An Episode Within the "Community Knowledge" Series

Video - His Beatitude Patriarch Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan on the Feast of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Fatima, and the Call to True Faith

12-10-2025

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

Saturday, October 11, 2025

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, received at the Papal Headquarters at the Monastery of St. Bishoy in Wadi El Natrun, the Secretary-General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Dr. Michel Abs. Abs who is currently visiting Egypt as part of his participation in the Faith and Environment Conference and How to Preserve God's Beautiful Creation. Professor Abs briefed His Holiness about the Council's current activities and programs for social coexistence, respect for others, and peacebuilding.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II commended these constructive efforts and extended his greetings to all members of the Council and its various committees.

The Middle East Hosts Its Fourth Edition with the Blessings of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, at the Papal Logos Center - Wadi El Natrun, Egypt

With joy mixed with a firm faith in Jesus Christ and a youthful Ecumenical spirit full of hope, the Middle East hosts the activities of the Fourth program of the World Council of Churches (WCC)' Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI) at the Papal Logos Center in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt. The event is an oasis of Prayer, study, and exchange of experiences, with the participation of Theology students from various Church Families around the world.

With the blessings of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, and on the occasion of the 1700th commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325, the GETI program will extend from October 12 to 29, 2025, under the theme "Where Now for Visible Unity?". This program coincides with the WCC Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order, which will be held from October 24 to 28, 2025, at the Papal Logos Center.

“Momentum”

10-10-2025

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 “Antioch and the harsh times”.

You can check the issue via the following link: https://mailchi.mp/63207cba954e/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.

Professor Michel Abs

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches

Every living nation passes through difficult times, periods laden with trials and crises that thrust it into peril or cast it down steep paths, then destiny is overshadowed by calamity, doubt spreads, fear of the future prevails, and the horizon grows dark.

In our present time of affliction, Antioch gathered under the banner of her shepherd, the thirteenth among the holy apostles, His Beatitude John X, Patriarch of Love and Wisdom, to discern the future, probe the depths of these trying times, and seek solutions to challenges that faith, will, and knowledge can overcome.

Alongside the hierarchs of the Church, His Beatitude brought together some of its elites, politicians, intellectuals, social activists, and experts in various fields, to share this time of anxiety and to take part in the sacred task of seeking a better destiny.

Patriarch John X firmly drew the boundaries of human dignity through his memorable homily bidding farewell to the martyrs of Saint Elias Church in Dweilaah, near Damascus, declaring before all “We are here. This is our faith. This is our land. This is our history. And this is our future, which we are writing with our own hands.”

Interventions followed one another, and discussions shone with ideas like flashes of lightning. Signs of new directions emerged, challenging the days to come and proclaiming: we are ready, the future is ours, and our existence has its rightful place under the sun.

Many came in response to the Patriarch’s invitation, receiving it with affection and eagerness, following his path, resonating with his thought, and sharing in his vision, his own and theirs alike, embraced with faithfulness and expressed with rare courage in a time of grave transformation…

Emphasizing the Importance of Building Bridges, Dialogue, and Cooperation

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, received a delegation from the Church of Sweden, one of the MECC partners, on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at the MECC headquarters in Beirut, in the presence of the Council's General Secretariat team from various departments.

The Church of Sweden delegation included Mrs. Jessica Lindberg Dik, Programme Development Adviser MENA Region, Donor Relations Team; Very Reverend Peter Lindvall, Director of International Ecumenical Relations at the Department of Church and Society; and Mrs. Maria Lövström, Director of the MENA Hub in Amman.

During the meeting, attendees discussed the latest developments in the work of the Middle East Council of Churches and its most prominent programs, as well as ways to address current challenges in order to achieve the desired Ecumenical and humanitarian goals for the good of the Church and society.

Video - His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai At the Unveiling Ceremony of the Artistic Sculpture by the Artist Rudy Rahme

"The Religion of Trees is Crosses"

Diman - October 5, 2025

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs participated in the Synod sessions held at the Patriarchal Monastery of Our Lady of Balamand, presided over by His Beatitude Patriarch John X, entitled "Towards a Contemporary Global Vision in Light of Political, Social, and Economic Transformations."

It Also Concludes the "Season of Creation" this Month with the Second Symposium on Eco-Theology in Cairo

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of October 2025. 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.

The Middle East Council of Churches also concludes the "Season of Creation" in the region in October 2025, which this year carries the theme “Peace with Creation” and the symbol of “Garden of Peace”, inspired by Isaiah 32: 14-18.

On this occasion, and under the patronage of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) is organizing the Second Symposium on Eco-Theology, entitled "Peace with Creation, Spiritual and Practical Perspectives from the East", between October 10 and 11, 2025, at the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, Abbassia – Cairo.

The Middle East Council of Churches Participating

With a lot of joy and hope, the Ecumenical family around the world concluded the “Season of Creation” 2025 with an online Prayer celebration under the theme of the year "Peace with Creation." The celebration was organized by the Ecumenical Youth Committee in the “Season of Creation”, on Saturday, October 4, 2025, coinciding with the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of Ecology. Noting that the Season began on September 1, with the Feast of Creation.

The Prayer was led by the Coordinator of the Eco Justice Unit at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Father Movses Yosolkanian, and Daisy Yator representing the youth of ACT Alliance international organization. They emphasized the importance of amplifying youth voices and strengthening the role of youth in working to protect God's creation.

The Diakonia and Social Service Department, Lebanon’s Office, at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), in partnership with the international organization Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), launched a series of awareness sessions on gender-based violence (GBV) for a group of migrant domestic workers.

This program comes at a time when domestic workers in Lebanon suffer from neglect, injustice to their rights, and even gender-based violence... all in the absence of an adequate legal framework to protect them and preserve their dignity.

One session was given to a group of females in which they were exposed to a video called “Together Against Violence” that builds core understanding of gender, gender roles, and GBV, and how power and social norms shape these experiences. Participants were allowed to discuss productive, reproductive, and social roles and how they can evolve toward fairness.