Press conference From the Platform of the Word Announcing the Symposium
"The Face of Mary"
His Eminence Bishop Mar Matthias Charles Mrad: Our encounter around the face of Mary, which is always radiant with the lights of motherhood, compassion, and tenderness, makes us discover a unique way that the face is the first means of communication before one utters words… because the face creates a relationship based on mutual respect
Professor Michel Abs: We wanted to limit the interventions to women only. They will talk about Mary from their intellectual perspective and faith background, addressing the people and telling them that society is united through women. We see it united in the face of Mary
The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and the Episcopal Committee for Christian-Muslim Dialogue, emanating from the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon, held a press conference to announce the symposium they are organizing on the occasion of the Feast of the Annunciation, entitled "The Face of Mary." The symposium will be held on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at 1:00 pm Beirut time, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Annunciation – Museum – Beirut.
The conference took place on Tuesday, March 19, 2025, live from the Platform of the Word at the Middle East Council of Churches headquarters in Beirut. Attendees were His Eminence Bishop Mar Matthias Charles Mrad, the Patriarchal Vicar of the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Beirut and the Head of the Episcopal Committee for Christian-Muslim Dialogue, the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs, Father Michel Hamawi, Mrs. Annie Sarafian, Representing the Head of the Lebanese Press Editors' Syndicate Mr. Joseph Kosseifi, Members of the Episcopal Committee for Christian-Islamic Dialogue, and the Team of the MECC General Secretariat.
The conference was moderated by the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary, the Media Officer, the Coordinator of the Church and Media Relations and the Director of the Platform of the Word at MECC. She spoke about “The Face of Mary" symposium and its importance, touching on the topic of the Feast of the Annunciation and its implications for Christians and Muslims in Lebanon.
Then, His Eminence Bishop Mar Matthias Charles Mrad delivered a speech in which he pointed out that the encounter “around the face of Mary, which is always radiant with the lights of motherhood, compassion, and tenderness, makes us discover a unique way that the face is the first means of communication before one utters words… because the face creates a relationship based on mutual respect, when dialogue becomes possible, not as exchange of information, but as an encounter.”
Afterwards, the MECC Secretary General Professor Michel Abs delivered a speech in which he said: "The 'Face of Mary' symposium will feature women from the intellectual and development community, each with extensive experience in her field. I say 'women,' and we wanted to limit the interventions to women only. They will talk about Mary from their intellectual perspective and faith background, addressing the people and telling them that society is united through women. We see it united in the face of Mary, who has gained the consensus of both religion and worldly life, and after whom girls, Shrines, Churches, and Monasteries are named."
The conference concluded with an introduction session between the members of the Episcopal Committee for Christian-Muslim Dialogue and the team of the General Secretariat of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC).