Mohamad Bitar Explains the Difficult Situations He Passed Through with His Family

On 6 February 2023, God gave Mohamad Bitar a new baby in Syria. A moment that is supposed to be one of the most beautiful moments in his life. However, the baby’s birth coincided with the time when the earthquake struck the North of Antioch.

A moment as if it were forever for Mohammad, who describes in the video the difficult conditions he passed through in order to save his newborn and family from among the rubble. Noting that his children are epileptic, and one of his daughters had a seizure while the earthquake occurred.

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Attends the Ordination Service

The Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE) granted ordination and the title of "Verabadveli" to one of its pastors, Jirair Ghazarian, in the Armenian Evangelical Church. The ordination was presided over by Reverend Mgrdich Karagoezian, on Sunday 26 February 2023, at the First Armenian Evangelical Church, in Beirut.

Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Evangelical Family participated in the ordination, as well as Pastors and Church Leaders. Attendees were Reverend Dr. Habib Badr, President of the National Evangelical Union in Lebanon and MECC Honorary President and Treasurer, and the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, alongside representatives of several Ecumenical organizations and parties.

Manal Bitar Reports the First Moments of Terror

Following the earthquake that hit the North of Antioch, the Syrians witnessed scenes of horror, in every sense of the word… Scenes that will remain forever in their minds. This is in addition to the exacerbation of the tragedy that did not leave them for a day, especially with the journey towards searching for safety that Syrian families lost from the warmth of their homes, which were destroyed and seconds in front of them.

Manal Bitar, one of the survivors of this earthquake who firstly took refuge in the Church, recalls in the video, and with deep sadness, the first moments of the disaster.

MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Congratulates Reverend Joseph Kassab on His Re-election as President of the Supreme Synod

During the general meeting of the General Assembly of the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Community, which was held at its headquarters in Rabieh, Lebanon, Reverend Joseph Kassab, member of the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches, was re-elected as President of the Supreme Synod, in addition to the election of the administrative office and the Executive Committee of the Synod.

On the occasion, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs congratulates Reverend Joseph Kassab, and the members of the administrative office and the Executive Committee of the Synod. He wishes them good health and success in their mission and Church Pastoral care. Dr. Abs also prays that the Lord bless their service and grant them grace and determination in their responsibility amidst the difficult circumstances the region is passing through.

“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25: 23).

Around 3 weeks has passed since the devastating earthquake that struck the Northern Antiochian Levant. Syria is still crying out in pain, wounded and sad… Its affected and afflicted people were not even able to restore their lives with dignity after the war destroyed their hopes and dreams.

In moments and due to the earthquake... the Syrians lost their loved ones, and also memories that they are searching for among the ruins of their homes and properties which were destroyed in front of them. Therefore, a new journey started: searching for safety. In fact, Churches were the first refuge for the affected people, in addition to the shelters that received many families.

.The New Monthly Webinar Organized by MECC  

Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: what matters the most is that the principles included in the laws and regulations turn into a culture and be integrated in the value system of the medical field, as in any other professional field

The Middle East Council of Churches held its monthly webinar, under the theme of "Medical Ethics and Human Dignity", on Thursday 23 February 2023, with the participation of researchers, specialists, experts and students from various universities and countries. Noting that this webinar was organized within the series of monthly webinars MECC has launched within the “Human Dignity Project” as part of the work of a department that is being developed in MECC under the name of “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”.

The webinar was broadcasted live on the MECC Facebook Page and included 3 sessions on the topic at hand. It was moderated by Dr. Laure Abi Khalil, who presented in her opening note an introduction of the human dignity and medical ethics’ concept and meanings.

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Middle East Council of Churches, Communication and Public Relations Department, you can find a news about the participation of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, at the Last Judgment Sunday Mass, presided over by His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and MECC President for the Orthodox Family, on Sunday 19 February 2023, at Our Lady of Balamand Patriarchal Monastery in Lebanon. This is in addition to details about the meeting of Dr. Abs with His Beatitude Patriarch John X, and also with Archimandrite Dr. Jack Khalil, President of the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME).

As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, which title is “The Northern Antiochian Levant, A Glimmer of Hope in the Heart of Tragedy”, he talked about the tragedies and sufferings that Antioch has always witnessed over the decades. He added that we should never give up in the face of difficulties and work to support the neediest and most vulnerable people, so that Antioch remains, as His Beatitude Patriarch John X said in his Sunday Homily, “the glorious Bride of Christ.”

Report: February 23th, 2023

The Middle East Council of Churches is being involved in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in Syria under the name of "Rescue Syria Campaign" through which the Council shall be dealing with the relief efforts in this emergency period and later on with rehabilitation plans in order to help people survive properly and resume a normal life with dignity.

MECC will be publishing a periodical report under the name of "Rescue Syria Update" which will keep you informed about the developments of MECC action as well as the overall situation in a context analysis perspective. 

It is the same region that had witnessed massacres and displacement, acts of human making about a century ago. Today, it is witnessing massacres and displacement caused by nature.

It is the same scene recuring today one hundred years later.

Cities, villages, and farms are emptied of their inhabitants, who either die or leave.

You find them homeless in their own land, looking for a shelter that will keep them away from the open air and from the cold of winter, as well as seeking a garment that would help cover their bodies exhausted by homelessness and destitution, and food that would merely keep them at mere subsistence level... In short, they are looking for the minimal requirement needed for maintaining human dignity.

Between human-made disasters, and natural disasters, great harm has beset human beings. We are facing groups living in one of the most important regions of the East in terms of thought, culture and faith. Their cities were lighthouses in the field of the human sciences and theology, still shining forth and guiding those who excel in these fields in this day and age.

Reverend Dr. Andrea Zaki

for His Re-election as President of the Protestant Churches in Egypt, and

Reverend Dr. Georges Shaker for His Re-election as Vice President

The Elections Committee of the Presidency of the Protestant Churches in Egypt, announced on Friday 17 February 2023, the election of Reverend Dr. Andrea Zaki as President of the Protestant Churches in Egypt, and Reverend Dr. Georges Shaker as Vice President, for a new term of eight years.

On the occasion, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs sent a letter to the Protestant Churches in Egypt, in which he congratulated Reverend Dr. Andrea Zaki and Reverend Dr. Georges Shaker, for renewing their leadership at the Protestant Churches in Egypt. He also wished them good health and success in their mission and Church Pastoral care.

You can find the full message in Arabic.

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Participating in the Mass Meets with His Beatitude

And Also with Archimandrite Dr. Jack Khalil

His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Orthodox Family, presided over the Last Judgment Sunday Mass, on Sunday 19 February 2023, at Our Lady of Balamand Patriarchal Monastery in Lebanon. The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs participated in the Mass, alongside Human Rights Advocate Karl Abou Mrad.

During the Mass, His Beatitude Patriarch John X delivered a Homily in which he said, "Although Antioch is, in these days, feeling pain and wounded due the earthquake that struck our homes, and caused repercussions on all levels, as well as destruction in many Churches, I say this is the splendor of Antioch. Antioch stands forever and ever, and He is present is in the midst of all what is happening, and it will not be shaken...".

His Beatitude stressed that “the disciples of the Lord were first called Christians in Antioch,” and added, “if Christianity had a cradle, then there is the physical cradle where the Lord was born in Jerusalem, and the intellectual cradle, Antioch, from which the Apostle Paul started his preaching to all nations.”

Spiritual and Psychological Support Sessions in Lebanon for Parishes’ Ministers and their Associates from Various Churches of the Middle East

As part of strengthening the spiritual and psychological accompaniment amidst the difficult living conditions that the region’s people are passing through due to the different deepening crises casting a shadow on them, the Middle East Council of Churches continues to implement the Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling Program. It is organized through various sessions aiming at training Parishes’ ministers to help people overcome the daily challenges with great hope and deep faith.

Hence, and under the title of “Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile” (Mark 6: 31), the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department implemented the second phase of the program, which sessions were dedicated to Parishes’ ministers and their associates from the Middle Eastern countries. It was held with the participation of 28 attendees from different Church Families, between Sunday 12 and Saturday 18 February 2023, at the St. Augustine Center in Kafra region, Lebanon.