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Professor Michel Abs
The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)

In front of the royal temple door, the Patriarch of Antioch, John X, most blessed, loving, and venerable, stood addressing fate, delivering words improvised for the occasion.

His Beatitude could not read what he had written, because the written word, for all its greatness, can imprison the spirit and restrain emotion, and the situation called for feeling as much as it did for reason.

The moment was solemn. Martyrs lay before the icon of the Lord and His Mother, beloved patriarchs attended in love and solidarity, believers came from all over the country, and grieving families, what a tragedy. It was a scene that summarized part of our troubled history, which has not known stability for centuries.

The Patriarch of love and wisdom addressed the martyrs who ascended on the Feast of the Antiochian Saints, entrusting them to the Lord where they have gone, asking them to pray for us, as they have preceded us to the dwellings of eternity, where the Lord’s true kingdom lies, never of this world.

His Beatitude addressed “our Christian children in all of Syria and everywhere in the world,” and also “every Syrian, whether Muslim or Christian,” because he saw that “what happened is not an isolated incident or an individual act or attack” targeting a person, family, or group, but “an assault on every Syrian and all of Syria.”

The Patriarch’s stance is deeply national, viewing the country’s people as equal in rights and duties, and, most importantly, equal in destiny, for the massacre - yes, a massacre- that targeted a key component of the country, targeted all of its people. Thus, he regarded the cradle of Christianity, Syria in its entirety, as concerned…

Father Nohra Sfeir, a Carmelite from the Discalced Carmelite Friars in Lebanon, in an Exclusive Interview with the MECC Media:

"The Relics of Saint Therese remind us of the steadfastness of faith and the importance of trust in God and surrender to Him

We are called to be messengers of love"

"I travel across Lebanon for the sake of love and peace." Saint Therese of the Child Jesus chose, on the centenary of her canonization, to travel across the Land of the Cedars from South to North, passing through various Dioceses, Churches, and regions, carrying flowers of hope and holiness to spread them in the land of holiness and faith.

While Lebanon is in dire need of a glimmer of hope at a time when it longs for stability and peace, the eyes of the Lebanese are fixed on the Relics of Saint Therese, which are returning to Lebanese territory for the second visit of its kind, between June 13 and July 20, twenty-three years after her first visit.

The heavens rejoice, the angels exult, and the faithful raise their Prayers, seeking the Saint's blessing and drawing from her strength, determination, and love. What is the significance of this visit? What are its implications for our lives today?

On June 25, 2025, an official delegation from the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) offered condolences in the hall of the Holy Cross Church_Al-Qassaa_Damascus, to His Beatitude Patriarch John X, for the Martyrs who died as a result of the terrorist attack that targeted Worshippers at St. Elias Church in the town of Dweilaa, near the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Sunday, June 22, 2025.

The delegation included the Secretary General Professor Michel Abs, the Coordinator of the Dialogue and Human Dignity Programs Professor Laure Abi Khalil, the Coordinator of Media and Church Relations, the Journalist Mrs. Lea Adel Maamary, the Director of the Damascus Office Mr. Ghassan Shaheen, and many MECC employees in Syria.

The Secretary General expressed his pride in His Beatitude's national and social stances and expressed his willingness to provide whatever is needed from MECC to heal the wounds of our people in Syria.

In his turn, His Beatitude praised the MECC work and urged the delegation to continue the Council's journey as it is today.

After Offering His Condolences, Along with the MECC Delegation, to His Beatitude Patriarch John X, and to the Families of the Martyrs of the St. Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Dweilaa - Damascus

By Father Minas Fahoum

Details in this Report

“Ecumenical Horizons” is a weekly program that features spiritual, cultural, intellectual, educational, youth and environmental topics.

Implements Emotional Support Sessions for Youth Girls in Lebanon

With the intensification of daily challenges, the Diakonia and Social Service Department, Lebanon’s Office, at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), organized a program titled "Emotional Support for Youth Girls" with two groups of adolescent girls aged 12-14 years and 15-17 years. The program aimed to empower them, enhance their mental health, and help them overcome the difficulties they may face.

This program, which extended over many weeks, comes at a time when both parents are obliged to work to sustain their households, and many children and adolescents are left alone without the proper guidance and the necessary counseling of their loves ones. As such, they are left to deal with the different hurdles in school or society in general without getting the proper chance to talk about what they go through.

“Momentum”

20-6-2025

This issue includes reports, videos, news, articles, and a full coverage of the latest developments 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 “War, Time and Again”.

You can check the issue via the following link: https://mailchi.mp/c90754a22759/momentum-mecc-weekly-newsletter.

You can also subscribe to the Momentum Newsletter via the following link: https://mecc.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?id=fd3381352a&u=1db32cafe9ea32b38eb90480a.