The MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs Delivers a Speech at the Celebration of the Fiftieth Year of the MECC Founding in the New Papal Headquarters at Anba Royce – Egypt
The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs delivered a speech at the celebration of the Fiftieth Year of the MECC Founding held in the New Papal headquarters at Anba Royce, under the title: “The Middle East Council of Churches, Its Journey and Path in Its Fiftieth Year.” He said:“
At the beginning of my speech, I must thank His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, who blessed this initiative and achievement which is under his patronage. This is not the first time that His Holiness has presented his unlimited support for joint Christian work, that is, Ecumenical, and for the Middle East Council of Churches in particular.
I also pray and ask for mercy for the righteous martyrs of the Church, noting that the issue of martyrdom is ongoing, as believers offer their souls as a testimony to the message of the Incarnate One Whose Kingdom will have no end. I say to everyone, Happy Feast of Nayrouz, and extends my congratulations on the Coptic year 1741 of the martyrs.”
He added:”
During half a century, filled with struggle and testimony, the Middle East Council of Churches formed a diverse identity that shaped its components and the diversity of the components of the region in which it arose.
The Council was able to define an identity for itself that influenced Christians in the Middle East. It has been working for half a century, in delicate and dangerous phases, and has succeeded in redefining its identity, role, and positioning at every step and every stage.
It embodies the spirit and aspirations of the Ecumenical movement in the Cradle of Christianity, where the Message was found and launched to the world. A quick and spontaneous comparison between the “Ecumenical culture and spirit” in the 1970s and today gives us a conclusive evidence of the Council’s influence on the institutional and popular mentality of Christians.
This Council was established by the Churches of the region in order to form a home for work between the Churches. It has fulfilled the role assigned to it since its founding, and the main element in this role is rapprochement between the Churches and bringing them closer at all possible levels.
On another level, the observer must note that the Council is succeeding in repositioning itself with regard to the Churches and their affiliated entities. In this context, it always seeks to create a new differential advantage with regard to the Churches and to non-governmental organizations as well. This matter constitutes a challenge to which the Council is responding, and it is, therefore, an ongoing process because it is part of the characteristics of life.
As for its relationship with Non-Christians in the Middle East environment, the Council has always made a dialogue between Churches and Non-Christians, and it has been, and still is, in sustained interaction with non-Christian communities.
In this context, we must mention that Non-Christian Leaders view the Middle East Council of Churches as an honest and true partner, which embraces equality and engages in peer-to-peer dialogue with everyone with whom dialogue is required. This matter is not limited to the leadership or central level, but rather applies to the popular level, which was the main partner in the National Islamic-Christian Committee for Dialogue in Lebanon, and was a partner in the Arab Dialogue Team as well.”