The General Assembly of the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME) held in Egypt
The Election of Archimandrite Dr. Jack Khalil President
And Father Dr. Michael Kanbar, Executive Secretary
The General Assembly of the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME) met with the generous hospitality of His Beatitude Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac, Patriarch of the Coptic Catholic Church at the Coptic Catholic Patriarchal Seminary in Maadi - Cairo, at the invitation of its President, Father Dr. Tanios Khalil, on the 22nd and 23rd of May, 2022.
Approximately seventeen deans, directors, and representatives of all colleges and institutes that are members of the Association and the General Assembly, participated in the Assembly, which opened its work with a prayer presided over by His Beatitude Patriarch Isaac. The Patriarch delivered a speech at the first session in which he welcomed the Association, which embodies the fundamental basis of ecumenical formation in the Middle East.
The General Assembly of the Association concluded its work by electing Archimandrite Dr. Jack Khalil as its new head and by electing a new executive secretariat in which the four ecclesiastical families are represented. Father Dr. Michael Kanbar was elected as Executive Secretary. Reverend Dr. Bishoy Helmy Ibrahim Abdel-Malik, Father Dr. Bassam Nassif, and Reverend Dr. Tharwat Waheeb, were elected as Co-Executive Secretaries.
The General Assembly also approved the amended rules of procedure. The assembled members stressed the importance of joint ecumenical work in areas of theological formation, mission, and fraternal solidarity, and recommended working on the unification of the ecumenical vision to meet the needs of the churches of the Middle East at this delicate stage in the history of the region and the challenges it faces.
Middle East Council of Churches
Communication and Public Relations Department
