar areas.
The Month of Mary: A Common Religious Space
Professor Michel Abs
The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)
Believers joyfully anticipate the arrival of the month of Mary in May each year. Worshippers flock to churches, visit shrines, and hold regular prayers in their homes, when the “presence” of the Virgin Mary visits a given household, gathering neighbors or villagers to pray and recite the most beautiful prayers written in honor of Mary.
My late mother, an active member of the Maronite Church, always insisted on using the term “the presence of the Virgin” rather than her “statue,” since the “presence” symbolizes focus on Mary’s image or identity, while the term “statue” suggests a return to paganism. Whenever we used the phrase “statue of the Virgin,” we would apologize and correct ourselves.
In Lebanon, and the Middle East in general, many churches are named after the Virgin Mary and attract believers from all denominations, who come from far and wide to pray, seek blessings, and entrust their concerns, worries, and hopes to Her.
She is Mary, Mother of God, and every mother among us is a Mary, for she has given birth to someone created in the image and likeness of God.
Mary’s symbolism is undisputed in both Christianity and Islam, having achieved a historical, timeless consensus. This is why, in Lebanon, the Feast of the Annunciation is considered a national holiday celebrated by all Lebanese, regardless of their respective affiliations. At the Middle East Council of Churches, we have regarded it as a common religious space, among other such spaces, where all believers accept and celebrate together…
