By the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East and the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East

Beloved brothers, sisters, and spiritual children,
Christ is Risen! Truly, He is Risen!
We greet you today in this festive and exalted Paschal period, having our eyes fixed on the cross of suffering, and knowing that the Lord of glory transformed this cross of suffering into a cross of glory. Today, we remember the cross carried by the Christians living in this Middle East, suffering from murder, displacement, and terror. Today, we remember the spear which has marked for us as Christians, in the last two thousand years, the Passion of our Lord at the Calvary, and the other spear which has wounded us for the last ten years ago, and this wound has not been healed. Today, we remember the kidnapping of our brothers, the Archbishops of Aleppo, Youhanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi, which occurred on April 22, 2013.

Report: April 20th, 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. 

May God bless you and your families with health and great joy

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 “Antiochians despite the destructions!”. Dr. Abs spoke about the tour held by His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and MECC President for the Orthodox Family, in Antioch, following the earthquake that struck this region. Dr. Abs also called this tour “a tour of hope”, “because our alphabet is Antiochian”.

At the rubble of Antioch, the stone, its Patriarch, John X, stood addressing Antioch the soul, on the Day of the Resurrection.

Christians we were named there, Christians we are still, and Christians we will remain until the end of time.

His tour in the north of the Antiochian Levant, overwhelmed with disasters, for more than a century, healed wounds, raised confidence, strengthened faith, and reinforced affiliation.

His Beatitude came to the bleeding and devastated North Antiochian Levant, at the head of an ecclesiastical delegation, to say to our people there, we are with you, through good times and bad, and our roots are still deeply deep-rooted in faith, land and history, and we shall not quit our places.

The tour is loaded with meanings, and its culmination was the prayer on the Day of the Resurrection on the stones rubble of the church, so that He would tell everyone that our earthly places may turn into rubble, but our spiritual heavenly places are well-established since we were called Christians in that land, and since our Apostles sailed from its ports carrying out the commandment of the Incarnate Lord, that " Go and preach to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Together towards Achieving Gender Equality

Within the framework of working to reduce violence against women and achieve gender equality, the Service and Relief – Diakonia Department, Beirut’s Office, at the Middle East Council of Churches, implemented, during the last month of March, several awareness sessions on gender-based violence, in which 6 groups of 15 women attended. The sessions were held at the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese and at Our Lady Dispensary affiliated to MECC, in the Sabtieh region.

Since the International Women's Day theme for this year is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”, the sessions focused on the importance of gender equality and the necessity to fight gender-based violence. It also aimed to empower and support women and remind them that they are, such as men, an essential pillar in the development and prosperity of societies, while stressing the need to respect them, preserve their human rights and dignity.

Years of war have left behind an exhausted country, and youths who are unable to find employment opportunities that help them build a stable future. Unemployment rates among the youth have increased significantly in Syria, making emigration their only hope.

Although there are no accurate statistics about the rate of unemployment in Syria, a recent analytical study entitled "Unemployment in Syria" concluded that the largest percentage of unemployed people is among the youth category, which makes up about 70% of society and is the most productive group. As well as, Rural Damascus province includes the highest percentage of unemployed youth among Syrian provinces, according to the same study.

The Service and Relief Department – Diakonia, at the Middle East Council of Churches, Syria’s Office, worked in order to support the youth by implementing vocational training courses, through Livelihoods program. These courses help the youth improve their professional skills regardless of their educational level and enable them to become financially independent, rather than relying on humanitarian support that cannot be secured in the long term.

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs held an online meeting with the Senior Program Manager at KAICIID organization Mr. Waseem Haddad, on Tuesday 18 April 2023, in the presence of the Human Dignity Project’s team at the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Laure Abi Khalil and Dr. Lubna Tarabey.

During the meeting, the attendees discussed ways of future cooperation and coordination between the Middle East Council of Churches and KAICIID, in various fields, especially in programs and projects related to dialogue, training and networking. They also exchanged point of views and experiences on how to develop work in dealing with conflicts and interaction between humanitarian, human and religious groups.

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs:

During my reading of the book "A Citizen's Vision" by His Eminence Archbishop Mor Gregorius Youhanna Ibrahim, I was hearing the cry of a citizen leader, a visionary with an insightful view of things and an open mind

On the occasion of the tenth yearly commemoration of the abduction of their Eminences Archbishops of Aleppo Boulos Yaziji and Mor Gregorius Youhanna Ibrahim, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, held a Prayer meeting on the intention of the Archbishops’ safety and destiny. It was on the evening of Sunday 16 April 2023, at Mor Aphrem Cathedral in Aleppo, Syria.

Their Eminences Archbishops Mor Boutros Kassis, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo and Environs, and Mor Joseph Bali, Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal Assistant, attended the Prayer, along with Bishops and Priests of Churches in Aleppo. Attendees were also the Mufti of Aleppo His Eminence Dr. Mahmoud Akkam, as well as intellectuals and invitees.

The MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs

In A Special Interview on Télé Lumière - Noursat

Wednesday 19 April 2023, at 11 am Beirut time

Watch the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Professor Michel Abs in a special interview on Télé Lumière - Noursat, entitled " The Abducted and the Forcibly Absented", with the journalist Lea Adel Maamary, tomorrow, Wednesday 19 April 2023, at 11 am Beirut time.

This interview comes within the framework of the seminar and commemoration organized by MECC on the tenth yearly commemoration of the abduction of their Eminences Archbishops of Aleppo Paul Yazigi and John Ibrahim. The seminar is entitled “The Issue of the Abducted and Forcibly Absented, Violation of Human Dignity" and will be held on Monday 24 April 2023. Noting that at the end of the seminar, MECC will issue a statement in which it will officially will declare the 22nd of April as "The Ecumenical Day for the Abducted and the Forcibly Absented”.

Secretary General of ACT Alliance, in Geneva

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs met with the Secretary General of ACT Alliance Mr. Rudelmar Bueno De Faria, on Tuesday 18 April 2023, at the headquarters of ACT Alliance in Geneva, Switzerland.

During the meeting, Dr. Abs and Mr. De Faria discussed the work of both institutions in the Middle East region in order to achieve the common goals. They also talked about the humanitarian work and how to develop it in order to secure aid for the neediest groups, especially after the earthquake that struck the North of the Antiochian Levant. They also discussed matters related to coordination and cooperation between the two organizations, in addition to ways to develop the work mechanisms between them.

Happy Easter! Christ is Risen, he is Risen Indeed!