An MECC Delegation On a Visit to His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai

A delegation from the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) visited His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, at the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerke, Lebanon. The delegation included the Director of the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, and the Coordinator of the Ecumenical Musical Event in which MECC will participate Mr. Marc Merhej.

The meeting was also attended by His Eminence Archbishop Youssef Soueif, Maronite Archbishop of Tripoli and President of the Episcopal Committee for Ecumenical Relations at the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon, and His Eminence Archbishop Antoine Bou Najem, Maronite Archbishop of Antelias.

During the visit, the MECC delegation extended its greetings to His Beatitude on the occasion of Christmas and New Year, wishing him many years of goodness, blessing and holiness, as well as good health and success in his Pastoral mission.

In addition, the delegation informed His Beatitude Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai about the latest developments of the ongoing preparations for the MECC fifty-year jubilee of its founding, in 2024, in addition to the preparations for the activities that the Council will organize for the occasion. In this context, the delegation asked the blessing of His Beatitude for the Ecumenical musical event that will be held this January, and invited him to participate in it.

It is worth mentioning that this event will bring together a group of musical choirs, which will include more than 350 singers, accompanied by about 50 musicians from the symphony orchestra, who are clergy, consecrated and lay people, from various Church families and Liturgical traditions, and from various ages.