The Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East Celebrates Its 100th Jubilee
A Celebratory Worship Service at the First Armenian Evangelical Church in Beirut
Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian: “My inner room is the spiritual encounter with the Lord...
The inner room of the Church is its eternal hope in days of distress”
The Middle East Council of Churches
It is with great hope that the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE) celebrates the 100th Year Jubilee of its Founding under the theme “The Lord’s Prayer.” On this occasion, the UAECNE held its 77th General Assembly between 1 and 3 July 2024 in Beirut, where it was inaugurated with a special centennial Celebratory Worship Service headed by Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE), and President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) for the Evangelical Family. It took place on Sunday 30 June 2024, at the First Armenian Evangelical Church in Beirut.
Attendees were the Heads of the Evangelical and Armenian Churches, Representatives of various Church Families and international organizations, Priests, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs, official and political figures, guests, and members of the Armenian Evangelical Church.
The Prayer was served by the Armenian Evangelical “Armiss” Choir, led by Reverend Nishan Bakalian, and accompanied by Ms. Mathilde Sandra Cholakian playing the piano. It included various Prayers, readings, meditations and hymns praising and glorifying the Lord. As well as, two texts from the Holy Bible were read: Ephesians 6:10-18 in Arabic, and Matthew 6:5-13 in Armenian.
The celebration Sermon was delivered by Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, under the title “When You Enter Your Inner Room,” in which he presented an overview of the founding of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE), and stressed the importance of the Lord’s Prayer and its outcomes. He also explained that the inner room is “where there is no place for the calculations of the outside world, human judgment, the vanity of creating impressions, the temptation of social achievement.”
He added, “Where is my inner room? It is the narrow limitation where deep spiritual freedom is born, while I would have thought that the wide and open spaces were the attractive fields of freedom. There is the awareness of sin, the pain of isolation, a face-to-face encounter with God, sincere confession, and tranquility. Where is my inner room? It is where there is a spiritual encounter with the ONLY ONE who is Lord, Spirit, and Love, while I would have thought that the real rich encounter was in the outer rooms, the profitable encounter was with large numbers…”
He continued, “The inner room of the church is its eternal hope in days of distress. It is the mission's thrust in days of impossibilities. The inner room of the church is the eternal foundation of Christ's sacrifice in the absence of material comfort. The inner room of the church is in its humility and service journey. The inner room of the church is the serious choice of Love, Sacrifice, Humility, and Justice, instead of worldly power, always and only following Christ's example.”
In addition, the Service included messages of congratulations from Reverend Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, President of the United Church of Christ (UCC) in the USA, Reverend Dr. Joseph Kassab, President of the Supreme Council of Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon, General Secretary of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon, and Member of the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and Reverend Albert Paytyan, President of the Council of the Evangelical Church of Armenia.
At the end of the Service, greetings were received, after which the participants gathered around an agape made for the occasion in the outer courtyard.