Video - Safir Salim Describes the Situation in the Salesian Church in Aleppo

In the aftermath of the earthquake which hit Syria to the core, the Middle East Council of Churches team in wounded Syria visited the Churches that received the afflicted and affected people...and asked them about their concerns, needs, and ways to support them.

In the following video, Safir Salim, a member of the MECC relief team in Aleppo, describes the first earthquake moments they passed through, and explains how they took refuge in the Salesian Church, hoping that it will be a safe shelter for them.

It is worth mentioning, that the Middle East Council of Churches launched a humanitarian appeal, in which it calls on the international community for emergency aid to the affected people, urging for the lifting of sanctions on Syria.

And calls for the Lifting of Sanctions on the Syrian People

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs was the guest of the journalist Hala Haddad, in “Every Day by Day” program on Radio Van, on Tuesday 7 February 2023, during which he highlighted the MECC appeal issued following the earthquake that struck the region. He also shed lights on the Council’s relief actions with its international partners and in coordination with its member churches in order to help the afflicted and affected people in Syria. As well as, Dr. Abs called for the lifting of sanctions on Syria so that the blockade would not be a genocide, stressing the difficult living conditions that the Syrian people are passing through.

You can find the full interview of Dr. Michel Abs.

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Calls for the Lifting of Sanctions on Syria

Following the catastrophic earthquake that struck the north of the Middle East, the German newspaper, “Berliner Zeitung”, made an interview with the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs, in which he called for the lifting of sanctions on Syria, highlighting the MECC relief mission in supporting the affected and afflicted people by the earthquake.

The interview was made by the German journalist Dr. Michael Maier, and was published in German on the website of “Berliner Zeitung”: https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/wirtschaft-verantwortung/christliche-kirchen-fordern-ende-der -eu-sanktionen-gegen-syrien-li.315264.

You can find below the English version of the interview.

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake which struck Syria, Turkey and some countries of the Middle East, the international community have directly shown solidarity with the people of the region to help and support them and unite with them in Prayer.

In a message to the Middle East Council of Churches, Reverend Edwin Gonzalez-Castillo, the new director for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance at the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A (PCUSA), prays for the affected and afflicted people in Syria and Turkey, asking God to provide them determination and strength in overcoming this disaster with great faith.

Martyrdom is part of the salvation that God has granted us, and we have to consolidate the concept of salvation through the various fields in which we work

Incarnation is important in the MECC testimony,

especially as the Council prepares for its 50-Year Jubilee

Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs:

 The biggest challenge lies in the MECC sustainability to fulfill its mission as a source for interaction and togetherness between Churches and other components of our societies

As part of his follow up to the work of the Middle East Council of Churches, Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, MECC President for the Evangelical Family, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, and President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, visited the offices of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut, on Wednesday 8 February 2023. He was received by the Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, alongside the MECC team from the various departments.

Reverend Dr. Rima Nasrallah Shed Lights, with “Danmission”, on How MECC Is Building Bridges Between Youth

In the World Interfaith Harmony Week which extends between 1 and 7 February yearly, Reverend Dr. Rima Nasrallah, Coordinator of the Ecojustice Unit at the Middle East Council of Churches, highlights how MECC is building bridges and bridging distances, especially between youth, through the "Season of Creation" campaign. It was via a video published on the social media platforms of the “Danmission” organization, which is one of the MECC partners.

Monsignor Antoine Audo on KTO TV: The Syrian people have determination and will move forward to overcome all difficulties

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake which struck Turkey, Syria and some countries in the Middle East, the Middle East Council of Churches launched a relief appeal through a statement issued by its Presidents and Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs on Monday 6 February 2023. In the statement, MECC calls on the international community and the international Ecumenical family to provide urgent emergency aid to the region, and urge the immediate lifting of sanctions on Syria and allowing access to all materials.

The Middle East Council of Churches Calls On the International Community for Emergency Aid and Urges for Lifting Sanctions on Syria to Allow the Access of All Materials

Following the devastating earthquake which hit the north of the Middle East region, the Presidents of the Middle East Council of Churches held an emergency meeting, today on Monday 6 February 2023, in the presence of His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and MECC President for the Orthodox Family, represented by His Eminence Metropolitan Saba Esber, His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos of the Armenian Catholic Church and MECC President for the Catholic Family, His Grace Anba Antonios, Metropolitan of Jerusalem and the Near East for the Coptic Orthodox Church and MECC President for the Eastern Orthodox Family, Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, President of Haigazian University in Lebanon and MECC President for the Evangelical Family, alongside the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs.

Skills development and capacity building are main objectives that the Middle East Council of Churches is seeking to achieve with its team work in Beirut and in the various countries of the region. This is in order to develop the potential of its members and enhance their professional, cultural, intellectual and spiritual performance.

Within this context, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs launched a training program which includes many monthly sessions focusing on the basics of organizational behavior and its foundations, in addition to its importance, especially in the institutions’ management. Thus, Dr. Abs held the first training session on Thursday 2 February 2023, during which attendees were the team work who participated at the offices of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut and online via Zoom.

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Middle East Council of Churches, Communication and Public Relations Department, you can find the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, entitled “Interfaith Harmony”, on the occasion of the International Week of Interfaith Harmony which extends from 1 to 7 February every year.

The issue also includes a news about the visit of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, heading an MECC delegation, to His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, at the Catholicosate in Antelias, Lebanon.

Today begins the International Week of Interfaith Harmony, which is credited for its initiation to His Majesty King Abdullah II, King of Jordan, at the United Nations in 2010, with the aim of promoting cultural peace and renunciation of violence.

The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and approved this proposal and designated the first week of February as the International Week of Interfaith Harmony,  blending in it the promotion of religious and ethnic conflicts as well as requesting that all governments and NGOs celebrate it in various ways by initiating activities as well as programs that would help achieve harmony in a world in which interreligious as well as interethnic conflicts abound.

The United Nations also considered that dialogue between people belonging to different religions that would lead to mutual acceptance and understanding, constitutes the cornerstone for a culture of peace at international level, as well as for harmony between adepts to different religions in the world.

Thus, this week's activities constitute attempts intended to promote harmony among people of all religious creeds and sectarian affiliations.

Report: January 2023

Despite the positive advancements some Middle East countries are witnessing, others such as Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine are struggling amid economic difficulties. So far, global inflation has yet to let up and global recession might be soon upon us. As such, it will be difficult for most of these countries to maneuver past all the global changes. Hopefully, better off countries, especially those that benefited from the increase in oil prices, would offer assistance or forms of partnership that can boost the regional economy.       

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Presents a Lecture at USJ in Beirut:

There should be a connection between science and religion in order to guarantee both protection, so people’s religion may face people's tyrant and hence serve other people

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs delivered a lecture entitled “Religion and Power: Relations and Challenges”, on Wednesday 25 January 2023, at the Humanities Campus at the Saint Joseph University (USJ) in Beirut. This lecture was part of a series of seminars organized by the Department of Religious Sciences at the Faculty of Religious Sciences at USJ, under the title of “The Relation Between Power and Religion”.

Attendees were the Rector of the Faculty of Religious Sciences at USJ Father Salah Abou Jaoudeh, the Director of the Higher Institute of Religious Studies at the University, Sister Yara Matta, the Director of the Department of Religious Sciences at the Faculty Dr. Marguerite Asmar Bou Aoun. As well as, participants were professors and students from the Saint Joseph University and the Lebanese University.

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs visited His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, at the Catholicosate in Antelias, Lebanon. Dr. Abs was accompanied by an MECC delegation which included the MECC Associate Secretary general Mrs. Seta Hadeshian, and member of the MECC’s Executive Committee Dr. Jean Salmanian.

The meeting aimed to discuss with His Holiness some issues related to MECC.