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 “Season of Creation” 2023 international Guide which was translated by MECC into Arabic. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it is entitled “Season of Creation and the Human Recklessness”, on the occasion of the “Season of Creation” 2023 launching on the 1st of September. In his message, Dr. Abs talked about the environmental concern which is at the heart of the work of the Council and the Church. He also highlighted the MECC environmental activities, stressing on the environmental awareness, and denouncing the environmental carelessness.

In the issue, the Middle East Council of Churches has the honor to invite you to participate in its new monthly webinar, entitled “Human Dignity for Newborns of Unknown Parents”, on Thursday 31 August 2023, at 7:00 pm. You can participate in the webinar via the following Zoom link https://shorturl.at/djosI, and live on the MECC Facebook Page. The webinar, which includes three interventions, will start with an opening speech by its moderator Dr. Chawki Attieh, which will be followed with a speech by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs.

This week, at the beginning of the month of September, is the start of Season of Creation which carries-on until the fourth of October, when the season is closed with an extended ecumenical meeting in a ceremonial no less important than the ceremonial of the launching.

This ecclesiastical season has entered the annual ecumenical calendar, due to international ecumenical efforts and reached us in the Middle East, through the Middle East Council of Churches, 3 years ago, through which activities kept expanding until they include all the countries of the region.

In this context, we must mention that the MECC is the engine for the activities of this important ecumenical season, through the concerned departments and through its blessed leaders, as well as through the member churches who never hesitated to provide all basic facilities for ecumenical activities.

In this context as well, we must mention that the quarterly retreat held by the MECC team at the central level, which happened to be on the first day of the Season of Creation, will evolve around environmental concerns from the point of view of the Creator’s creation, which He created for the humankind and where He embraces Him, be it at the level of prayers or at the level of meditation and thinking. The seminars of this retreat will be animated and coordinated by Church ministers who are concerned with environment or have specialized in it.

The Middle East Council of Churches Congratulates Him

The Middle East Council of Churches extends its warmest congratulations to Hegomen Father Andraos Al Anthouny, and wishes him good health and success in his Preaching mission. MECC also acknowledges the great efforts made by Hegomen Father Andraos, from Lebanon, for the success of the twelfth General Assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches, which was held between 16 and 20 May 2022 at the Papal Logos Center in Wadi El Natrun.

For more details about the ordination, click here to read the news published in Arabic on the Facebook page of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Lebanon.

And Launches the “Season of Creation” For This Year in the Middle East

The Middle East Council of Churches, Communication and Public Relations Department, have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of September 2023. It includes the Ecclesiastical and Liturgical feasts of the various families of Churches in the Middle East. In addition to international days identified by the United Nations, and which are related to the MECC identity and its spiritual and human mission. Noting that the remaining months of the year will be published consecutively.

As well as, the Middle East Council of Churches launches during September 2023, the “Season of Creation” activities in the region for the third consecutive year through translating the Season’s international booklet into Arabic, with this year’s theme is “Let Justice and Peace Flow” and its symbol is “A Mighty River”. Noting that the international celebrations of the Season start on September 1st and end on October 4 of each year.

Together We Unite in Prayer and Supplication to God the Creator

The Middle East and the world celebrate a yearly Environmental Christian and Ecumenical season, which is the "Season of Creation". A season during which we unite in Prayer and work together to protect God’s creation and our common home. The season extends between 1 September, the day of Prayer for creation, and 4 October, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of the environment.

In celebration of this season, you can find the text of the 2023 “Season of Creation” Prayer.

How Did This Season Started?

The Middle East region will be celebrating an annual, international, environmental, Christian and Ecumenical season entitled “Season of Creation”…

During this season, the Ecumenical Christian family unites around one common goal. The season calls us all to Pray and work together for the care and preservation of God's Creation. The season extends from 1 September, the beginning of the “Season of Creation” and the Prayer days for the Creation, to 4 October, the end of the “Season of Creation” and the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, author of the Canticle of Creatures, and Patron Saint of environmental activists in the Catholic Church.

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 MECC statement concerning the humanitarian crisis that Artsakh is suffering from since 8 months due to the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan on it. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, it is entitled “Asylum and marginalization under the scrutiny of justice and faith”. It was the speech that Dr. Abs delivered at the round table organized by the Middle East Council of Churches under the title "Human Dignity and Palestinian Refugees”, on Thursday 27 July 2023, at the headquarters of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut. The seminar is part of the series of monthly seminars launched by MECC, within the framework of the “Human Dignity Project” - “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”.

The issue also includes a news about the evening of Prayer for Iraq and the beleaguered Chaldean Catholic Church at the invitation and organization of the Chaldean Eparchy of Beirut, on Saturday 13 August 2023, at the Cathedral of Archangel Raphael in Baabda - Brasilia, Lebanon. The Prayer was held under the auspices and with the presence of His Beatitude Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and with the Blessings of His Eminence Bishop Michel Kassarji, Head of the Chaldean Community in Lebanon.

This speech was delivered at the round table organized by the Middle East Council of Churches under the title "Human Dignity and Palestinian Refugees”, on Thursday 27 July 2023, at the headquarters of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut. The seminar is part of the series of monthly seminars launched by MECC, within the framework of the “Human Dignity Project” - “Dialogue and Social Cohesion-Social Capital Rehabilitation”

Living on a land and among people in a society that marginalizes you, thrusts you into poverty, extinguishes your hopes, and stifles your aspirations is the epitome of social euthanasia.

Ever since the hordes of colonizers set foot on the land of the Antiochian Levant and divided it into vulnerable entities through an earthly promise based on a so called divine one, the path has been the same: loss of civilization, social disintegration, displacement, asylum, and professional and economic marginalization. This leads to the loss of victims’ lives and their descent into the furnace of migration and misery.

“Human Dignity for Newborns of Unknown Parents”

31 August 2023 – 7 pm

The Middle East Council of Churches has the honor to invite you to participate in its new monthly webinar, entitled “Human Dignity for Newborns of Unknown Parents”, on Thursday 31 August 2023, at 7:00 pm.

You can participate in the webinar via the following Zoom link https://shorturl.at/djosI, and live on the MECC Facebook Page.

The webinar, which includes three interventions, will start with an opening speech by its moderator Dr. Chawki Attieh, which will be followed with a speech by the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs.

The family of the General Secretariat of the Middle East Council of Churches bids farewell to the colleague, the Financial Director Mrs. Manal Bechara Bou Habib, after a journey in the Ecumenical world that lasted for eight years of giving, dedication, and loyalty to the MECC mission. She was known for her service, love, and continuous support for all colleagues, partners, and friends.

The family of the MECC General Secretariat gathered around a farewell lunch to our colleague Manal, on Wednesday 16 August 2023. During the gathering, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs offered to Manal an honorary trophy as a token of love and appreciation. He also addressed her with a speech in which he praised her competence, experience and performance, thanking her for her efforts and diligence, and wishing her success in her new journey.

The Department of Diakonia and Social Service, of the Middle East Council of Churches, Syria’s Office, organized health and psychosocial support sessions for women in reproductive age from Damascus, its countryside, and Dara’a Governorates. 

250 women from Damascus and its countryside, and 250 women from Dara’a participated in the 7 days sessions. These sessions were divided into 5 days of health awareness sessions during which the women were educated about the most prominent diseases in society, such as heart disease, osteoporosis, cholera, high blood pressure, diabetes discussing the underlying reasons, prevention methods and treatment in addition to the importance of following a healthy lifestyle. They also learned the proper way to use a blood pressure measurement device.

Restoration of WASH Facilities in 7 Schools in Dara’a

School WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) facilities that are not properly equipped and do not meet health and cleanliness standards the fact that puts a threat to the physical and psychological well-being of the students. Such conditions facilitate the spread of diseases among them and can negatively impact the educational process. It may lead students, especially girls, to drop out of school.

Recognizing that every child deserves to live in a safe and clean environment, and acknowledging the importance of ensuring a healthy school environment for students, the Department of Diakonia and Social Service, at the Middle East Council of Churches, Syria’s Office, focused on restoring the WASH facilities in seven schools in the Dara’a Province.

FOR 8 MONTHS NOW!

A CALL TO STOP THE BLOCKADE!

For the second time, Azerbaijan has isolated Artsakh through a blockade, with the first blockade lasting three years (1989 - 1992).

Political and diplomatic developments are not able to pressure Azerbaijan to open the Latchin corridor for humanitarian assistance from the Republic of Armenia to Stepanakerd population (Artsakh known as the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh) in blockade since 12 December 2022, now for more than eight months!  The stories of children, women and the elderly suffering from blockade, lack of medication, food, electricity, gas and internet cut, do not reach the world to tell about the intentions of Azerbaijan to exterminate the Artsakhiots, the indigenous population, without any means of defense and survival. 

On the occasion of the Fifty Years of His Monasticism

The Middle East Council of Churches, Presidents, Executive Committee Members, and the General Secretariat, extends its warmest congratulations to His Beatitude Pope Theodoros II, Greek Orthodox Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, on the occasion of the fifty years of his monasticism, and wishes him many years of prosperity, blessings and holiness.

The Middle East Council of Churches also wishes His Beatitude good health and success in his Pastoral mission, and raises its Prayers to the Lord Jesus Christ to grant him determination in his service and Christian testimony.

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, which title is “Three years elapsed”, in commemoration of the 4 August Blast which massively destroyed the capital Beirut.

On this painful commemoration, you can find a video that presents the stories of some of investments’ owners whose businesses were damaged by the Blast, shedding light on the contribution of the Middle East Council of Churches, through the Department of Diakonia and Social Service in Lebanon, in rehabilitating many of these small businesses and investments in order to help their owners restore their sources of livelihood after they lost everything they owned.

And with the Blessings of His Eminence Bishop Michel Kassarji

The Chaldean Church in Lebanon Invites You to an Evening of Prayer

On the Intention of Peace in Iraq and the Chaldean Church in It

Saturday 12 August 2023 - 6:00 pm, in the Archangel Raphael Cathedral in Baabda, Lebanon

Under the Patronage and Presence of His Beatitude Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and with the Blessings of His Eminence Bishop Michel Kassarji, Head of the Chaldean Community in Lebanon, the Chaldean Community in Lebanon invites you to a vigil of meditation, Prayer and chant, on the intention of peace in Iraq and the Chaldean Church in it. It will be held on Saturday 12 August 2023, at 6:00 pm, in the Archangel Raphael Cathedral in Baabda - Brasilia - Pierre El Helou Street, Lebanon.

Note: the Celebration’s duration will be one hour and a half.

The First Annual Student Conference

Respect for Creation is Glorification of the Creator

Maadi - Cairo, 2023

The Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (A.T.I.M.E) held its first annual student conference, at the Faculty of Humanities and Theological Sciences, Maadi - Cairo, from 23 to 30 July. The conference was organized and attended by the ATIME’s Predsident, Archimandrite Jack Khalil, ATIME’s Executive Secretary Father Michael Mikhael Kanbar, the Associate Executive Secretary Reverend Bishoy Helmi, and the Associate Executive Secretary Reverend Samuel Rosvi. The following members of the Association also attended and participated: Father Bishoy Rasmi, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Theological Sciences, Maadi - Cairo, Dr. Gerges Saleh, Dr. Adly Anis Souleiman, on behalf of the Theological Seminary in Cairo, Dr. Isaac Ibrahim Ajban Shenouda, on behalf of the Institute of Coptic Studies, Dr. Michael Edward Abdo Mikhael on behalf of the Institute of Care and Education, and Father Kevork Karakozian on behalf of the Higher Theological School - the Armenian Catholicosate of the House of Cilicia - Antelias, and Father Andraos Matta on behalf of the Seminary Faculty in Alexandria. The conference's guests, Reverend Dr. Benjamin Simon from the World Council of Churches, and Dr. Manal Nader, Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of Balamand, also participated.

On the fourth of this month, two days from now, it will be three years since the historic explosion that shook Beirut, Lebanon, and the world. This explosion was classified as one of the most powerful in human history after atomic ones.

At the time, under the pressure of the disaster’s horror, the people’s pain, and the anger of the masses, the Lebanese state promised to uncover the circumstances of the explosion and arrest those responsible for it within two weeks of its occurrence.

Searching for Hope Despite all Challenges

Video - The Middle East Council of Churches Contributes in Getting Back the Activity of the Affected Small Businesses

A third year has passed since the catastrophic 4 August Blast, and the wound is still deep and open... A disaster that destroyed the heart of the capital Beirut, and ignited the hearts of millions of people who lost their loved ones, as well as many memories buried under the rubble... A third year has passed, and the truth is still obscure and lost. Who will heal the grief of the victims’ families? And how Beirut’s wounds will be healed? Are the Lebanese people still clinging to hope?

Three years following the Beirut Port Blast, the capital's silos are still bent, but the will to live remains the strongest. Therefore, many initiatives seek to heal the Lebanese people’s wounds in order to restore hope to their lives, including aid assistance as well as moral and psychological support...

His Beatitude Pope Theodoros II, Greek Orthodox Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, received a delegation that included a group of Academicians from the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME) and Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology in Balamand Lebanon, which is affiliated to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and headed by Archimandrite Dr. Jack Khalil, Dean of Saint John of Damascus Institute, and ATIME’s President, in the presence of Father Dr. Michael Kanbar, ATIME’s Executive Secretary, Priest and Professor. This visit was held on Saturday 29 July 2023, at the Patriarchal Residence in Alexandria, Egypt.