On the occasion of the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" Closing
An Ecumenical Prayer Service in Bkerke at the Invitation of the Episcopal Committee for Ecumenical Relations for the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon
The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Participates in the Celebration
The “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2023 comes to an end. In fact, it is an annual Ecumenical occasion full of hope towards an eagerly awaited unity. It invites us to continue praying and meeting together all year long. For the occasion, an Ecumenical prayer service was held at the invitation of the Episcopal Committee for Ecumenical Relations for the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon, on Sunday 22 January 2023. It was hosted by the Maronite Church at the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerke, Lebanon, under the patronage and presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East.
Under the title of this year’s Week of Prayer “Do good; seek justice” (Isaiah 1:17), this Ecumenical celebration brought together the Heads of Churches in the Middle East. Participants were His Beatitude Mor Ignatius Youssef III Younan, Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Youssef Al-Absi, Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem, His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia and MECC President for the Catholic Family, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Cilicia, His Eminence Reverend Dr. Habib Badr, President of the National Evangelical Union in Lebanon, His Eminence Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, President of Haigazian University, and MECC Elected President for the Evangelical Family, His Eminence Reverend Joseph Kassab, General Secretary of the Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon and President of the Supreme Council of the Evangelical Synod in Syria and Lebanon, Monsignor Paolo Borgia, the Apostolic Nuncio in Lebanon and Father Andraos Al Anthouny, Pastor of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Lebanon.
His Eminence Bishop Joseph Mouawad, President of the Episcopal Committee for Ecumenical Relations for the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon and MECC Executive Committee member also participated in the Prayer. As well as attendees were Bishops from various Church Families, Priests Fathers, Nuns, Monks and Seminarians. In addition to religious, social and political personalities, alongside representatives of concerned associations and institutions.
The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs also participated in the celebration. He was accompanied by Lawyer Mr. Ibrahim Traboulsi, MECC Constitutional Advisor and member of its Executive Committee, the MECC Social Media officer Sub-Deacon Chady Chata, and Human Rights Advocate Karl Abou Mrad.
The service started with a welcome speech delivered by His Eminence Bishop Joseph Mouawad, in which he mentioned that "the Prayers were chosen from the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity’s booklet, which is issued following joint efforts between the Faith and Order Commission at the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity at the Vatican, with a contribution this year from the Minnesota Council of Churches at the U.S.A. It was translated into Arabic by the Middle Eat Council of Churches (MECC).
He continued, "the Prayer for the Christian unity calls us this year for an Ecumenical cooperation to struggle together in order to end social injustice, achieve justice and equality, and respect the dignity and rights of the human person. With this Ecumenical cooperation in humanitarian issues, we continue to Pray hoping of reaching the complete and visible unity that Jesus Christ wants it. Amen.”
Then the Prayer service began and included a Homily by His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai in which he stressed the importance of Praying and meeting together on the intention of achieving the awaited Christian unity.
The celebration was characterized by an Ecumenical Christian spirit. It included a program of Prayers from the Week of Prayer’s booklet which were recited by the participants with supplications to the Lord Jesus so “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). The Ecumenical celebration ended with blessings’ Prayer recited by the Churches’ representatives all together.
