|
|
|
|
|
Under the theme “Peace with Creation” and the symbol of “Garden of Peace”, inspired by Isaiah 32: 14-18, the Ecumenical family in the Middle East and the world unites to celebrate together the “Season of Creation” 2025. This season, which constitutes an Ecumenical, Christian and environmental station, begins every year on 1 September, with the Feast of Creation, and ends on October 4, with the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of ecology.
In this context, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) issues the guide for the “Season of Creation” 2025 in Arabic after the MECC Theological Department made its translation into Arabic, as is customary annually.
The guide includes all the details and information about the season, as well as the theme and slogan of this year, in addition to Prayers and suggestions for participating in the celebrations... Hence, you can find the guide for this year in Arabic and English.
Noting that the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) had launched this season for the first time in the Middle East in 2021 through implementing a series of various environmental activities, lectures and an awareness campaigns to preserve creation, in addition to translating the international celebration guide, which is available in different languages, into Arabic. Thus, the people of the East may celebrate this season with the whole world.
This year's "Season of Creation" marks the 1700th Commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. In a troubled, unequal, and divided world, we are strengthened by the confession of faith and by the ecumenical communion established in Nicaea to follow Isaiah’s call and stand firm in our witness for God’s promise of peace for all Creation. Therefore, in the face of conflicts and strife, let us proclaim God’s promise: “The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.” (Isaiah 32:17).
|
|
|
The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, headed a delegation from the Council on a visit to the Lebanese Minister of Information Lawyer Dr. Paul Morcos, on Monday, July 21, 2025, at the headquarters of the Lebanese Ministry of Information in Beirut.
The delegation included the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary, Media Officer and Coordinator of the Church and Media Relations at MECC, Professor Laure Abi Khalil, Coordinator of the "Dialogue, Social Cohesion and Human Dignity" program at MECC, TV Director Johnny Antoun, Social Media Officer at the Communication Department, and Elia Nasrallah, Communication and Media Officer at the Communication Department.
During the meeting, His Excellency the Minister Dr. Paul Morcos welcomed the visiting delegation, commending the work and mission of the Middle East Council of Churches, reviewing the latest developments of its programs, and welcoming any cooperation between the Ministry of Information and MECC. His Excellency also praised the media role played by MECC through "The Platform of the Word," which produces programs and episodes aimed at bringing together and connecting all members of society.
For his part, the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs presented to His Excellency an overview about the media development witnessed by the MECC, as well as the Council's most prominent goals in facing hate speech, injustice, and unfairness, especially through the media campaigns it implements to raise awareness and disseminate essential knowledge.
|
|
|
The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Michel Abs, received the Secretary General and Executive Director of the Bible Society Dr. Mike Bassous, on Tuesday, July 21, 2025, at the Middle East Council of Churches headquarters in Beirut.
During the meeting, the Secretary General Professor Abs and Dr. Bassous discussed various topics and issues related to Churches and the importance of Church media and Church publications. They also discussed issues related to relations between Ecumenical institutions in the Middle East and ways of networking between them.
Moreover, Dr. Bassous confirmed his attendance at the Middle East Council of Churches partners' meeting that will be held next September. He also invited Professor Abs to attend the Bible Society's Diamond Jubilee celebration, as well as the launching of the “Armenian Study New Testament” booklet, which is a joint production between the Bible Society and the Armenian Orthodox Catholicosate of Cilicia.
|
|
|
The Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (A.T.I.M.E) held its General Assembly meeting on Friday, July 18, 2025, at Our Lady of Peace Sheraton - Cairo, headed by Archimandrite Jack Khalil, the ATIME’s President, and Father Michel Kanbar, the Executive Secretary. At the beginning of the second session at 5:00 pm, a new Executive Secretariat was elected as follows:
President: His Grace Bishop Bigol Abbot of St. Virgin Mary El-Muharraq Monastery and Director of the Monastery's Seminary (Eastern Orthodox Family)
Executive Secretary: Reverend Dr. Samuel Rozfy Ibrahim, Dean of the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo (Evangelical Family)
Associate Executive Secretaries:
Dr. Gergis Ibrahim Saleh, Honorary Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (Oriental Orthodox Family)
Sister Dr. Rose Abi Aad, Professor at the Faculty of Religious and Theological Sciences at La Sagesse University (Catholic Family)
Dr. Daniel Ayouch, Professor at the St. John of Damascus Institute, University of Balamand (Orthodox Family)
|
|
|
At a regional moment saturated with transformations, and in the heart of Cairo, more than fifty students from various Churches and Theological Institutes in the Middle East gathered to participate in the third student conference of the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), entitled:
"The Council of Nicaea - The Faith of the Church from the Preaching of the Apostles to the Evangelization of Today," which took place from July 13 to 18, 2025, at Our Lady of Peace Hotel, Sheraton Heliopolis, Cairo.
The conference was organized by the ATIME’s Executive Secretariat, headed by Archimandrite Jack Khalil, and coordinated directly by Father Dr. Michel Kanbar (Executive Secretary), with the participation of the Associate Secretaries Reverend Dr. Bishoy Helmy, Reverend Dr. Samuel Rozfy, and Father Antoine Al Ahmar, Director of the Theological Department of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). It provided unique space that combined serious Theological research, living Ecumenical experience, and human communication across Church Affiliations.
|
|
|
Videos and Reports
Produced by MECC
|
|
|
|
"Ecumenical Horizons" Program
Produced by MECC
|
|
|
|
MECC TV
Nilesat: 11096
S.R: 27500
Pol: Horizontal
MECC FM
106.9
|
|
|
“Ecumenical Horizons” is a weekly program that features spiritual, cultural, intellectual, educational, youth and environmental topics.
|
|
|
Segments and Guests of the Sixth Episode
|
|
|
Reverend Sally Azar to the "Ecumenical Horizons": "Continue to Pray, raise your voices loudly, and speak out against injustice"
|
|
|
Hashtag of the "Society" segment entitled "Loneliness" in the sixth episode of the "Ecumenical Horizons" Program:
#IAmNotAlone
|
|
|
The Weekly Programs on the MECC Satellite and Radio Broadcasts
|
|
|
|
MECC TV
Nilesat: 11096
S.R: 27500
Pol: Horizontal
MECC FM
106.9
|
|
|
"Ecumenical Horizons" Program
Every Tuesday at 10:00 am Beirut time live on MECC FM and at 4:10 pm Beirut time on MECC TV
|
|
|
"Ecumenicals" Program
Daily at 6:00 pm Beirut time on MECC TV
|
|
|
"Heritage of Light" Program
Daily at 4:15 pm Beirut time on MECC TV, starting Sunday, June 22, 2025
|
|
|
"And the Family Remains" Program
Date will be announced soon
|
|
|
The MECC News Bulletin
Date will be announced soon
|
|
|
A Series of Awareness Episodes
Produced by the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)
|
|
Home Care Services Platform
at the Middle East Council of Churches
|
|
|
|
*Home care services are available at reasonable and discounted prices.
|
|
|
Ecclesiastical Feats and International Days
|
|
|
|
Two rival powers in the region have finally clashed after years of ongoing tension and flashpoints. Although the escalation only lasted for a couple of weeks, it will most likely increase uncertainty in the region as well as socioeconomic hardships. The conflict came at a time during which the World Bank, has already forecasted that MENA countries' growth will decrease by 0.7% to 2.7% for the remainder of the year. Also, the bank also reduced its growth forecast for the region next year by 0.4 percentage points to 3.7%. As such, the conflict will force the World Bank as well as other organizations to rethink their economic predictions, as it is still yet not so clear how things will develop. For the time being, we can only hope the whole thing is over but given the massive animosity between the countries, one cannot be fully certain of a lasting peace.
|
|
|
|
|
Secretary General Message
|
|
|
|
Professor Michel Abs
The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)
From beneath the rubble, we call to you.
From the heart of tragedy, we cry out.
We are the children of Palestine, the people of Gaza, abandoned by all the nations of the world,
betrayed by governments that defied their own people who stood in solidarity with us.
We are Gaza’s children, we are its women, its elderly, its disabled, its sick.
We are all those left to be prey to killing, hunger, thirst, disease, displacement, and sleeping in the open.
We are the people of the stricken Strip, whose present and future have been destroyed,
turned into victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
We are those forsaken by the world, our wounds deepened by the deep state that sees our land only as a source of tourism and energy, investing in it over the torn bodies of our children, ripped apart by its missiles.
O blind, deaf, and mute world,
Do you not hear the screams of Gaza’s wounded?
Do you not hear the moans of its sick and hungry?
Do you not see the growing daily number of victims of starvation?...
|
|
|
|
Weekly Prayer
|
|
In its endeavor to embody its slogan, "Building Bridges, Standing Together," to be a unifying platform for Church and Religious Families and all components of society, reflecting the Christian reality in the Middle East with a unified Church voice emanating from the cradle of Christianity to the entire world within a shared life with all components of society,
As part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen its Ecumenical and humanitarian mission and to shed lights on the Church in the Middle East through all available media platforms and digital technologies,
The Middle East Council of Churches has launched a new WhatsApp channel, entitled “MECC News”.
We invite you to join this channel and follow the MECC news via the following link: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbB2Ym05a240L8hfFv0s.
Through this link, you can follow all the MECC activities, in addition to episodes, reports, videos, and articles produced by MECC, about various Christian, Ecumenical, humanitarian, and social issues.
|
|
Following the devastating earthquake that struck the North of the Antiochian Levant, let us join hands and support the MECC appeal in order to bring back hope and joy to the hearts of the needy and heart broken people in Syria.
For donation, you can click on the following link: https://donate.mecc.org/project/rescue-syria-campaign.
For more information about the MECC relief work in Syria and the humanitarian circumstances in the country, you can visit the following link: https://www.mecc.org/syr-ar.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jerusalem, July 22, 2025 - The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem held a joint press conference, highlighting the historic pastoral visit of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, The Patriarch of Jerusalem. Together, they carried a message of consolation and hope to a grieving people, and a cry of conscience to a silent world.
A Moving Depiction of a Tragic Reality
The conference opened with a video prepared by the Latin Patriarchate’s Media Office, featuring real scenes from Gaza that illustrated the severe humanitarian suffering and the vast destruction left by the war. Special focus was given to the Holy Family Latin Parish, which has become a refuge for dozens of displaced families—Christians and Muslims alike.
|
|
|
“We are sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things.”
(2 Corinthians 6,10)
Dear brothers and sisters,
Patriarch Theophilos III and myself, have returned from Gaza with broken hearts. But also encouraged by the testimony of many people we met.
We entered a place of devastation, but also of wonderful humanity. We walked through the dust of ruins, past collapsed buildings and tents everywhere: in courtyards, alleyways, on the streets and on the beach — tents that have become homes for those who have lost everything. We stood among families who have lost count of the days of exile because they see no horizon for a return. Children talked and played without batting an eyelid —they were already used to the noise of the bombing...
|
|
|
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,
Esteemed members of the press,
Peace be upon you all, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ—He who “walked among the sick and the sorrowful,” and who taught us that “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).
We gather today with hearts burdened by sorrow, yet steadfast in faith, following our pastoral mission to Gaza, a land bruised by prolonged affliction and pierced by the cries of its people. Together with His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and in the company of devoted clergy, we entered as servants of the suffering Body of Christ, walking among the wounded, the bereaved, the displaced, and the faithful whose dignity remains unbroken despite their agony...
|
|
|
His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa,
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
Greetings of affection and esteem,
I extend to you, and to all our people in Gaza and throughout Palestine, my heartfelt condolences and sincere sympathy for the death and injury of several members of your parish in the aggressive bombing that targeted the Holy Family Latin Church in Gaza. This is the same church that has offered significant humanitarian and relief support to members of the community—both Muslims and Christians—including the provision of aid, sheltering hundreds of displaced individuals who lost their homes, and supplying as much food and emergency medical care as possible in cooperation with medical teams from associations and hospitals such as Caritas and others...
|
|
|
Amid the ruins of war and the pain of long days, the Holy Family Latin Parish in Gaza continues to stand firm—offering a living witness to faith and Christian resilience. The presence of their shepherd among them became a source of comfort and strength, as on the morning of Friday, July 18, 2025, His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and His Beatitude Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, paid a joint solidarity visit to Gaza at the head of an Ecclesial delegation, bearing a message of pastoral communion from the Churches of the Holy Land and reaffirming their spiritual and human closeness to the people of Gaza.
|
|
|
Dear brothers and Sisters,
I am happy to be again among you in these tragic days. It was important to be here with Patriarch Theophilos, to show the unity of the Church and the solidarity of all the Churches in the world with you. The other Churches of Jerusalem are a bit jealous of Patriarch Theophilos and me, because they all wanted to be here. This is to say that everyone is present here with you in spirit and ready to support. Allow me to reiterate again that we as Christians, don’t think only about Christians. Our heart is open to all. It is important to stress that. We are thankful for all what we have been able to do for you here, but we are also concerned for all what is happening in all Gaza...
|
|
|
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV has called His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem enters Gaza to visit the Holy Family Catholic Church after the Israeli strike that killed 3 people and injured several others taking refuge there.
By Devin Watkins
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, made a visit on Friday to the only Catholic parish in Gaza, along with His Beatitude Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem...
|
|
|
Damascus, July 19, 2025
For days now, before the eyes of the entire world, violence has been afflicting our people in Swayda. For days, attempts at resolution and calming the situation have been ongoing, to no avail. What is happening in Suwayda disgraces humanity.
Since the outbreak of the recent events, Patriarch JOHN X has been closely monitoring the situation on the ground through direct and continuous communication with Metropolitan Antonios Saad, Archbishop of Bosra, Hauran, and Jabal al-Arab. His Beatitude is also following the situation through contacts with all local authorities and communities in the area and its surroundings, foremost among them the Sheikh al-Aql of the Druze community in Lebanon...
|
|
|
Before leaving Castel Gandolfo this evening, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV stopped to talk to some journalists, and answered some questions on international current affairs.
By Vatican News
“We must encourage everyone to leave weapons behind, and to leave behind the money-making that is behind every war.’
Those were the Pope’s words to journalists as he left his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo this evening, after spending 16 days there, and returned to the Vatican. Pope Leo, who returned shortly before 9pm, spoke with reporters who were awaiting his departure and answered their questions.
|
|
|
His Excellency President of the Lebanese Republic Joseph Aoun received Reverend Joseph Kassab, Head of the Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon, and Memeber of the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), at the Presidential Palace.
During the meeting, President Aoun described the current situation as both critical and sensitive, stressing the need for national awareness and unified stands to preserve Lebanon’s unity—its land and its people—and to safeguard its sovereignty and independence.
He noted that while Lebanon has faced even more difficult challenges in the past, it was able to overcome them due to the solidarity of the Lebanese people and their support for the government and its constitutional and security institutions.
|
|
|
The Holy Synod of Jerusalem was convened at the Patriarchate in Jerusalem on Monday, July 21, 2025 (West), in its session chaired by His Beatitude Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine and Jordan, in the presence of the honorable members of the Holy Synod. His Beatitude discussed with the members of the Holy Synod several issues pertaining to the Patriarchate’s administrative, ecclesiastical, and pastoral affairs, which serve the Patriarchate, its monasteries, shrines, churches, clergy, and people...
|
|
|
"So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house". (Luke 1:23)
With hearts that find solace in the Lord’s victory over death and in the promise of resurrection and eternal life, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, announces the passing of His Eminence Mor Gregorios Saliba Shamoun, Patriarchal Advisor, who departed this life on Friday, July 18, 2025, having completed his days of service with faithfulness and love...
|
|
|
On July 20, 2025, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches celebrated the Holy Qurobo and the Funeral Service of the Thrice Blessed Archbishop Mor Gregorius Saliba Shemoun, at the Lady of the Light Cathedral in Erbil.
Their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf, Archbishop of Mosul, Kirkuk, Kurdistan and Environs, Mor Timotheos Moussa Shamani, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Mor Matta Monastery, Mor Timotheos Matta Al-Khoury, Archbishop of Homs, Hama, Tartous and Environs, Mor Yacoub Babawi, Patriarchal Vicar for Monks Affairs and the Administration of Mor Aphrem Theological Seminary in Maarat Saydnaya, and Mor Augeen Al-Khoury Nemat, Patriarchal Secretary, assisted His Holiness.
|
|
|
At a press conference in the Vatican, His Eminence Archbishop Rino Fisichella explains how the Jubilee of Youth will offer “an embrace from all young people worldwide” to those living in war zones.
By Kielce Gussie
The Jubilee of Influencers and the Jubilee of Youth are next on the agenda for the events in the Jubilee Year of Hope. Ahead of the events taking place from 28 July – 3 August, His Eminence Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, highlighted the multicultural and diverse events that will make up this Jubilee.
Young people from all over the world are scheduled to arrive in the Eternal City to participate in what the Archbishop described as "probably the most anticipated moment" of the year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
