Common life and human fraternity
The role of the Middle East Council of Churches as a model
The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel E. Abs delivered this speech at the Human Fraternity Meeting: A Journey and Participation, on Saturday 3 February 2024, in Al-Zahraa Hall - Haret Hreik, Lebanon.
Dr. Michel E. Abs
Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)
The literature of the dialogue field is full of terms that played a major role in bringing minds together and bringing people closer when they were used in the context of conflict resolution and extinguishing hostilities between people. But these terms, after fulfilling the role assigned to them for a certain era, no longer fulfill the conceptual and practical purpose that we need at the current stage, where human mixing has reached its peak, accompanied by escalating hostilities between peoples, ethnic groups, religions and communities, and also accompanied by hate speech that was exacerbated by social media to reach its peak and turn into a poison and a separation tool par excellence.
These inspiring concepts at the time, we, those working in the dialogue, began to discover how much they carried within them the seeds of discord, while we used them as a means of rapprochement. Truth be told, their introduction at that stage was only out of good faith, but the conceptual and field horizon did not require more than that.
Peaceful coexistence, between religions or groups, for example, shows us that there is an existing balance between diverse identities, but this balance can be disturbed at any moment as soon as an external factor interferes with the balance or one of the balance-coexistence parties makes a mistake, which leads to something undesirable with unforeseen consequences.
Tolerance, especially religious. This concept tells us that one of the parties to this peaceful existence, or all of them, forgive each other, or that one of them forgives the other, despite his difference in religion, as if this matter is unacceptable and may require punishment. But if one or all of those who are tolerant with each other decide to abandon this tolerance or put an end to it, then woe, destruction, and great things will befall this nation, which may lead to mutual extermination.
Coexistence. This is an advanced concept from those which came before, as it considers that participating in something, living together in this case, is a positive thing, although the limits of participation are living, that is, the necessary worldly matters and not the common life through which people share material life as well as values, ideals, and aspirations.
On the other hand, the expression “the other” is no less harmful than other expressions, as it places a person in estrangement with someone who is his brother in religion or his partner in humanity.
The worst thing that can be used is the Latin expression that many writers use about social unity and human brotherhood, modus vivendi, which means a temporary settlement, and this concept has unlimited negative action.
What is more dangerous than all of the above is choosing the religious variable in describing individuals or groups, such as mentioning the religion or sect of a person that we want to refer to, or saying that we are all Christians and Muslims, for example, support or denounce something that is up for discussion or deliberation, instead of referring to a nation as elderly and youth, educated and illiterate, women and men, residents and expatriates, etc.
In everything we write, we must use expressions that advance togetherness and interaction over differences and division, such as saying common life, which generates common values that are added to the necessities of life, or osmosis, or mutual maturation, or interaction, or symbiosis, or other expressions or concepts that are key to “social togetherness” and omit expressions that carry within them the logic of division, separation, and antagonism.
The discerning observer must be certain, and even confirm, that human groups that live a common life for long years will see that this participation in a common social and cultural life has transformed them into a unified society at all levels, even the religious one, in light of the interaction taking place between people in their daily lives and in pursuing their interests. “Your religion is your daily life”, says Gibran Khalil Gibran. In unified social life, human brotherhood comes naturally and becomes second nature to people, resulting in human solidarity that is among the greatest that humanity can aspire to.
In this context, the Document on Human Fraternity constitutes a milestone in the literature of civil peace and social unity, as it says, and we quote:
- “In the name of God who has created all human beings equal in rights,
- In the name of innocent human life that God has forbidden to kill,
- In the name of the poor, the destitute, the marginalized and those most in need whom God has commanded us to help as a duty required of all persons,
- In the name of orphans, widows, refugees and those exiled from their homes and their countries;
- In the name of all victims of wars, persecution and injustice;
- In the name of the weak, those who live in fear, prisoners of war and those tortured in any part of the world, without distinction;
- In the name of peoples who have lost their security, peace,
- In the name of human fraternity that embraces all human beings, unites them and renders them equal;
- In the name of this fraternity torn apart by policies of extremism and division, by systems of unrestrained profit or by hateful ideological tendencies
- In the name of freedom, that God has given to all human beings creating them free and distinguishing them by this gift;
- In the name of justice and mercy, the foundations of prosperity and the cornerstone of faith;
- In the name of all persons of good will present in every part of the world;
- In the name of God and of everything stated thus far; … declare the adoption of a culture of dialogue as the path; mutual cooperation as the code of conduct; reciprocal understanding as the method and standard.”
What is important about this document is that it approached human groups from a purely humanitarian perspective, as it included all vulnerable and weakened groups in its presentation of human brotherhood.
Moreover, what is striking about the document is the adoption of the expression “culture of dialogue” and not just “dialogue.” The culture of dialogue for us, in the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), as we were in the National Islamic-Christian Dialogue Committee (ICNDC), means that dialogue becomes a way of life and that it does not reach a goal, so it stops there and put the engines of dialogue off. Dialogue itself is a goal, because it is the means for people to interact with each other, not only in the major affairs of life, but in every aspect of our daily life. Do we notice how much people interrupt each other and do not listen to each other while discussing something? Do you notice how many people are not good at listening to what their interlocutors are saying? Here dialogue becomes a means of mutual compatibility and a path to social unity.
We, at the Middle East Council of Churches, have a very long history of dialogue, as well as national and human brotherhood, in addition to our role in stimulating interaction and rapprochement between the groups that make up the nation. In fact, the MECC was founded on basic values that are along these lines:
- Deepening the spiritual communion between the churches of the Middle East and unifying their word and efforts
- Cooperation and joint work for the sake of humanitarian service, achieving justice, defending human rights, and strengthening the Christian presence to be able to persist in freedom, peace, and equality in citizenship, rights, and duties.
- Developing and supporting organized dialogue aimed at mutual understanding to promote and consolidate peace and harmony among peoples for the good of humanity
During its long history, as it reaches its fifty years in its current status as MECC, and the age of eighty-five if we count the years of interaction that preceded its founding, the Council has honored all of these goals and values, whether through the relationships it built with various institutions of the Antiochian Levant, the Nile Valley, Iran, and the Arab Maghreb, or Through its international relations. If ecumenism is a path of unity among Christians, then it is, a fortiori, a path of social unity among all components of society, and therefore a road map for brotherhood among human beings.
As for the important matter that must be emphasized, it is the manifestation of human brotherhood in the relief and development services that the MECC has been providing since the Palestine War until today in all countries of the region, providing direct life support leading to long-term development funding in any region it was able to reach or work in it. This cost him a lot of discriminatory-based criticism, but despite this, it persisted on this path and continued to do so.
What is also worth mentioning is that we have launched, since my election to serve the General Secretariat, a program concerned with dialogue and social cohesion, which also aims to rehabilitate human dignity and social capital - the societal basis for human fraternity - and we began it with a series of lectures and seminars that have reached twenty to date, all of which deal with topics in relationship with human brotherhood, social unity, and the rehabilitation of its structures. In a related context, we see that the Environmental Season of Creation (SoC) program, which we have been implementing for three years, has yielded great results in terms of awareness campaigns, as well as in afforestation campaigns, and both dimensions of environmental work are gradually expanding to include additional regions of the Middle East.
In addition, since I was assigned to serve as Secretary General, I have been writing articles in our weekly bulletin, the number of which has exceeded two hundred to date, all of which are directed towards dialogue and brotherhood among people and towards explaining the position of the Council and the Church of the Middle East on the matters raised in our daily lives. It goes without saying that the general trend is towards dialogue and brotherhood.
At the end of my speech, I allow myself to share with you the sum of my experience through the Council as well as through university teaching, and I summarize it with one expression: working together!
When people take it upon themselves to confront their challenges and work together to address these challenges, of whatever kind, they unite and move slowly but surely towards brotherhood in society, and from there towards brotherhood in humanity. As for the opposite of that, the blessed and well-known saying applies to him: “O you, God made the hands to work, so if they do not find work in virtue, they seek work in sin, so occupy them with virtue before they occupy you with sin.”
Is there a greater sin than the division and strife about which we say that whoever awakens it is cursed?
Haret Hreik, 03.02.2024