Together We Pray and Work to Preserve Our Common Home!

Due to the war that broke out in the fall season and disrupted life in the region, especially in Lebanon, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) was unable to celebrate the Season of Creation during the traditional period from September 1 to October 4. Once the situation calmed down, the Program Coordinator Archdeacon Garen Yosolkanian, began organizing many celebrations and activities, during the Christmas period, starting from Egypt.

On December 27, 2024, which is the Sunday of the Righteous Saint, the Spouse of the Virgin Mary in the Byzantine Rite and the Sunday of the Genesis in the Coptic Rite, the first celebration of the Season of Creation 2024 in Egypt was held at the Church of the Virgin Mary and Mother Teresa for the Coptic Catholics in Ezbet El Nakhl. The celebration included an awareness campaign on the importance of the environment and a presentation of the changes that occurred in the areas of Ezbet El Nakhl, which lost its palm tree grove and consequently lost traces of the date tree, due to the lack of a pure approach to creation and local nature.

On December 29, 2024, a Liturgical celebration and a Prayer Service for the Season of Creation were held at the Evangelical Church of El Zahour, according to the Arabic text issued by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). It is worth noting that the Church is new, located in a city which is still under construction in El Zahour area. The celebration was led by Reverend Eid Salah, Reverend Jeremiah and the Church elders, in the presence of a crowd of believers from the area, including many young people and children, along with guests from Lebanon and the Head of the Ecumenical Youth Committee in Egypt.

A report that sheds light on the launching history of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” and the theme that was chosen for this year.

Week of Prayer 2025 Booklet in Arabic

Week of Prayer 2025 Booklet in English

On the Occasion of the Commemoration of His Patron Saint, Saint Joseph, the Spouse of the Virgin Mary

On the occasion of the Commemoration Saint Joseph, the Spouse of the Virgin Mary, the Patron Saint of His Beatitude Patriarch His Beatitude Patriarch Youssef Al-Absi, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East for the Greek Melkite Catholics, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), the Secretary General Professor Dr. Michel Abs, extends, in the name of the MECC family, his warmest congratulations to His Beatitude, wishing him continued health and success in his Pastoral mission.

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) also raises its Prayers to God to accompany His Beatitude Patriarch Youssef Al-Absi, provide him with His graces and grant him determination and strength in his faithful service to the Church of Christ and his many givings in the field of the Lord.

On the occasion of Christmas in the Armenian Orthodox Church, the Media Officer at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), the Director of the Platform of the Word and the Coordinator of the Church and Media Relations at MECC, Lea Maamary, visited the Director of Radio Voice of Van Mr. Viken Avakian, congratulating him on Christmas and the New Year, and thanking him for the media space that the Radio provided to her in order to spread the message of love, convergence and humanity. She also noted the cooperation between MECC and the media, including Radio Voice of Van.

In his turn, Mr. Viken Awakian thanked the Journalist Lea Maamary, for her efforts and the success of the “Initiatives” program that people await weekly, looking forward to further media cooperation with the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) for the good of the Church and the society.

The Media Officer at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), the Director of the Platform of the Word, and the Coordinator of the Church and Media Relations at MECC, the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary, was chosen among the fifty best people in the world for the year 2024 in recognition of her pioneering and distinguished role in the humanitarian, social, cultural, and media sectors.

A Special Episode for the New Year on Mariam TV, Prepared and Presented by the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary

"New Dawn", a special episode for the New Year on Mariam TV, prepared and presented by the Media Officer at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), the Director of “The Platform of the Word” and the Coordinator of the Church and Media Relations at MECC the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary.

The episode includes interviews with the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECc) Professor Dr. Michel Abs, and with international Ecumenical Leaders, in addition to interventions by colleagues in the MECC General Secretariat, as well as special interviews made by the MECC media team.

At the Invitation of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and the Episcopal Committee for Ecumencial Work at the Assemblée des Patriarches et Evêques Catholiques du Liban (APECL)

You can click on the following link to participate online via zoom: https://shorturl.at/Ivaoz.

The program "Dawn from the East" produced by "The Platform of the Word" at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), on Télé Lumière and Noursat TV Channel!

Watch with us the second episode, on Friday, January 3, 2025, at 1:00 pm Beirut time.

“Dawn from the East”, a program that addresses the youth, their concerns and aspirations, especially in light of the difficult circumstances that our countries are passing through. It also highlights their various activities and humanitarian initiatives during Christmas.

You can find (in Arabic) the program of the Celebrations of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2025 in Lebanon.

Week of Prayer 2025 Booklet in Arabic

Week of Prayer 2025 Booklet in English

His Eminence Metropolitan Antonios Al Soury, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Zahle, Baalbek and their Dependencies, and Member of the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), was the guest of the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary, the Media Officer at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), the Director of "The Platform of the Word", and the Coordinator of the Church and Media Relations at MECC, in a special episode within her program "Initiatives" on Radio Voice of Van.

the Journalist Lea Maamary - Amchit

Coinciding with Christmas and the New Year, Father Charbel Al Khoury, the Priest of the Parish of Our Lady - Amchit, honored the Media Officer at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), the Director of the Platform of the Word and the Coordinator of the Church and Media Relations at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), the Journalist Lea Maamary, with a special honor shield in appreciation of her unlimited humanitarian and media contributions.

The honoring of the Journalist Lea Maamary came during the Christmas celebration held at the Parish of Our Lady - Amchit.

The program "Dawn from the East" produced by "The Platform of the Word" at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), will be broadcasted on Télé Lumière and Noursat TV Channel!

Stay tuned for the first episode, on Monday, December 30, 2024, at 1:00 pm Beirut time.

“Dawn from the East”, a program that addresses the youth, their concerns and aspirations, especially in light of the difficult circumstances that our countries are passing through. It also highlights their various activities and humanitarian initiatives during Christmas.

Christmas 2024 Edition

"O Child of the Cave"

Around Your cradle, nations gather, extolling Your Incarnation
as the beginning of Your salvific mission,
From the ends of Babylon, the Magi came to the coastline of Phenicia-Canaan to bow before Your humble throne,
The universe announced Your coming, heralding a new covenant for humanity,
Heaven and earth rejoiced at Your dwelling among us,
guiding humankind toward liberation,

O King of Glory,
By Your birth, You honored the children of the world,
and granted the act of birth a sanctity beyond human comprehension,
O Manifestation of Light,
From this humble cave, You sent forth a ray of brightness that illuminates human life.
O Epitome of Truth,
Your Mother’s Annunciation, Your Incarnation, and Your Birth
were preludes to betrayal, followed by the Crucifixion and then the Resurrection, the act of redemption,
so that all things might be fulfilled…

Health, peace and security... This is what our colleagues in the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Office in Syria wished for, raising their prayers to God, the God of justice and peace, and looking forward to blessed seasons of hope.

From the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Dr. Michel Abs and the MECC team, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Dr. Michel Abs was a guest in an exclusive media interview on the Russian Sputnik Radio Channel, on Sunday, December 22, 2024. The episode included many topics related to the existential circumstances, as well as his message in the Christmas season, in addition to the calendar of work of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC).

You may find some excerpts from the episode in the video, and you may click here to watch the full episode.

A Meditation Produced by the Middle East Council of Churches

Produced by the Middle East Council of Churches