Following the Earthquake that Shook the North of the Antiochian Levant

After the devastating earthquake that struck the North of the Antiochian Levant, the Middle East Council of Churches’ team in Syria made an interview with His Eminence Archbishop Mor Boutros Kassis, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, in which, and via the following video, he describes the suffering of the Syrian people due to the war and today as a result of the catastrophic earthquake.

on Basics of Organizational Behavior and Work Relations

for the MECC team

With the aim of improving the capabilities of the Middle East Council of Churches’ team and developing its skills at various administrative, professional, cultural and intellectual levels, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs pursues the training program he had launched on the basics of organizational behavior and its foundations, as well as its importance, especially in the institutions’ management.

Hence, Dr. Abs held the second session of the training, which includes several monthly sessions, on Thursday 2 March 2023, with the participation of the MECC team from Beirut in the offices of the Council’s General Secretariat and online from various MECC offices in the region. The session focused on the attitudes that people adopt on many life issues, including work matters. Dr. Abs analyzed the attitudes’ sources and types, as well as their management in the workplace.

The Middle East Council of Churches Stresses that

Women Are Innovative and Creative

“We are innovators, we are creative, we are strong women” was the main theme of the session held by the Middle East Council of Churches, Service and Relief – Diakonia Department, on the occasion of women’s day. It was held on the 8th of March at Our Lady dispensary affiliated to MECC and located in the Sabtieh region, a suburb of Beirut.

Several women gathered to learn how to produce handmade items, useful for various home decorations and recreational purposes. Additionally, the session allowed the women to remedy to the loneliness they feel at home and gave them a chance to bond with each other.

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 meeting of the MECC team in Syria with His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and MECC President for the Orthodox Family. Noting that His Beatitude held a visit to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo, Alexandretta and Dependencies, and the Archdiocese of Lattakia and Dependencies. You can also find the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, which title is “Strengthening Social Peace through Strengthening Humans, Approaches, Tools and Cautions”. It was the speech he delivered during an international consultation on Civil Peace.

Approaches, Tools and Cautions

Man is an integrated whole, a social, economic and psychological being at the same time. Moreover,  it is not possible to separate these dimensions from each other, nor to work on one of them without working on the other. The same could be said about the main dimension which is religion: it enshrines the story of creation and the path of salvation for the human being who has been discovering his weakness day after day, and his helplessness before the greatness of the Creator and of creation, despite the progress of science and knowledge. This statement is moresow true of humankind, the greater is his knowledge, the greater is his realization of the greatness of his Creator and the more he becomes conscious of his weakness as he ignores the necessity of His support.

As part of its endeavor to support the affected people of the city of Lattakia and with the aim to alleviate the repercussions of the earthquake disaster, the Middle East Council of Churches’ team, Service and Relief – Diakonia Department, visited the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Lattakia. The team met His Eminence Metropolitan Athanasisos Fahed, Metropolitan of Lattakia and Dependencies, as well as representatives of Churches and members of the "Follow-up and Coordination" Committee in the Archdiocese, in order to discuss how to provide support and assistance to the people and mitigate the effects of the earthquake.

Report: March 8th, 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. 

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck the North of the Antiochian Levant, families in Syria are experiencing today a new emigration wave and facing additional life difficulties as a result of this catastrophe. The earthquake was like a fatal blow after years of war in Syria that cast a shadow over the Syrian people. In fact, thousands of survivors fled to shelters, where they are sleeping on the ground amidst a severe cold wave, or even lived in tents set up in parks and streets.

New Hope for Lebanon, organized by USJ in Beirut

On the occasion of the silver jubilee of the Apostolic Exhortation “New Hope for Lebanon”, signed by Saint Pope John Paul II in Beirut in 1997, and as part of the series of lecture “Faculty’s Tuesday”, the Faculty of Religious Sciences at Saint Joseph University (USJ) organized a lecture entitled “The Apostolic Exhortation, New Hope for Lebanon, Is it still valid today?". It was held on Tuesday 28 February 2023, at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Humanities Campus.

USJ Rector the Jesuit Father Professor Salim Daccache, and His Excellency the Lebanese Minister of Education and Higher Education Judge Dr. Abbas Halabi, were the speakers in the lecture. The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs also participated alongside intellectual, cultural and educational personalities and professors from the Ministry, the Lebanese University and USJ.

His Beatitude Patriarch John X: We will not sink in fear and darkness because we are the children of light and not the children of darkness

As part of his visit to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo, Alexandretta and Dependencies, with the beginning of Lent, and after the earthquake that hit the area, 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, was accompanied by the Archdiocese Bishop His Eminence Metropolitan Ephraim Maalouli and the Governor of Aleppo Hussein Diab, in a meeting at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Saint Elias. They met representatives of parties, institutions, relief work committees, associations and volunteers who worked to support the affected people by the earthquake disaster.

His Beatitude delivered a speech in which he expressed to the audience love and condolence. He said “It is more blessed to give than receive, and you gave the world a lesson through giving and devotion. The efforts made by each one of you proved that the storm of the harsh earthquake was replaced by the storm of love showed by the archdiocese through solidarity and support, acts of love and service to its people.”

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 the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, which title is “Medical Ethics, the Physician and Society”. It was the speech he delivered at the monthly webinar organized by MECC under the title of “Medical Ethics and Human Dignity”, on Thursday 23 February 2023.

In the issue, the Secretary General Dr. Abs congratulates Reverend Joseph Kassab, member of the MECC Executive Committee, on his re-election as President of the Supreme Synod of the Evangelical Community. He also congratulates the members of the administrative office and the Executive Committee of the Synod, on their election. It was during the general meeting of the General Assembly of the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Community.

The issue also presents a news about the participation of the Secretary General Dr. Abs in the ordination of Jirair Ghazarian who was granted the title of "Verabadveli", in the Armenian Evangelical Church. It was held at the invitation of The Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE), on Sunday 26 February 2023, at the First Armenian Evangelical Church, in Beirut.