A Coordination Meeting Between the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches

On the occasion of the 1700th Anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325, the World Council of Churches (WCC) continues its preparations for organizing the WCC Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order, which will be held around the theme “Where Now for Visible Unity?”, between 24 and 28 October 2025, at the Papal Logos Center in Wadi El Natroun - Egypt.

In this context, the World Council of Churches (WCC) held an online coordination meeting with the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) to follow up on preparations for this conference, which will bring together international Church Leaders and Theologians to discuss topics related to faith and unity through many Theological, Ecumenical, and cultural activities and events.

The meeting was attended by the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs, the MECC Associate Secretary General Mrs. Seta Hadeshian, the Director of the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department Fr. Antoine Al-Ahmar, and the Executive and Administrative Assistant to the Secretary General Mrs. Caroline Haddad.

Attendees were also the Director of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order Dr. Andrej Jeftić, and WCC Programme Executive for the Middle East Mrs. Carla Khijoyan.

Humanity Is in Danger!

Exclusive: Media of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)

In a world immersed in fleeting glories, hate speech, violence, hostility, and discrimination... amidst all the noise surrounding humanity due to endless wars, conflicts, and crises, the efforts to achieve change remain unclear in the face of the tragedies witnessed around the world. Human rights have been stripped away, and human dignity is lost!

Where is the human conscience today? When will it wake up from its coma? And is there anyone listening to the pain and suffering of humanity?

The will to live is the strongest! This is what many personalities, decision-makers, and human rights parties say... But is the will to live truly the strongest in the absence of laws and legislation that protect humans and ensure their future?

Many questions may sound the alarm today! Humanity is in dire need of a ray of hope towards the safe haven... a place where the values of love, dialogue, and peace are sowed under mutual respect among all brothers and sisters on the planet earth.

Hence, the International Day of Conscience, which the United Nations has recognized on its international calendar on April 5th of each year, comes as a reminder of the need to develop efforts to achieve tolerance and peace worldwide, to affirm the respect for human rights in all areas, and to enhance sustainable development.

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of April 2025. It includes the Ecclesiastical and Liturgical Feasts of the various Families of Churches in the Middle East. In addition to international days identified by the United Nations, and which are related to the MECC identity and its spiritual and human mission.

Professor Michel Abs

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the machine age, humanity entered a new era characterized by liberating production capacity from the limitations of artisanal output to the vastness of mass production. This was made possible by machines supplying producers with an ever-increasing quantity of products, thereby meeting a larger portion of human needs and raising profit margins, which led to the accumulation of capital and the emergence of large-scale production corporations.

On the level of production, agricultural, industrial, and even commercial, technology contributed to improved marketing and distribution through low-cost products, and therefore competitive pricing, in an increasingly cutthroat market.

In other aspects of human life, housing, food, transportation, entertainment, technology played a vital role in advancing these domains.

The most sensitive area remains the medical field, where diagnostics and treatments have progressed beyond imagination, extending lifespans and making healthcare faster, more effective, and less painful than in the past.

If we delve deeper into the effects of technological advancement, we find countless areas where technology brought about positive changes that people welcomed, and even demanded.

However, the field that witnessed the most drastic technical advancement, to the point that it changed the face of humanity and caused cultural, social, psychological, and economic transformations, is information technology and its associated fields.

The computer, this small device - which began as a massive machine, and later the mobile phone, even smaller and sometimes more powerful than the computer, have fundamentally and irreversibly transformed humanity…

The hardships of time follow neither logic nor order, often pushing people into sorrow and despair.

Our dear colleague, Lea Adel Maamary, the Coordinator of the Church Relations and Media at the MECC, and an active media professional in service of both God and humanity for over a decade and a half, who never backs down from any challenge, no matter how difficult, has now lost her life partner, the successful and compassionate dentist, Dr. Michel Joseph Maamary, known for his generosity in treating the neediest people.

Dr. Michel Maamary was raised by parents with much humanity. His father served as a Priest for villages in Akkar under the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, known for his dedication to social and humanitarian service. Following in his father's footsteps, Michel grew into a remarkable man. Tragically, his brother, Boulos, a paramedic with the Lebanese Red Cross, was martyred while rescuing the wounded people during one of Lebanon’s many wars. He is considered as a martyr of the Lebanese Red Cross which center in Akkar carries his name.

Lea Adel Maamary, our strong and resilient colleague, vowed during her husband's funeral yesterday that their children, Boulos and Michella, are in safe hands. Under the guidance of their capable mother and the embrace of their loving family, they will continue the academic and humanitarian journey of this blessed family.

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), which stood alongside Lea and her family during their time of grief, extends its deepest condolences for this painful and unexpected loss. The MECC tells them that they are blessed by God for the deeds of their parents and for the path they will follow in their footsteps.

Christ is risen!

Entitled "Witnesses and Martyrs in Anatolia"

He departs from us in body, the one who carried the See of Saint Mark on his shoulders and in his heart, after a life full of achievements and moments of truth during hard times,

He departs from us in body, leaving behind a legacy of knowledge, leadership, wisdom, and care,

He departs from us in body, the one who has been, in times of distress, a cornerstone, a support, and a reference,

Here is His Grace Archbishop Pachomius, Metropolitan of Beheira, Matrouh, and the Five Western Cities, entering into the Kingdom of the Lord, carrying his unparalleled talents,

This faithful servant was entrusted with much from the beginning, becoming a reference for his Church and community,

This Leader, filled with the spirit of Christ, Who resurrected on the third day, enters today into the world of eternity. His Church and the entire world bid him farewell, saying, May you be blessed for what your hands have done, O fruitful one,

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), which shares with the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate the sorrow of separation, says to the venerable Archbishop Pachomius, rest in peace, O man of a great heart, for the See of Saint Mark, which you have faithfully guarded and carried with great care, is in safe hands. MECC says to the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, Christ is Risen!