Under the Title "Peace with Creation, Spiritual and Practical Perspectives from the East"

10-11 October 2025 - At the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, Abbassia - Cairo

Words Emphasizes that the Goal of Ecumenical Work Is Measured by Its Spiritual Depth

The participation of the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, in the Canonization Ceremony of Archbishop Ignatius Maloyan, included a series of meetings with Cardinals and Priests at the Vatican. Professor Abs met with Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity in the Vatican. Attendees were also the Coordinator of Media and Church Relations at MECC Lea Adel Maamary, and the Assistant in the MECC Media Department Subdeacon Chady Chata.

With true brotherhood, Cardinal Koch welcomed Professor Abs and expressed his joy at this meeting, which promotes the virtue of love.

For his part, Professor Abs presented a detailed explanation about MECC: its history, stages, structure, and working strategy. He also highlighted the work of each of the Council's departments and their initiatives, projects, and activities on many spiritual, social, humanitarian, Theological, Ecumenical, and other levels.

Words Emphasizes the Importance of the MECC Role in Promoting Interfaith Dialogue

As part of his visit to the Vatican, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs met with the French DominicanMonk Father Hyacinthe Destivelle, an Officer at the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity in the Vatican.

Attended were the Coordinator of Media and Church Relations at MECC Lea Adel Maamary, and the Assistant in the MECC Media Department Subdeacon Chady Chata.

Both sides discussed many issues related to dialogue, Christian unity, the MECC programs and current challenges, the importance of Theology in human life, and other topics of interest to the Church and the Council.

An Episode Within the "Community Knowledge" Series

Emphasizing the Importance of Dialogue and Media Role

With deep joy, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue in the Vatican Cardinal George Koovakad, received the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, and a delegation from the Council, including the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary, Coordinator of Media and Church Relations, and Archdeacon Chady Chata, Assistant in the Media Department, on Monday, October 20, in Rome.

During the meeting, Professor Abs gave a detailed explanation about the various activities and projects implemented by the Middle East Council of Churches, focusing on the importance of dialogue, particularly at the core of the Council's projects and programs.

Professor Abs also emphasized that this visit to be part of strengthening cooperation between the Middle East Council of Churches and the Vatican.

For his part, Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad expressed his great joy at the visit of the Secretary General Professor Michel Abs, whom he had met at the VIII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held last September in Astana.

Discussions Centered Around Cooperation and Coordination

As part of his tour in Rome to participate in the Canonization Ceremony of Archbishop Ignatius Maloyan and six other Saints, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, accompanied the Archdeacon Chady Chata, Assistant in the MECC Media Department, visited the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the Vatican, on Monday, October 20, 2025.

During this visit, Professor Abs and the MECC delegation met with Mrs. Pasquale Debbane, the Middle East Regional Coordinator of the Listening and Dialogue Section, and Mr. Tebaldo Vinciguerra, from the Reflection and Research on Ecology and Creation Section. They discussed common aspirations, visions, and concerns.

As well as, the activities of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in the Vatican were also presented, along with the most prominent programs implemented by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) at various Ecumenical and humanitarian levels. The attendees also discussed joint projects implemented in the previous period and ways to develop future programs between both parties.

The MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs and an MECC Delegation Participate in the Meeting

The Delegation Included the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary, Coordinator of Media and Church Relations, and Subdeacon Chadi Chata, Assistant in the Media Department

“Momentum”

17-10-2025

This issue includes reports, videos, news, articles, and a full coverage of the latest developments of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), as well as the Church, Ecumenical, and social events…

This is in addition to the weekly word of the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs which is entitled in this issue “The Groaning of the Earth”. It i the word that he delivered at the the Second Symposium on Eco-Theology organized by MECC, under the patronage of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, and under the title "Peace with Creation, Spiritual and Practical Perspectives from the East". It was held between 10 and 11 October 2025, at the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, Abbassia - Cairo.

You can check the issue via the following link: https://mailchi.mp/dd965130a6fb/momentum-mecc-weekly-newsletter.

You can also subscribe to the Momentum Newsletter via the following link: https://mecc.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?id=fd3381352a&u=1db32cafe9ea32b38eb90480a.

The MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs Participated in the Canonization Mass

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs departed to the Vatican to participate in the Canonization of the Blessed Ignatius Maloyan, at the invitation of Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian.

Professor Michel Abs will also meet with Cardinals at the Vatican to strengthen relations between the Middle East Council of Churches and the Vatican.

Professor Michel Abs

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)

It is the gift of the Creator who entrusted it to us, placing us upon it and allowing us to enjoy its blessings so that we might have a better life.
It is the ground beneath our feet, the resting place of our bodies, the source of our air, our water, our greenery, and the pasture of our flocks, and above all, the solid land upon which we build our homes and where our families grow.

The Creator gave it to us beautiful and pure, its breeze gentle, its waters refreshing.
He gave it to us adorned with mountains, valleys, and rivers, covered with vegetation, and clothed in colors He Himself designed to delight our sight.
In it we found all that we need, for our basic and for our advanced needs, and we began to invest in it through all kinds of means and techniques, seeking to satisfy more needs or to gain more profit.

For thousands of years, the earth remained silent, bearing the injustice of humankind, and, in many cases, the harshness of climate.
In silence it watched its population grow, and it received them.
In silence it allowed its inhabitants to pursue what they deemed suitable for their comfort and progress…

The Fragrance of Holiness Wafts from the Vatican to the Entire world

A Heavenly Wedding Crowns Archbishop Ignatius Maloyan and Other Servants

Media of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)

A divine Ecclesiastical event that will be witnessed by believers around the world... All eyes are on the Vatican with anticipation and reverence. The time of joy is approaching... A heavenly joy manifested in a wedding of faith celebrated by the people of the earth on Sunday!

The Blessed Archbishop Ignatius Maloyan will be crowned a Saint at the Altar of the Lord after a journey filled with hope and humility. The countdown to Maloyan's Canonization is drawing to a close, leading up to the official date set by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV: Sunday, October 19, 2025. A Solemn Mass will be held in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, attended by Church Leaders and believers from all over the world.

Archbishop Maloyan was killed during the massacres of 1915, and he demonstrated his steadfast faith in the Lord through Prayer, service, love, and, most importantly, fidelity to Christ until death. This was demonstrated in his words and deeds during his life. Before his death, he told the Turkish soldiers, "We have been nothing but loyal to the state. But if you ask us not to be loyal to our religion, it will never, never, never happen."

On the occasion of World Mental Health Day and the beginning of the week of global celebrations of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in Egypt, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) organized an environmental science day with members of the Coptic Evangelical Organization and the Bishopric of Public, Ecumenical and Social Services (BLESS) in the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, at the Anaphora Oasis in Egypt. The event took place on Friday, October 10, 2025.

The environmental day began with a gathering of experts from Egyptian universities and the Ministry of Environment at St. Mark's Cathedral in Abbassia. Father Movses (Garen) Yosolkanian welcomed the attendees in the Anaphora Oasis. His Eminence Metropolitan Thomas, Director of the Oasis and Metropolitan of El-Qusiya and Mir, in Assiut Governorate, joined the meeting.