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Exclusive the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)
“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25: 23)
The Lebanese Antonine Monk His Eminence Archbishop Michel Jalakh is taking on greater responsibilities, and serving the Church of Christ remains his motto forever.
Archbishop Jalakh, Honorary Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and its Secretary General from 2013 to 2018, was elevated by His Holiness Pope Francis in March 2024 to the Episcopal Rank with the title of “Titular Archbishop of Nisibis”. Blessed Service!
With the blessings of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, he will be ordained Archbishop on Saturday 8 June 2024, in the Patriarchal Edifice - Bkerke, Lebanon.
Archbishop Michel Jalakh chose to store up for himself treasures in heaven. Despite his awareness of the difficulty of this path, his solid faith and determination confirm that gates of hell shall not prevail against the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the first Maronite and Lebanese to receive, in February 2023, the position of Secretary of the Dicastery of the Eastern Churches from its founding in 1917 until now, where he was also appointed as an Advisor to the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity in the Holy See.
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Within the framework of enhancing environmental awareness through various environmental and theological programs, an online meeting was held between the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), on Friday 17 May 2024.
From the MECC side, participants were the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, Mrs. Seta Hadeshian, the MECC Associate Secretary General, Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, the Director of the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department, and the Archdeacon Garen Yosolkanian, the Manager of the MECC EcoJustice Unit. As for the WCC side, Ms. Frederique Seidel, WCC Leader in child rights, climate solutions and peace-building participated.
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On the occasion of Pentecost Sunday and the 34th Anniversary of the Founding of Télé Lumière and its satellite channels, His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, presided over a Celebratory Mass held by Télé Lumière and Noursat, on Sunday 19 May 2024, at the Patriarchal Edifice - Bkerke, Lebanon. His Beatitude was assisted in the Mass by Their Eminences Bishops, representatives of the Heads of Churches and various Ecclesiastical Families, and Priests.
The Mass was attended by the General Director of Télé Lumière and Noursat Mr. Jacques El Kallassi, its Board of Directors, the Télé Lumière and Noursat family, and religious, social and political figures. A delegation from the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) also participated, including the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, the Media and Communication Officer Elia Nasrallah, and the Social Media Officer Sub-Deacon Chady Chata.
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Hundreds of believers came to the Shrine of Saint Rita - New Rawda, Lebanon, to participate in an annual event that brings together Christian communities and civil society in moments of faith and devotion. The Divine Liturgy this year was presided over by the Head of the Mekhitarist Fathers’ Congregation, Monsignor Mesrob Sulahian, who gave the event an atmosphere of holiness and contemplation, and was organized and supervised by the Deputy Superior of the Congregation, Father Leo Nareg Jenanian.
The Mass witnessed a remarkable presence of more than 1,500 believers, in addition to representatives of various Christian denominations, representatives of embassies, parties, and security and military services, which reflects the diversity and unity of this spiritual gathering. Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, the Director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and Representative of the Secretary General at the celebration, also participated in the Mass.
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Stemming from its belief that the history and massacres of peoples are indivisible, and that the repetition of certain experiences such as wars and genocides indicate patterns that are not coincidental, Hayat Al Howayek Foundation for Cultural Studies invites you to a round table entitled “From Taurus to Gaza, 110 Years Since the Bleeding of the East.” It will be held on Thursday 23 May 2024, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, at the Independence House in Bchamoun, Aley District - Lebanon. His Eminence Archbishop Atallah Hanna will participate in the round table, as well as the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs who will deliver a speech at the opening session and will moderate the gathering.
This round table comes within the framework of meticulous research and critical approaches in order to understand the East’s history and its connection to the present. This round table also constitutes the first of a series of seminars dealing with the history of morphology and demographic engineering in the East, and aims to create interest in related research among graduate students in Lebanese universities. It will also submit recommendations to local and international official parties.
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Dr. Laure Abi Khalil, the Coordinator of the Social Capital Rehabilitation Project at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and Professor of Public Policy and Strategy at the Lebanese University, was the guest the journalist Lea Adel Maamary, the Coordinator of Communication for Church Relations at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), in an episode of the program “Initiative”, via Voice of Van Radio, on Thursday 16 May 2024.
During the interview, which you can listen to and watch it in the video, Dr. Laure highlighted the “Human Dignity Project” - “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”, which MECC is working to implement consecutively, in addition to its mission and most its most prominent goals. Dr. Laure also spoke about the seminars and workshops held by MECC within the framework of this project and in support of various humanitarian issues.
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Environment, justice, climate, reducing environmental injustice... are all issues that the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) is keen to raise awareness about, stemming from its belief in the importance of preserving the creation that God has entrusted us with and protecting our common home. Therefore, within the series of “Environmental Days” that MECC had previously launched, the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department, EcoJustice Unit, continues its environmental work in various countries of the Middle East, emphasizing the need to join hands and pray together for a safer and more prosperous future.
In this context, MECC implemented several environmental activities in Egypt, including awareness campaigns on environmental justice, which were held by the Archdeacon Garen Yosolkanian, Manager of the MECC EcoJustice Unit. This is in addition to ecotheological think-meeting held by Yosolkanian with many groups, associations, Theological centers, and interested people with the aim of empowering Church leaders, servants, and educational workers and developing their environmental capabilities.
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Amidst a world burdened by wars, crises, hate speech, injustice..., the Church today faces great challenges, especially in responding to humanitarian emergencies, securing the needs of its children, and supporting the neediest people. Therefore, the Parish servants and their assistants seek to heal the wounds of those affected by the difficult living conditions to help them regain their hope and consolidate their faith. However, they, in turn, are facing many psychological pressures as a result of all the painful situations surrounding them.
In this context, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Theological and Ecumenical Department, continues to implement several sessions of the “Spiritual and Psychological Support” program for the Parish servants, and active people working in Churches, in order to support them psychologically and spiritually so that they can complete their mission and perform their mission in a better way.
Hence, the Theological and Ecumenical Department held a follow-up workshop to the previous sessions of the “Spiritual and Psychological Support” program, in cooperation with the Tearfund organization. Attendees were 37 participants who had passed one of the sessions of this program. The workshop took place on Thursday 11 April 2024, at the Sisters of the Two Sacred Hearts High School in Sed El Bouchrieh, Lebanon.
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Ecclesiastical Feasts and International Days
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During this month, opposing forces escalated the magnitude of the armed conflict almost clashing with one another in a full-blown war. For the time being, diplomatic efforts have halted any further escalation but have failed to address the great divide between foes. Moreover, humanitarian conditions remain dire and are at risk of getting worse, knowingly an incursion into Rafah may occur sooner or later. Currently, diplomatic efforts are underway to stall the planned ground invasion by implementing a truce in Gaza. Yet, as always, nothing is guaranteed.
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Secretary General Message
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Dr. Michel E. Abs
The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)
Elements for the Church’s action in Peacebuilding
The Church, as engaging in a faith-based action in Peacebuilding and being a stable societal and historical human faith setting, at the sociological and organizational levels, is meant to deal with peacebuilding in its two dimensions: The curative and the preventive.
The church cannot ignore emergency conflictual situations and deal with them since their effects may be destructive. Dealing with them will save lots of effort for the future if it succeeds to prevent damage.
But at the same time, it is called to act with farsightedness, as far as local or international peace are concerned. Failing to do that in the past cost the church its presence and lots of its resources in so many places of the world.
In Peacebuilding, the church is called to use its two comparative advantages, which implies that
the modalities are two-dimensional:
The Logos: The church is called to use the “word”: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). The word is the domain in which the church is the strongest: the word that heals, the word that appeases, the word that blesses, and the word that educates, based on Christian “Caritas” – Charity – Christian Love.
The Praxis: The way the Word is lived in the world. It is the action at all social levels, from the livelihood to the medical, to the educational, to the developmental fields. It is the way the Word is concretized through deeds.
Christ who came for our salvation, fed the hungry, helped the destitute, healed the ailing, protected the most vulnerable, taught the people, and rehabilitated the woman taken in adultery.
The Logos dimension was dealt with in the first part of this article. In this second part, we are dealing with the Praxis dimension of the action of the church.
The Praxis: Joint Actions in Society & Culture
1- Provide emergency social assistance indiscriminately.
At the image of Jesus Christ, and based on the example of the Good Samaritan, the church is called to provide social assistance indiscriminately, and this is what the church is doing.
Need has no name, no denomination, no ethnic, political, or national identity.
The image of the church, aiding all needy, based on preestablished priority criteria, is an exemplary image of Christian faith and humanistic behavior. Such behavior could be set as an example for all sort of religious or faith-based organizations worldwide.
Such attitude and behavior are a challenge against discrimination and fanaticism which are destroying the world.
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Weekly Prayer
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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.
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The Middle East Council of Churches… 50 years of Continuous Witness
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On the 109th Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide
An Exclusive Interview with His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian:
“We are witnessing in the principles that we live by in our societies a kind of genocide or crime against spiritual and humanitarian values”
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A Video Message from Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian on the Occasion of the 100th Jubilee of the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East
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Al Maaref University in Lebanon Holds a Conference About
“Family Empowerment - The Social Foundation of Human Civilization”
The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Calls for Organizing an Islamic-Christian Conference to Defend the Family, Empower it and Enhance Its Role in the Crisis-ridden Society
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A Video Highlighting the Conference organized by MECC on the 109th Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide
“Keeping Memory Alive”
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Keeping Memory Alive
Full Video of the Conference Organized by MECC About the Armenian Genocide
22 April 2024 – At the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate in Geitaoui, Lebanon
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Secretary General Professor Dr. Michel Abs Talks About the MECC Mission, Its Programs and the Fiftieth Year of Its Founding, on Télé Lumière and Noursat
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In an Exclusive Interview with the Secretary General of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Reverend Professor Dr. Jerry Pillay:
Our role in this time of conflicts and wars must be taken very seriously as to how we can become instruments of goodwill and peace
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Dr. Laure Abi Khalil Sheds Light on the MECC “Human Dignity Project”, “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”
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The 12th General Assembly
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During his Regina Coeli address on the Solemnity of Pentecost, His Holiness Pope Francis urges faithful to ask themselves how well they listen to the Holy Spirit, and offers suggestions on how to better do so, including meditating on the Gospel daily and staying close to the Lord in Prayer.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
May we be docile to the voice of the Holy Spirit, His Holiness Pope Francis prayed this Solemnity of Pentecost during his noon Regina Coeli address in the Vatican.
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From Secretariat-General of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
On Monday, May 7/20, 2024, the feast of the appearance of the sign of the Cross in the heavens was celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
On this Feast, the whole Church and especially the Church of Jerusalem remembers that in the year 351 AD, on the day of Pentecost when Cyril was the Archbishop of Jerusalem, the Cross appeared in the sky, illuminated by the rays of the sun and was seen from the Mount of Olives as far as to the Horrendous Golgotha.
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Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15
In the Gospel passage of this Pentecost Sunday (Jn 15:26-27.16:12-15), Jesus speaks to us about the work of the Holy Spirit, how the Spirit acts in us and for us.
Jesus calls the Spirit by the term ‘Paraclete’ (Jn 15:26), and it is important to understand the meaning of this term.
Paraclete means ‘The One who is called on to be near’, and it is a legal term, that of a figure who, in ancient times, appeared in trials and had a significant role in favor of the accused...
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Damascus, May 19, 2024
With the blessing and presence of His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Orthodox Family, the Divine Liturgy for the Sunday of the Myrrhbearing Women (the second Sunday after Easter) was held in the Church of the Holy Cross in Al-Qassaa.
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His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, addresses Fr. Ibrahim Nino, Director of the Media Office, about his Pastoral visit to Gaza, which took place from May 15th to the 19th, 2024.
I entered Gaza during the week of Pentecost, in which we pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. For sure, it was a great blessing to be with the parishioners of Gaza. I was among my people who are currently enduring much suffering from the war and the destruction it has left. I brought with me the promise of a new life, and I was very surprised that they were the ones who taught me a lesson I will never forget: their steadfast faith, carried with heartwarming smiles, left a mark on me and my life.
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