The Church Between Spiritual Unity and Institutional Unity

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Professor Dr. Michel Abs delivered this speech at the Prayer Service held on the occasion of the ending of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity”, on Saturday 25 January 2025, at the First Armenian Evangelical Church - Kantari, Beirut.

Professor Dr. Michel Abs

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

When the Lord entrusted His Church to His disciples, along with this commandment, which remains active to this day, He was fully aware that the salvific message would spread throughout the world, transcending political, cultural, and social boundaries. It would attract anyone who longs for salvation through knowledge, freedom, and human feelings, and it would pose a challenge to those unwilling to accept it.

We are all familiar with the history of the spreading of Christianity, its mechanisms, obstacles, and challenges. Humanity still bears witness to the uniqueness of the Christian martyrdom in human history: from the stoning in Jerusalem after the Lord’s Ascension, to throwing Christians to the wild beasts, torturing them in all sorts of ways, mass killings in our region and around the world, and culminating today in what we see in Africa, which is rising from centuries of occupation, persecution, and slavery.

The purest form of testimony is the testimony of the blood. Martyrdom!

When the Church expands into new places—such as Africa or the Far East—amid peoples and civilizations once unimaginable to embrace the salvific message, given their deep attachment to their ancient religions - some of which we cannot deny have forms of refinement and beauty, and in an era marked by the arrogance of modern man, this cannot be classified as anything but a divine blessing.

All of this shows that nothing can hinder the path of this single, eternal message, which came to rescue the human being, laden with errors and sins, ill intentions, hypocrisy, and rampant individual selfishness, from the mire of his own savagery into the lofty expanse of faith, in the religion of love.

If the power of this salvific message to transcend cultures, countless in today’s world, is among its qualities that speak to every form of cultural expression and mindset, then the diversity of institutions and interpretations of faith, along with varying expressions of that faith, are likewise an outcome of this universal expansion.

Christianity has been adopted by peoples across the globe. Each has produced its own theological interpretations and modes of worship, rooted in its original civilization. Thus, we find Christian expressions that differ radically from one another, although a specialist in the relevant fields will confirm that the essence is one.

This explains why we see separate institutions, sometimes wholly unfamiliar with each other in their organization and operational methods. We must anticipate further differences in the content and forms of faith, given the continued spread of the salvific message in new areas, especially in Africa and the Far East, as mentioned above.

Here, the essential question arises: what becomes of “Christian unity” amid such branching out and diversity in the global Christian spread? Do we wish Christianity to be a project of cloning, even though it established the foundations of freedom and human rights in the world through the Lord’s teachings and life? Must we impose on peoples certain details of faith that contradict their cultures and values, given that the core Christian teachings remain inviolable? Should we seek to fragment this global community of believers simply because of differences in some interpretations? Is it not enough for me, as a Christian, that my fellow believer has faith in the Annunciation, in the Nativity, the refuge, the teachings, the conduct, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection?

These are open questions without a definitive answer. Indeed, they are a gateway to ongoing dialogue among all the church of Christ. This dialogue exists and has already produced honorable documents of understanding. Such dialogue is itself a goal, ensuring continual interaction for as long as God wills.

In a parallel course, the countless Christian institutions must work together in serving humanity, the very reason for the Lord’s Incarnation. Their cooperation should take the form of a system or framework that they can all adopt, striving to join forces and enhance human and societal life.

Currently, this collaboration can only happen through coordination bodies, already in place among the institutions of Christ’s Church. The Middle East Council of Churches is one such expression, and one of the active references in this field. It has made the closer alignment of institutions working in the same domain a top priority and the backbone of its upcoming strategy. It calls this approach “networking,” a leading technique in the modern institutional world, proved effective from profit-seeking corporations to not-for-profit organizations.

So far, the MECC’s networking efforts have succeeded in certain areas and are poised to continue in two directions: first, their expansion into new domains of Christian cooperation, i.e., the ecumenical; and second, their institutionalization, following the example of ATIME (the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East), which has proven its capacity to succeed. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which we conclude today, is one manifestation of this trend.

Guided by the adage “God blesses the home that yields other homes,” the MECC is preparing to serve as a starting point for founding additional coordination bodies through networking, which will take the form of autonomous institutions under the MECC’s auspices with the blessing of its member churches.

Ecumenical work, and its generic name is “common Christian endeavor”, has proved to be a means of fostering spiritual closeness among believers by undertaking shared service. This brings hearts together and dissolves the icy barriers that have existed among members of the one, eternal Church. Even in the absence of institutional unions that every believer hopes for, we can still unite in our spiritual and social faith, since we embrace the same faith, living by it and by the societal values it fosters, values through which we serve humanity. Thanks to this faith, humanity has accomplished every form of service caring for those who are weary and burdened.

The principle that underpins all of this, helping overcome every difficulty, is the principle of “self-positioning.” This means if you disagree with your partner in faith on some matters, and this faith is fundamental to both of you, you should adopt an approach of self-positioning, each according to his or her vision, in a way that serves your shared faith and purpose. Otherwise, competition arises, and that is the downfall in which believers can be trapped, failing to honor the Lord’s commandment: “That they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.” (John 17:21)

As we reach the end of the first half-century of MECC’s life, and the year 1700 of the Council of Nicaea we pledge to continue our efforts toward rapprochement, a pursuit we have maintained since our founding, enshrined as a basic principle in our constitution and founding documents. These efforts have borne fruit, illustrated by the gathering of church leaders today, a result of decades of continuous work.

We are now at the height of institutionalizing our processes to guarantee MECC’s continuity in fulfilling the missions entrusted to it by its founders. We need your blessings, prayers, and familiar support, so that this institution, one of the finest examples of common Christian endeavor, may remain safeguarded for decades to come, continuing as a sanctuary of Christian togetherness in the region that witnessed the Incarnation and the Resurrection.

Guided by God’s blessing and direction, we proceed with His hand upon us, for He is the One who grants success. Yes, we believe in this!