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 and photos about the visit of the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs heading a delegation from MECC to Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, MECC President for the Evangelical Family, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, and President of Haigazian University in Lebanon. As for the weekly message of Dr. Abs, it is entitled “Institutions are the guarantee of sustainability and the cornerstone of social progress”, and is the speech that he delivered during the visit to Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian.

In the issue, the MECC invites you to participate in a webinar entitled “Palestinians and Liberation from a Christian Stance”, on Friday 29 July 2022 at 7h30 p.m.

Dear Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian,

President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East

President of Haigazian University and President of the Middle East Council of Churches,

It is a pleasure for us to have the honor to hold this meeting with you, the MECC team and myself, as part of the program of visits we are making to the Presidents of the Council as well as to the church leaders.

We are pleased to meet you at Haigazian University, this historical scientific edifice that struggled with the scourge of war and endured and persisted despite the bitterness of that time. It preserved its educational role when institutions were retreating one after the other. We experienced that period together.

One can simply comment: The Church is accustomed to this, and this applies to the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, as during the century and a half of its work in our region, it witnessed the massacres and calamities that befell the Armenians, Syriacs and Anatolian Romans.

Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian: Let Us Together Build Bridges Between the Eastern Churches in Order to Consolidate the Spiritual Communion Among Them

Video - Dr. Michel Abs: The Ecumenical Culture Has Made Great Strides Since the Establishment of the MECC, But We Still Have a Long Way

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs headed a delegation from the MECC General Secretariat on a visit to Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, MECC President for the Evangelical Family, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, and President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, today, Wednesday 27 July 2022, in his office at the University.

This visit followed the election of Reverend Dr. Haidostian as MECC President for the Evangelical Family at the MECC 12th General Assembly, and is part of the program of visits that Dr. Abs is making to the Presidents of the Council and to the Church leaders.

The Communication and Public Relations Department at the Middle East Council of Churches have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of August 2022. 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. Noting that the remaining months of the year will be published consecutively.

A Webinar at the Invitation of MECC

Friday 29 June 2022

In the framework of the “Human Dignity Project” as part of the Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation Programs, the Middle East Council of Churches invites you to a webinar entitled “Palestinians and Liberation from a Christian Stance”, on Friday 29 July 2022 at 7:30 p.m. You may participate on it via the following link: https://shorturl.at/EGPX.

As part of the Middle East Council of Churches 12th General Assembly’ s activities, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs was the guest of Father Elias Karam in “I Came to Serve” program broadcasted on Télé Lumière and Noursat, Sunday 19 June 2022. During the episode, Dr. Abs emphasized the Christian and humanitarian issues and themes tackled during the General Assembly, in light of its slogan “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid" (Matthew 14: 27). This is in addition to highlighting the main points of the final statement issued by this Ecumenical event and the MECC future projects.

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 weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, which is entitled “Elijah the Zealous and Adversity”, on the occasion of the Feast of Saint Elijah. Dr. Abs tackled in his message the lesson that we must draw from the biography of Elijah the Zealous, amidst the crises that the contemporary person is living today.

As well as, the issue presents a report about the tragic situations the elderlies are witnessing especially in Lebanon, and the MECC work in supporting them. The report is entitled “Elderlies in Lebanon Are Waiting for Any Protection to Ease Their Pain, Grandma Osana and Mr. Said: Suffering with Great Pain!”.

It was just like yesterday, although nearly two millennia have passed between the time of Elijah the zealous and our lives today.

Mar Elias the living Saint, as it is commonly referred to in our country, represents a unique model of saints-name and occupies a special place in the popular memory, as there is no neighborhood in our region without a monastery, a church, or a shrine named after him.

His biography is rich and varied, filled with events. We find it in theology books as well as in religious education books in schools, and we hear it in folk tales as well.

His feast day is special, it comes first in the summer holidays and is celebrated by the people, regardless of their religions, in a distinctive way, and is accompanied by popular traditions that vary according to the region or the celebrants.

Mar Elias came at a time of intense events, abundant in sins, full of misfortunes. However he did not resort to silence or complacency, but rather drew up the sword of truth and began chasing falsehood.