He Delivers a Speech Entitled “The Purest Witness”

"These ceremonies are attitudes, standards of behavior, and ethics of leadership... Ashura is a tragedy that is repeated every day"

Under the patronage and attendance of the Vice-President of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council His Eminence Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib, the Council began commemorating Ashura this year, on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at the Council's headquarters in Beirut. The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs participated on Thursday, July 3, and delivered a speech entitled “The Purest Witness”, along with many personalities.

The ceremony began with a recitation of Verses from the Holy Quran, and attendees were Professor Laure Abi Khalil, Coordinator of the "Dialogue, Social Cohesion and Human Dignity" program at MECC, the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary, Media Officer and Coordinator of the Church and Media Relations at MECC, and the TV Director Johnny Antoun, Social Media Officer at MECC.

Attendees were also Religious Scholars, and political, judicial, military, educational, cultural, and social figures, as well as citizens.

“Ecumenical Horizons” is a weekly program that features spiritual, cultural, intellectual, educational, youth and environmental topics.

Implements Emotional Support Sessions for Youth Girls in Lebanon

With the intensification of daily challenges, the Diakonia and Social Service Department, Lebanon’s Office, at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), organized a program titled "Emotional Support for Youth Girls" with two groups of adolescent girls aged 12-14 years and 15-17 years. The program aimed to empower them, enhance their mental health, and help them overcome the difficulties they may face.

This program, which extended over many weeks, comes at a time when both parents are obliged to work to sustain their households, and many children and adolescents are left alone without the proper guidance and the necessary counseling of their loves ones. As such, they are left to deal with the different hurdles in school or society in general without getting the proper chance to talk about what they go through.

Continues Its Regional Program “Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling”

Spiritual and Psychological Support Sessions in an Ecumenical Framework

Stemming from its belief in the importance of spiritual and psychological support, the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) continues organizing its regional program " Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling." It held a new workshop between June 1 and 6, 2025, at the Monastery of Notre Dame du Puits in Beqanaya – Lebanon, in the presence of the MECC Associate Secretary General Reverend Dr. Refaat Fikry.

Participants were a group of Clergy, Nuns, lay people, and pastoral workers, representing various Church Families and countries of the Middle East such as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt. Noting that they had previously participated in national workshops organized in their countries as part of the same program, and are now trained to develop their capacities to provide support within their communities.

The workshop aimed to develop the participants' capacities regarding the concept of trauma and ways to heal it through pastoral ministry. It empowered them and provided them with the necessary skills to support others spiritually and psychologically in the face of the challenges imposed by the difficult circumstances casting a shadow over the region due to various crises.

“Strengthening Christian Faith Unity: The 1700th Jubilee Of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea”

The MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs: We must develop a new text… which includes a commitment to the Ecumenical contract, as a new form of spreading the Christian message

The President of the Romaian Cultural Society Professor Najib Jahshan: Carry the banner of the Cross as Constantine the Great did, and be assured that through it alone you will triumph

In commemoration of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and the Romaian Cultural Society held the Fifth Scientific Conference under the title “Strengthening Christian Faith Unity: The 1700th Jubilee Of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea”. It was presided over by the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs, with the presence of the Society's President Professor Najib Jahshan, on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at the Liqaa Center, Rabweh - Lebanon.

The conference included four sessions attended by Priests, specialists from various fields, and official, cultural, intellectual, and social figures, as well as members of the Romaian Cultural Society and the Middle East Council of Churches’ team.

The event, which was broadcasted live on Télé Lumière and Noursat TV Channel, began with the Lebanese National Anthem and the Constantinople Anthem, followed by an opening speech delivered by the conference's host, the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary, the Head of the Media Committee at the Romaian Cultural Society, and the Media Officer and the Coordinator of the Church and Media Relations at MECC. She noted, "The seventeenth century witnessed the Council of Nicaea, a momentous event that brought together elite Christian Leaders from around the world to discuss a serious matter. It resolved doubt with certainty, blocking the path to heresies and the distortion of the right belief"…

MECC Organizes a Health Awareness and PSS Training for Deaf and Mute Women

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, MECC, through its Service and Relief Department – Diakonia, organized a health awareness and psychological support (PSS) training for deaf and mute women in Damascus.

Twenty-four women participated in the training which focused on delivering information through sign language using simplified methods that take into account their specific needs.

After the training, the participants visited five families that include deaf and mute individuals, where they shared the useful information they had received.

This initiative falls within the framework of efforts to effectively integrate deaf and mute women into society and to empower them by expanding the circle of beneficiaries and spreading awareness in the community.

One of the participating women, aged 30, said: “this was the first time ever she had attended a health awareness and PSS training tailored for the deaf and mute.”

زار الأمين العام لمجلس كنائس الشرق الأوسط البروفسور ميشال عبس، غبطة البطريرك روفائيل بدروس الحادي والعشرين ميناسيان، كاثوليكوس بطريرك بيت كيليكيا للأرمن الكاثوليك، ورئيس مجلس كنائس الشرق الأوسط عن العائلة الكاثوليكيّة، وذلك يوم الجمعة 30 أيّار/ مايو 2025، في مقرّ البطريركيّة في الرميل – بيروت.

خلال اللّقاء، رحّب غبطته بالأمين العام مطّلعًا منه على آخر مستجدّات عمل مجلس كنائس الشرق الأوسط على مختلف الصعد ومثنيًا على كلّ المشاريع والمبادرات والبرامج الّتي تقوم بها دوائر المجلس. كما شدّد غبطته على ضرورة بناء الجسور وتضافر الجهود والعمل معًا لما فيه خير الكنيسة والمجتمع.

Organizes a Regional Workshop as Part of the of the “Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling” Program

The Secretary General Professor Michel Abs Visits the Participants and Supports Them

The Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) implemented a new workshop to train the trainers, as part of the regional program "Trauma Healing and Spiritual Counseling". It took place between May 25 and 30, 2025, at the Monastery of Notre Dame du Puits in Beqanaya - Lebanon.

Participants were a group of Clergy, Nuns, lay people, and pastoral workers, representing various Church Families and countries of the Middle East such as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt. Noting that they had previously participated in national workshops organized in their countries as part of the same program, and are now trained to develop their capacities to provide support within their communities.

This workshop was held in response to the urgent psychological and spiritual needs of communities suffering from crises and instability in the region. Therefore, the program aimed to enhance participants' awareness of the concept of trauma and ways to heal it through pastoral ministry, as well as to empower them to support others in similar areas.

MECC Presents the Constantinople Hymn

Praying for the Ascension Thursday

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs presided over the weekly meeting of the MECC General Secretariat, with an online participation of the Associate Secretary General Reverend Dr. Refaat Fikry, and colleagues from various departments, in person and online. The meeting took place on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at the MECC headquarters in Beirut.

As is customary, the meeting began with a Biblical Reading, which this week focused on the Gospel of Luke 46: 24-53 and Acts 1: 1-14. The attendees then raised their Prayers on the occasion of the Ascension Thursday, saying together, "Lift with you, O Lord, our souls and minds from emptiness and temporal concerns to divine understanding and truth."

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs received Deacon Royce Bahjat Samir Malak Hanin, Head of the Committee of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Lebanon, appointed by His Grace Anba Antonios, Metropolitan of Jerusalem and the Near East for the Coptic Orthodox Church, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) for the Eastern Orthodox Family. The meeting took place on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at the MECC headquarters in Beirut.

Attendees were Ms. Nina Hallak, the Director of the Beirut Office in the Diakonia and Social Service Department at MECC, the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary, the Media Officer, Coordinator of the Church and Media Relations, and Director of the Platform of the Word at MECC, and the Council's Media Team.

The MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs Participates in the Graduation Ceremony of the Near East School of Theology in Beirut

In the presence of 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, Dr. Martin Accad, President of the Near East School of Theology (NEST), and Reverend Dr. Rima Nasrallah, Dean of NEST, the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs participated in the graduation ceremony of the Near East School of Theology (NEST) in Beirut, on Saturday, May 24, 2025, in the NEST Church.

During the ceremony which was attended by Professors, parents and friends, Mr. John Sagherian delivered a word in which he called the graduates to consider their primary task to make Jesus' presence felt through their service.

The ceremony included various hymns and ended with a toast for the occasion.

The Middle East Council of Churches and the Romaion Cultural Association

The 1700th Jubilee of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea

Speech of the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs

Distinguished guests, those interested and following the affairs of the Council of Nicaea, and members of the media,

Welcome to the General Secretariat of the Middle East Council of Churches, in the first year after its fiftieth anniversary, and after decades of tireless work towards unity among the churches, as well as social unity, promoting and defending the values of justice and peace.

This is the first joint project between the Middle East Council of Churches and the Romaoin Cultural Association, and it marks the beginning of promising joint activities in the field of intellectual interaction, openness, and dialogue among the components of Christianity in our region and the world.

It is also the fifth scientific conference of this association, which is active in the field of Romaion culture, now and in the future, and whose members include an elite group of scholars and thinkers from our country, with some of the MECC’s staff as its members.

It is a given in faith-based cultural work that those concerned with unity initiatives meet around an intellectual and research project of such historical importance, as this represents a consolidation of Christian faith unity and brings believers closer together based on shared faith aspirations.

On the thirty-first of May 2025, more than two thousand years after the birth of Christianity in our blessed and troubled East, and seventeen centuries after the Council of Nicaea was held, Christians are gathering around this great event in the history of the Christian mission. They will review its details, dynamics, and the events surrounding it, shedding new light that will increase the understanding of believers and scholars of this chapter in the Church's life…

Based on the importance of capacity building in line with modern developments, the Media of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) participated in a training on "Artificial Intelligence and Its Use in Publishing" with the Jordanian trainer Mr. Emad Hanna. The course was organized by the Christian Publisher League (CPLL) at the Bible Society in Lebanon on Thursday, May 22, 2025, at the Society's headquarters in Beirut.

This course is the sixth in a series of training sessions on the subject of Christian publishing, bringing together representatives from various organizations and publishing houses.

Strengthening Christian Faith Unity: The 1700th Jubilee Of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea

Secretary General Professor Michel Abs: It was a decisive Council for faith, settling doubt with certainty and producing the Creed, which the Church continues to follow to this day

Professor Najib Jahshan: Our duty as a cultural Society that sheds light on our ancient Roman heritage, we are holding this international conference to highlight this unique historical event

Engineer Abdallah Hayek: The conference will include sessions focusing on the historical situation and Church issues that preceded the Council, the Council's convening and agenda, and its near- and long-term outcomes

Dr. Elie Mouwakadie: During the conference, Dr. Asad Rustum will be inscribed in the Golden Register of Roman Creators during the conference

At the invitation of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and the Romaian Cultural Society, a press conference was held to announce the “The Fifth Scientific Conference - Strengthening Christian Faith Unity: The 1700th Jubilee Of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea”, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, live from the Platform of the Word at the MECC headquarters in Beirut. Noting that the Fifth Scientific Conference will take place on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at the Liqaa Center in Rabweh, Metn, Lebanon.

Attendees in the press conference, which was broadcasted live on Télé Lumière and Noursat TV Channel, and the MECC Facebook Page, were the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department at MECC Fr. Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, and the Coordinator of the "Dialogue, Social Cohesion, and Human Dignity" program at MECC Dr. Laure Abi Khalil.

Following the Lebanese National Anthem, the press conference began, and was hosted by the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary, the Media Officer, the Coordinator of the Church and Media Relations, and the Director of the Platform of the Word at MECC.

"The Status and Role of Women in Christianity and Islam"

Within the framework of the “Cooperation Protocol”, the “Meeting for Religious and Social Dialogue” and the “Lebanese Council of Women” organized a symposium entitled "The Status and Role of Women in Christianity and Islam" on Tuesday, May 23, 2025, at the Auditorium of the Child and Mother Welfare Association in Beirut.

Attendees were the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, represented by Dr. Laure Abi Khalil, the Coordinator of the MECC "Dialogue, Social Cohesion and Human Dignity" Program, along with intellectuals, researchers, experts, and interested people.

“Praying and working together” is a motto that the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) General Secretariat team has always embodied in a journey of faith, hope, and joy, aiming to consolidate the Ecumenical spirit and serve every human being with dignity. Hence, the weekly meeting, presided over by the Secretary General Professor Michel Abs, with the participation of colleagues from various departments, in person and online, provides a new opportunity for reflection, supplication to the Lord, and exchange of experiences.

The meeting, held on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at the MECC headquarters in Beirut, began with a reading from the Gospel of John about the call of Peter the Apostle (John 21: 15-19), followed by a Biblical reflection delivered by Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department at MECC. He spoke about the qualities of the Good Shepherd, his care for the sheep, and his vigilance for their safety. He also touched on the enthronement of Pope Leo XIV and the importance of the responsibility he bears in caring for the Catholic Church.

Then, the attendees raised their Prayers for the Pastors, remembering the new Pope and emphasizing life with Christ and serving the Church and humanity with boundless love.

On the Occasion of the Inauguration of Our Lady of Unexpected Joy Church in Zahle