It Is a Prayer for Humankind
Dr. Michel E. Abs
Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches
From the heart of Beirut we came, from the Armenian Church, in the name of Saints Elias and Gregory, we gathered to launch the week of prayer for the unity of Christians, and why not, the unity of man.
From the heart of the region that witnessed the destruction, division and fragmentation of Lebanon, we came to utter the word of the Incarnate Word, an act of faith in man.
From this region that witnessed attack and desertion between warring factions, or more exactly between warring countries, we came on this dark night of human history to say the word of the child born in the manger on whose swaddling clothes the executioners and killers had voted, just like those who are about to vote on Lebanon’s cloak as well as on that of the Mashreq intend to do today.
Today, humanity is going through the most critical phases of its history: displacement and eviction, misery and exploitation, poverty and hunger, rising illiteracy and environmental pollution, and this picture has been aggravated not to say that it has been exacerbated by the pandemic or as a result of it. The important thing is that the human race is in crisis.
In this bloody set up, causing consciences and hearts to bleed, Christians united and joined forces to hold a week of prayer for their unity, emerging from the East, where the Savior was incarnated and where the star was the indicator and proof of that unique moment in human history.
As a joint venture between the Vatican City, the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches a feeling of unity dwelt in all hearts and inspired the minds giving birth to a spirit of a joint common orientation that begot this booklet written in Arabic as a common prayer reference in our Arab world in which several dialects, cultures and heritages exist harboring the Christian faith as it espoused it and transmitted it beyond its own circumscription.
This booklet is the fruit of diligent work carried out by a group of educated believers who are conscious of the need to be one in Christ. The work was very coherent, highly harmonious, embodying an ecumenism that we had always advocated ever since we became aware of its necessity for contributing to help us formulate a common melting pot of differences that would prevent our eventual gliding into divisions.
God’s hand is with the group, as the popular saying goes, the more so if this group is aware of its major goals and objectives in life and faithful to them.
Our message during the week of prayer is that the East, which witnessed the event of the incarnation of the Lord and which attested the first spread of His message, from Jerusalem to Antioch in the west, and from Beth Nahrin in the east to the Nile Valley in the west, and then to the ends of the world, our message is that this region, despite the long night thar encompasses it, still remains the inexhaustible source of heavenly light.
We gather in His name every day, He who is among us and with us, inspiring us to choose the right path, strengthening us and giving us hope for a better tomorrow. He guides us to the right decisions in everything we do in the Middle East Council of Churches. He is rather, present in every decision we take, in every direction we take, and in every direction we adopt. He is the one who lights the way for us to choose the best ways to serve his refugees and those who are tired and burdened. He is the one who advises us every day about his little brothers, and He is the one who reminds us at every moment of the necessity of forgiveness and of love for our enemies as well as entreats us to bless those who curse us and do good to those who offended us. It is He who in His conduct and by His conduct taught us that the dignity of man is equal to his existence and that he does not have to beg for the acquisition of the truth.
Here we must declare that the pastors of the Church of Christ are our support and sustainers, as they constitute the cornerstone of everything we do. They have never shirked in providing and facilitating everything we need. They have always made us feel at home in our Church, wherever and whenever we go, and they are the enablers in our pursuit of our accomplishments.
On behalf of the colleagues working in the Middle East Council of Churches tirelessly, I address the pontiffs of the Church, in the East, the Nile Valley and all the regions of the Middle East, those present here and those absent, with thanks and gratitude for all the ministration, care
and support that they provide us with, and we are faithful to our commitment to joint action. Our achievements owe a lot to you.
As for the international organizations, ecumenical, secular, developmental and media, we also extend our thanks and gratitude to them for all the attention they give to our region, our problems and our needs. The process of growth in partnership between us during decades of joint action has formed a bond between us and a bond that cannot be dismantled.
We conceive of the Week of Prayer for Unity as a pledge of love that knows no boundaries, an acknowledgement of differences that does not necessitate any need for tolerance, and an acknowledgement of diversity that does not necessitate complacency.
We conceive of the Week of Prayer for Unity as a yearning for those who may not bear any resemblance to us and more so for those who differ from us.
We conceive of the Week of Prayer for Unity as the unity of man in Christ!
This intervention was delivered at the opening of the Week of Prayer for Unity –
Beirut, January 16, 2022