Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian Visits His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai

An Invitation to Celebrate the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" 2025

His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, received Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE), President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) for the Evangelical Family, accompanied by Father Dr. Antoine Al-Ahmar, Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), at the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerke - Lebanon.

During the meeting, Reverend Dr. Haidostian invited His Beatitude Patriarch Al-Rai to participate in the Prayer Service that will be held on the occasion of the closing of the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" 2025 entitled “Do you believe this?” (John 11: 26), and in celebration of the conclusion of the Fiftieth Year of the MECC Founding, as well as the announcement of the launch of the 1700th Year of the Council of Nicaea. The Prayer will be held on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at 6:00 pm Beirut Time, at the First Armenian Evangelical Church - Kantari, Beirut.

This visit comes to stresses the role of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) in strengthening the Ecumenical spirit, in addition to the importance of building bridges between the various Church Families and bridging distances between them, and also the need to continue praying together in order to achieve the desired unity.