of the Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling Program

for Parishes’ Ministers and their Associates in Kafra, Lebanon:

Strengthening the Spiritual and Psychological Accompaniment is Needed Amidst the Various Crises

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs, visited, on Thursday 16 February 2023, the participants of the second phase of the Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling Program, which is being implemented by the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department, for Parishes’ ministers and their associates from the Middle Eastern countries, under the title of “Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile” (Mark 6: 31). The program is being held with the participation of 28 attendees from various Church Families, between Sunday 12 and Saturday 18 February 2023, at the St. Augustine Center in Kafra region, Lebanon.

An Ecumenical Gathering Bringing Together Parishes’ Ministers and their Associates from the Middle Eastern Countries

Under the title “Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile” (Mark 6: 31), the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches is organizing the second phase of the Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling Program, for Parishes’ ministers and their associates from the Middle Eastern countries. Attendees are 28 participants from different Church Families, and the program is being held between Sunday 12 and Saturday 18 February 2023, at the St. Augustine Center in Kafra region, Lebanon.

With the beginning of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2023, let us unite together in Prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ, carrying in our hearts and deed this year’s theme “Do good; seek justice” (Isaiah 1:17).

You can find in Arabic the Prayer for Christian Unity.

The “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2023 starts with a hope towards a desired and awaited unity since decades. It is a week which includes 8 daily Prayers and extends between 18 and 25 January every year. We unite in Prayer, reflection, and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ. But what does the date of the Week of Prayer symbolize?

In the video, the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches Father Dr. Antoine Al-Ahmar explains the significance and meanings of 18 and 25 January.

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs headed a delegation from the MECC General Secretariat in a visit to His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, on Friday 6 January 2023, at the Catholicosate in Antelias, Lebanon. The delegation included the MECC Associate Secretary General Mrs. Seta Hadeshian and the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar.

Secretary General Dr. Abs and the MECC delegation extended their greetings to His Holiness on the occasion of Christmas, asking God to protect and preserve him, and grant him health and strength in his Church and Pastoral mission.

Discussions Were Held on the Middle East’s Situation and MECC Issues Towards its 50-Year Jubilee

On the occasion of Christmas and New Year, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs visited His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East and MECC President for the Orthodox Family, on Wednesday 4 January 2023, at the Patriarchate Headquarters in Damascus, Syria.

Dr. Abs headed a delegation from the Council’s General Secretariat which included the MECC Associate Secretary General Father Nicolas Bustros and the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar. A delegation from the MECC Syria’s office also joined Dr. Abs, and it included the Program’s Director Mr. Ghassan Chahine, the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation Mrs. Rita Farah, and the Photographer Paula Antoun. The visit was at the presence of His Eminence Bishops Saba Esber, Moussa El-Khoury, Moses Al-Khosi, Youhanna Batach, and the Patriarchal Vicar Romanos Al-Hannat.

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs, visited the Council’s Office in Damascus, Syria, on Wednesday 4 January 2023. He was accompanied by the MECC Associate Secretary General Father Nicolas Bustros and the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar.

As part of the visit, Dr. Abs and the visiting delegation held a meeting with the MECC team work in Damascus. They discussed general issues related to the MECC work and its services, in addition to other issues related to the region and its needs.

Together We Unite in Prayer and Work for Good and Justice  

One of the most awaited Ecumenical occasions starts this month. It is the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity”, a week which includes a Prayer Octave that extends between 18 and 25 January every year. During this week, we unite in Prayer, reflection and hymns to our Lord Jesus Christ, through a special international booklet that the Middle East Council of Churches translates annually into Arabic. This year’s title of the booklet is “Do good; seek justice” (Isaiah 1:17)

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs headed a delegation from the MECC General Secretariat, in a visit to His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and MECC President for the Catholic Family. The visit was held on Monday 26 December 2022, at the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Achrafieh, Beirut.

The delegation included the MECC Associate Secretary General Mrs. Seta Hadeshian, and the Director of Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar.

“Do good; seek justice” (Isaiah 1:17)

Let us engage in the struggle for justice in our society

We all belong to Christ

The Middle East Council of Churches releases the Arabic version of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” booklet 2023, under the title “Do good; seek justice” (Isaiah 1:17). The title has been chosen at a time when the world and the Middle East are suffering from various crises, conflicts, injustice and divisions in various fields. Therefore, the booklet is centered around the biblical text from Isaiah 1:12-18, in which “Isaiah challenged God’s people in his day to learn to do good together; to seek justice together, to rescue the oppressed together, to defend the orphan and plead for the widow together. The prophet’s challenge applies equally to us today.”

Beirut, November 29, 2022

The Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches held a face-to-face meeting, for the first time after the end of the Corona pandemic, on Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 November 2022 at the Monastery of Notre-Dame du Puits in Bkennaya, Lebanon. The meeting was chaired by His Eminence Anba Anthonios, Metropolitan of Jerusalem and the Near East for the Coptic Orthodox and the President of the MECC for the Eastern Orthodox Family, His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and the President of the MECC for the Orthodox Family, represented by His Eminence Metropolitan Saba Esber, Metropolitan of Busra Houran and Jabal Al-Arab, His Eminence Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Federation of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East and President of the MECC for the Evangelical Family, His Beatitude Patriarch Raphael Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos of the House of Cilicia for the Armenian Catholics and President of the MECC for the Catholic Family, with the participation of members of the Executive Committee from Lebanon Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan and Cyprus, representing 21 churches of the Middle East, the Secretary-General of the MECC Dr. Michel Abs, the two Associate General Secretaries Reverend Refaat Fikry and Father Nicolas Bustros, the Executive Secretary of the Association of Theology Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), Reverend Michael Kanbar, in addition to the General Secretariat team of department directors and administrators.