Towards Its 50-Year Jubilee
The MECC Executive Committee’s Meeting Will Be Held in Lebanon
On 28 and 29 November 2022
Discussing the Most important ME Issues and Christian Role in the Region
Youth Will Present Their Opinions and Expectations to the Church Leaders
In preparation for the 50-Year Jubilee of the Middle East Council of Churches, and aiming to strengthen its Ecumenical message in the region, the MECC Executive Committee will hold its periodic meeting on Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 November 2022 at Saydet El Bir Monastery in Bkennaya, Lebanon. The meeting’s agenda will include urgent issues related to the people and Christians of the Middle East, their challenges and expectations, amidst severe crises hitting the region.
During the meeting’s sessions, the Executive Committee will also discuss the issue of genocides and threat to Human Dignity and Cultural Heritage, in the light of the Anatolian, Armenian, Sayfo, Kafno, Artsakh, Hagia Sophia genocides… As well as, it is worth mentioning that a delegation of youth representing various Churches of the Middle East will participate in a session for discussion with the Church Leaders. They will express their concerns and present their opinions and suggestions regarding the region’s future.
The meeting will be held for the first time in person, following the sight end of the Corona pandemic, with the blessing and presence of the MECC Presidents representing the four Church families constituting the Council. Participants will also be the Executive Committee members from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan and Cyprus, representing 21 Churches from the Middle East, the MECC General Secretariat’s team headed by the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, alongside the Associate Secretaries General.
The meeting is blessed and presided over by His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and MECC President for the Orthodox Family, His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia and MECC President for the Catholic Family, His Grace Anba Antonios, Metropolitan of Jerusalem and the Near East for the Coptic Orthodox Church and MECC President for the Eastern Orthodox Family, and Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, President of Haigazian University and MECC President for the Evangelical Family.
During the meeting, participants will also discuss the necessary preparations for the MECC 50-Year Jubilee’s celebration which will be held in 2024, in addition to following up the implementation of the recommendations issued by the MECC General Assembly which was held last May in Egypt. The Attendees will also study the MECC spiritual, administrative and financial issues aiming to consolidate the Council's regional presence and strengthen its theological and humanitarian role in the region towards an Ecumenical vision and building bridges between the Middle Eastern Churches. At the end of the meeting, a final statement will be issued summarizing its sessions and including the decisions and recommendations which will be taken.
Communication and Public Relations Department
The Middle East Council of Churches