You can find a document including links to all the activities of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs during 2021, such as the Weekly messages, Media interviews, Meetings, Webinars, Lectures, Gatherings, other Activities…, Visits, Statements and Press Releases.

For refusing the restrictions on the Holy Saturday celebrations in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and for not restricting the freedom of believers in Jerusalem

In keeping with the alarming developments in the city of Jerusalem and the restrictions imposed by the occupying power on worshipers and pilgrims to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Middle East Council of Churches and its General Secretariat declare their support for the position of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and affirm the sanctity of freedom of religion and the right to worship and pray in the city of Jerusalem. Furthermore, the Council calls for a consolidation of this position and to rally around the principled and correct position of the Patriarchate.

The Patriarchate addressed a letter to the occupation police, rejecting any restrictions on the number of people who may celebrate Holy Saturday inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, its courtyard, its surroundings, its roof, or the entrances leading to it.

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches you can find the message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs entitled this week “Christ is Risen...a Blessed Palms Sunday”, in which he tackled the moral, psychological, and social dimension of the absence of social consensus to adopt the same dates for religious occasions, shedding light on the importance of the unification of the feasts as an indicator of the unity of the soul in the believing community.

Confusing are religious occasions when there is no social consensus to adopt the same dates for them.

We will not enter into the theological or heritage dimension of the issue, as this field has its masters, but the psychological and social dimension is confusing, especially when it comes to the unknowing, or the non-Christian citizens.

As for the sons of churches, they are concerned with the unification of the feasts as an indicator of the unity of the soul in the believing community, since the different dates of the feasts are an indicator of division, separation and fragmentation, and no believer would accept that, as he considers it as a threat to his faith and the unity of the sons of his creed.

When will you unite the holidays? A question that citizens and institutions ask us; Moreover, there are some faith groups that have set their sights on the goal of unifying the holidays exclusively.

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches you can find a news about the participation of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs in a solidarity meeting on the occasion of 9 years since the kidnapping of the Bishops Paul Yazigi and John Ibrahim, organized by the “Orthodox Encounter” and the “Syriac League”. As for the message of Dr. Abs for this week, it is the speech that he delivered during the solidarity meeting, entitled “The Registry Is Still Open - When Will the Registry Be Closed? In memory of the kidnapped shepherds”.

In memory of the kidnapped shepherds

To the three and a half million martyrs of the Orthodox Christians of Anatolia, we can add the name: Boulos Yazigi, the Shepherd and Martyr,

To the half a million martyrs of Syrian Christians we can also add a name: Youhanna Ibrahim, the Shepherd Martyr too,

They may be alive, but they are living martyrs, since what kind of a life did they have during or after all this detention?

Since the earthly powers were unable to tell us about their fate, should we inquire about it in the constellation of “Al-Farqadan”? *

You two high and exalted stars, have you seen two shepherds who disappeared while ministering to their flocks?

Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs in a Solidarity Meeting with the "Orthodox Encounter" and the "Syriac League":

They may be alive, but they are living martyrs, since what kind of a life did they have during or after all this detention?

On the occasion of 9 years since the kidnapping of the Bishops Paul Yazigi and John Ibrahim, the “Orthodox Encounter” and the “Syriac League” organized a solidarity meeting on Monday, April 12, 2022 at Le Gabriel Hotel in Achrafieh, Beirut, entitled “We will not forget and we will not be quiet”. The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches participated in the meeting, and delivered a speech entitled “The Registry Is Still Open - When Will the Registry Be Closed? In memory of the kidnapped shepherds”.