In the context of her official visits to the Church leaders in the Middle East, MECC Secretary General Dr. Souraya Bechealany met His Beatitude Krikor Bedros XX Gabroyan, the Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenian Catholic Church in the Beirut Patriarchal See.

Under the title “Give us to bear, fruit of the Holy Spirit” and in context with MECC’s visit to the Church leaders of the Middle East, the General Secretary Dr. Souraya Bechealany underwent a series of visitations to Egyptian Church leaders from the 15th to 18th of December.

Unless the Oriental Churches meet and convey on mutual bases to combine efforts against the threatening challenges in the Levant, the remaining Christians of the East will have to face a real existential danger.

MECC Secretary General Dr Souraya Bechealany met His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church as the final stop of her visits to the Heads of the Churches in Syria at the Patriarchate Headquarters in Damascus.

The General Secretary of the Council of Churches of the Middle East presented the council’s situation with His Beatitude John X Yaziji, the Patriarch of Antioch and all the East for the Greek Orthodox, in a protocol visit at the headquarters of the Patriarchate in Damascus.

Dr. Souraya Bachealani, the General Secretary of the MECC, visited His Beatitude Yousef al Absi, the Patriarch of Antioch, and all the Eastern Melkite Catholic church, at the headquarters of the Patriarchate in Damascus.

This is a project that includes psychosocial group counseling sessions for women and children, knitting sessions for women and community GBV awareness sessions for men and women.

Due to livelihoods depletion, increase of medicine prices; people in Syria are finding it more difficult to cover their health needs. Cancer patients are struggling to cover their treatment costs which, in many cases may either have their cancer treatment interrupted or even stopped.

This is a program that teaches Lebanese women living in the Akaar region how to harvest, prepare, and preserve various types of fruits, vegetables, and traditional Lebanese foods.

This is a program that provides cash assistance for 1000 families. The program surveyed 1300 families in the Mount Lebanon area.

This is a project, conducted in both the South and in Mount Lebanon areas, that is offered for vulnerable beneficiaries such as Syrian and Iraqi refugees as well as vulnerable Lebanese.

This project targets children who have never been to school or have been out of school for many years due to their refugee status.

This program, supported by many donors and MECC itself, provides affordable primary care and mental health services for vulnerable persons living in Mount Lebanon.

Home care is a livelihoods training course for both Lebanese and Syrian refugees. This high in-demand project utilizes professional teachers from the University of Balamand Faculty of Health Sciences and teaches participants skills

The Middle East Council of Churches participated in the meeting held by “La Maison du Futur”, in collaboration with “Wilfried Marten’s Centre for European Studies” and “Al Quds Centre” at Maison du Futur, Sérail Bikfaya. The conference entitled “Do Christians Have a Future in the Middle East?” aimed to discuss the future of Christians in the Middle East, bringing together an elite of political activists, intellectuals, and clerics from Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon.

Secretary General in the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Souraya Bachealany participated with in Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies on “Inclusive Citizenship in the Middle East and North Africa”, which was opened today in Abu Dhabi and lasts until November 15. The Forum, held in partnership with Wilton Park Association, affiliated to the British Foreign Ministry and Adyan Foundation, brought together over 50 prominent Muslim, Christian and other religious scholars from the Middle East, along with a number of policy makers from 11 countries around the world.

The Middle East Council of Churches is participating in the Third ACT Alliance Assembly in Uppsala –Sweden (28 October- 1 November), through its delegation headed by the Secretary-General, Dr. Souraya Bechealany, and the Director of Ecumenical Relief Service Samer Laham.

The Middle East Council of Churches called the world to pray for the victims of the floods at the Dead Sea area in Jordan, especially the children who perished when the floods took over their school bus.

MECC Secretary General Dr.Souraya Bachealany, condemned the Israeli police assault against Coptic Deir al-Sultan monks outside the Holy Sepulcher Church in Jerusalem’s Old City and their interference on the Monastery grounds, saying: “Once more the Israeli occupation shows its blatant violations to all conventions, agreements, human rights and international laws on all levels, not only including violation against sacred Christian symbols, but also Islamic symbols as well. Therefore, we appeal to the international community for a conscientious stand to protect these sacred symbols and the rights of the Palestinian people”.

Represented by Reverend Father Gabriel Hachem, Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) participated in the International Conference held by the United Bible Societies (UBS) under the title “The Holy Scriptures in the Changing World” in Etchmiadzin-Armenia.