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...

Report: July 2023

Introduction

The Middle East has been showing signs of economic improvement despite the economic slowdown everywhere else in the world. This has enticed regional and international players to delve deeper into the ME, using diplomatic, military, and economic means. Unfortunately, this has prompted tensions to rise across the region as world powers compete over who gets what. As such, the following question comes to mind: Will the ME be more divided as a result of the ambitions of global powers?

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.

The Holy Spirit Church in the Syriac Catholic Archbishopric of Homs, Syria, was inaugurated in 1935, and it is one of the few Churches in the world that takes the Holy Spirit as its Patron and bears its name.

In 2010, the Church was renovated and inaugurated on Christmas Eve. Three months later, the war in Syria began, and the Church paid a heavy price as it was heavily bombarded with rockets, causing damage to the two side facades of the Church and five openings in the dome. The icons, wooden benches, and windows were also subjected to burning, destruction, and theft.

On Charity Radio TV

With Dr. Laure Abi Khalil, the Coordinator of the MECC Social Rehabilitation Project

Dr. Laure Abi Khalil, the Coordinator of the Social Capital Rehabilitation Project at the Middle East Council of Churches, was the guest of the journalist Zouhour Aboun Mansour, in an episode within “Hawana Hawak” program, which was broadcasted on Charity Radio TV, on Friday 28 July 2023.

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 “The Church in Defense of Creation”. It was his speech which was delivered at the opening of the conference ‘Respect for Creation is the Glorification of the Creator’, organized by the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), between 24 and 30 July 2023, in Egypt.

As part of its monthly seminars, you can also find the invitation of the Middle East Council of Churches to participate in its round table it organized under the title “Human Dignity and Palestinian Refugees”, on Thursday 27 July 2023.

A Round Table Organized by the Middle East Council of Churches

Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: in MECC, we dealt during wars with the displaced Palestinian, whom they were given the title of refugee, in various refugee camps, and our institution was the forerunner in serving these displaced persons

As part of its monthly seminars, the Middle East Council of Churches organized a round table entitled “Human Dignity and Palestinian Refugees”, on Thursday 27 July 2023, at the headquarters of the MECC General Secretariat in Beirut, with a hybrid participation of speakers from Lebanon and Palestine. Attendees were also university professors, specialists and students, who participated from the MECC offices and online.

The seminar, which was broadcasted live on the MECC Facebook page, included two sessions, from 9:30 am until 2 pm. The first session focused on “Palestinian Refugees, Legal and Social Reality”. The second session was entitled “Policies to Reduce the Suffering of the Palestinian Refugee”.

Peace in the name of the Lord Jesus, triumphant over nothingness and in whose name we gather.

It gives me great pleasure to address you through Rev. Rifaat Fikri, Associate Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches, who gave me the honor of reading my address to you at the opening of your conference ‘Respect for Creation is Glorification of the Creator’ that you are holding at the Faculty of Humanities and Theology in Maadi, Cairo.

I would like to share with you some of the concerns and aspirations related to the theme of the conference, as well as the organizer of this conference, i.e. the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), because of the strategic importance of these two dimensions for ecumenical action and its future in the Middle East.

The Association, which includes the seminaries and institutes of theology of the MECC member churches, is an exemplary work to be followed in the ecumenical field and embodies the thought and objectives of the MECC since its inception. It was founded by predecessors and followed for decades, then stopped its activity for various reasons. Its activity was revived a few years ago and continues at an escalating pace.

The Middle East Council of Churches, Communication and Public Relations Department, have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of August 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.

And MECC President for the Eastern Orthodox Family

Receives the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs in Beirut

As part of the tour of His Grace Anba Antonios, Metropolitan of Jerusalem and the Near East for the Coptic Orthodox Church, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Eastern Orthodox Family, in Lebanon, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs visited His Grace, on Wednesday 26 July 2023, at the headquarters of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Beirut.

The meeting was attended by Father Andraos Al Anthouny, Head of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Lebanon, and Father Abraham Al Anthouny, a Priest at the Monastery of Saint Anthony in the Red Sea.

God is the Pantocrator of all, the Bible is a guide for life, the Church is the port of salvation, and the family is an entity and security

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, met with a delegation from the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), on Tuesday 25 July 2023, at the Papal Residence in the Monastery of Saint Anba Bishoy in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt.

The delegation included 47 Deans and students from various Faculties of Theology, headed by Archimandrite Dr. Jack Khalil, ATIME’s President, and Dean of the Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology in Balamand, Lebanon, alongside Father Dr. Michael Kanbar, ATIME’s Executive Secretary, Priest and Professor, Reverend Dr. Bishoy Helmi, Associate Executive Secretary, and Professor at the Seminary’s Faculty, Reverend Dr. Samuel Razfi, Associate Executive Secretary, and Dean of the Evangelical Faculty of Theology, as well as a group of Deans who are members of ATIME.

Supporting the Ecumenical movement is a priority to achieve coexistence and an urgent necessity

90% of the Evangelical Authority's activity is inside Egypt and aim to serve the Egyptians, and we are proud to participate in the Presidential initiatives

Reverend Dr. Andrea Zaki, President of the Evangelical Churches in Egypt, the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services, met with a delegation including 40 Deans, Religious Leaders and students, who are members of the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), on Monday 24 July 2023, in Cairo.

Among the participants in the visit were Archimandrite Dr. Jack Khalil, ATIME’s President, and Dean of the Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology in Balamand, Lebanon, Father Dr. Michael Kanbar, ATIME’s Executive Secretary, Priest and Professor, Reverend Dr. Samuel Razfi, Associate Executive Secretary, and Dean of the Evangelical Faculty of Theology, Dr. Gergis Saleh, Honorary Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches, and Professor at the  Evangelical Faculty of Theology, and Father Dr. Bishoy Rasmi, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities.