During a MECC Delegation Visit
Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian: Let Us Together Build Bridges Between the Eastern Churches in Order to Consolidate the Spiritual Communion Among Them
Video - Dr. Michel Abs: The Ecumenical Culture Has Made Great Strides Since the Establishment of the MECC, But We Still Have a Long Way
The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs headed a delegation from the MECC General Secretariat on a visit to Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, MECC President for the Evangelical Family, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, and President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, today, Wednesday 27 July 2022, in his office at the University.
This visit followed the election of Reverend Dr. Haidostian as MECC President for the Evangelical Family at the MECC 12th General Assembly, and is part of the program of visits that Dr. Abs is making to the Presidents of the Council and to the Church leaders.
During the meeting, the attendees discussed Ecumenical affairs and emphasized the importance of the Churches’ unity, and strengthening the relations between them, especially in the Middle East. They also tackled the history of the Evangelical Church in establishing the Ecumenical movement, in addition to its current Ecumenical work and future activities.
Hence, Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian stressed the need to build bridges and cooperate between the Eastern Churches unifying their efforts aiming at consolidating the spiritual communion among them and witnessing together to the Word of God in the region and the world. Haidostian also expressed his readiness to develop the MECC work and implement new projects which he had started to plan, in order to achieve the desired goals and improve the work mechanisms. In addition, Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian said that he would like to visit the headquarters of the MECC General Secretariat so he can have a closer look on the progress of work of the various departments.
From his end, Dr. Michel Abs welcomed Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, and delivered a speech in which he congratulated the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Armenian Evangelical Church, and said “a large number of members of the Union participated, with great conviction and in depth, in the work of the MECC and provided relentless efforts to spread the message of Christ and Ecumenical Culture throughout the Middle East; they were exemplary in that.”
He added “there is no doubt that the ecumenical culture has made great strides since the establishment of the MECC, but we still have a long way ahead. Today, we are on the threshold of the fiftieth anniversary as an organization, in addition to celebrating this anniversary as a golden jubilee, we need a pause with oneself, in cooperation with the church institutions, in order to evaluate what has been accomplished and what has not been accomplished.”
Dr. Abs continued “interaction with this volatile environment constitutes an essential means for the relentless search for an update of the role that the MECC must fulfill. The MECC is neither a supra-church nor a super-church, but rather an inter-church setting...”
At the end of the meeting, Dr. Michel Abs offered to Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian the “Christianity”, from the MECC publications, in addition to a Cross as a symbolic gift and a token of thanks and appreciation.
Below you may find the video speech of the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs during the visit.
