His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian Receives the Secretary General Professor Dr. Michel Abs and an MECC Delegation
"The Patriarchate is your home!"
A Meeting that Stresses the Importance of Building Bridges Between the Churches
You can find some photos at the end of the text.
His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) for the Catholic Family, received the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Dr. Michel Abs, at the head of a delegation that included colleagues from the MECC General Secretariat. The visit was held on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, at the Patriarchate in Geitawi - Beirut, in the presence of His Eminence Bishop Krikor Badishah, Auxiliary Bishop of the Armenian Catholic Archdiocese of Beirut.
During the meeting, the Secretary General Professor Dr. Abs wished His Beatitude Patriarch Minassian blessed Feasts and a happy new year. He also congratulated him on the Ecumenical and Ecclesiastical event that he held on the occasion of receiving the body of the Servant of God Cardinal Patriarch Krikor-Bedros XV Aghajanian from Rome to Beirut, praising its great organization and emphasizing the spiritual meanings it carries.
For his part, His Beatitude welcomed the Secretary General and the accompanying delegation, wishing the Middle East Council of Churches continued success in its Ecumenical mission and humanitarian tasks, praising all the projects, initiatives and programs being implemented by the Council’s departments. He also expressed his happiness with this visit and mentioning that the Patriarchate is a home for everyone.
As well as, His Beatitude stressed the need to build bridges between the Churches and bridge distances between their children, clergy and lay people, denouncing all the differences that may appear between the Churches and calling for continued efforts to achieve the desired unity.
In a special interview with the MECC media, His Beatitude congratulated MECC on the launch of the media production center "The Platform of the Word", talking about the importance of the media’s role in conveying the Good News and spreading the values of love and peace.
At the end of the meeting, the Secretary General Professor Dr. Michel Abs offered to His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, the medal of the Fiftieth Year of the Founding of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC).
In his turn, His Beatitude offered to Dr. Abs, the medal of the 850th Anniversary of the death of Saint Catholicos Nerses Shnorhali who is one of the most prominent Ecumenical figures in the wrold. Noting that the medal bears in its design on one side the image of Catholicos Shnorhali, and on the other side the symbols of the Armenian Churches, all of which come together in the name of God.
