Rescue Syria Campaign

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck the North of the Antiochian Levant, families in Syria are experiencing today a new emigration wave and facing additional life difficulties as a result of this catastrophe. The earthquake was like a fatal blow after years of war in Syria that cast a shadow over the Syrian people. In fact, thousands of survivors fled to shelters, where they are sleeping on the ground amidst a severe cold wave, or even lived in tents set up in parks and streets.

His Beatitude Patriarch John X: We will not sink in fear and darkness because we are the children of light and not the children of darkness

As part of his visit to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo, Alexandretta and Dependencies, with the beginning of Lent, and after the earthquake that hit the area, His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Orthodox family, was accompanied by the Archdiocese Bishop His Eminence Metropolitan Ephraim Maalouli and the Governor of Aleppo Hussein Diab, in a meeting at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Saint Elias. They met representatives of parties, institutions, relief work committees, associations and volunteers who worked to support the affected people by the earthquake disaster.

His Beatitude delivered a speech in which he expressed to the audience love and condolence. He said “It is more blessed to give than receive, and you gave the world a lesson through giving and devotion. The efforts made by each one of you proved that the storm of the harsh earthquake was replaced by the storm of love showed by the archdiocese through solidarity and support, acts of love and service to its people.”

Report: March 2nd, 2023

The Middle East Council of Churches is being involved in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in Syria under the name of "Rescue Syria Campaign" through which the Council shall be dealing with the relief efforts in this emergency period and later on with rehabilitation plans in order to help people survive properly and resume a normal life with dignity.

MECC will be publishing a periodical report under the name of "Rescue Syria Update" which will keep you informed about the developments of MECC action as well as the overall situation in a context analysis perspective. 

Mohamad Bitar Explains the Difficult Situations He Passed Through with His Family

On 6 February 2023, God gave Mohamad Bitar a new baby in Syria. A moment that is supposed to be one of the most beautiful moments in his life. However, the baby’s birth coincided with the time when the earthquake struck the North of Antioch.

A moment as if it were forever for Mohammad, who describes in the video the difficult conditions he passed through in order to save his newborn and family from among the rubble. Noting that his children are epileptic, and one of his daughters had a seizure while the earthquake occurred.

Manal Bitar Reports the First Moments of Terror

Following the earthquake that hit the North of Antioch, the Syrians witnessed scenes of horror, in every sense of the word… Scenes that will remain forever in their minds. This is in addition to the exacerbation of the tragedy that did not leave them for a day, especially with the journey towards searching for safety that Syrian families lost from the warmth of their homes, which were destroyed and seconds in front of them.

Manal Bitar, one of the survivors of this earthquake who firstly took refuge in the Church, recalls in the video, and with deep sadness, the first moments of the disaster.

Around 3 weeks has passed since the devastating earthquake that struck the Northern Antiochian Levant. Syria is still crying out in pain, wounded and sad… Its affected and afflicted people were not even able to restore their lives with dignity after the war destroyed their hopes and dreams.

In moments and due to the earthquake... the Syrians lost their loved ones, and also memories that they are searching for among the ruins of their homes and properties which were destroyed in front of them. Therefore, a new journey started: searching for safety. In fact, Churches were the first refuge for the affected people, in addition to the shelters that received many families.

Report: February 23th, 2023

The Middle East Council of Churches is being involved in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in Syria under the name of "Rescue Syria Campaign" through which the Council shall be dealing with the relief efforts in this emergency period and later on with rehabilitation plans in order to help people survive properly and resume a normal life with dignity.

MECC will be publishing a periodical report under the name of "Rescue Syria Update" which will keep you informed about the developments of MECC action as well as the overall situation in a context analysis perspective. 

It is the same region that had witnessed massacres and displacement, acts of human making about a century ago. Today, it is witnessing massacres and displacement caused by nature.

It is the same scene recuring today one hundred years later.

Cities, villages, and farms are emptied of their inhabitants, who either die or leave.

You find them homeless in their own land, looking for a shelter that will keep them away from the open air and from the cold of winter, as well as seeking a garment that would help cover their bodies exhausted by homelessness and destitution, and food that would merely keep them at mere subsistence level... In short, they are looking for the minimal requirement needed for maintaining human dignity.

Between human-made disasters, and natural disasters, great harm has beset human beings. We are facing groups living in one of the most important regions of the East in terms of thought, culture and faith. Their cities were lighthouses in the field of the human sciences and theology, still shining forth and guiding those who excel in these fields in this day and age.

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Participating in the Mass Meets with His Beatitude

And Also with Archimandrite Dr. Jack Khalil

His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Orthodox Family, presided over the Last Judgment Sunday Mass, on Sunday 19 February 2023, at Our Lady of Balamand Patriarchal Monastery in Lebanon. The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs participated in the Mass, alongside Human Rights Advocate Karl Abou Mrad.

During the Mass, His Beatitude Patriarch John X delivered a Homily in which he said, "Although Antioch is, in these days, feeling pain and wounded due the earthquake that struck our homes, and caused repercussions on all levels, as well as destruction in many Churches, I say this is the splendor of Antioch. Antioch stands forever and ever, and He is present is in the midst of all what is happening, and it will not be shaken...".

His Beatitude stressed that “the disciples of the Lord were first called Christians in Antioch,” and added, “if Christianity had a cradle, then there is the physical cradle where the Lord was born in Jerusalem, and the intellectual cradle, Antioch, from which the Apostle Paul started his preaching to all nations.”

Report: February 17th, 2023

The Middle East Council of Churches is being involved in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in Syria under the name of "Rescue Syria Campaign" through which the Council shall be dealing with the relief efforts in this emergency period and later on with rehabilitation plans in order to help people survive properly and resume a normal life with dignity.

MECC will be publishing a periodical report under the name of "Rescue Syria Update" which will keep you informed about the developments of MECC action as well as the overall situation in a context analysis perspective. 

Report: February 14th, 2023

The Middle East Council of Churches is being involved in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in Syria under the name of "Rescue Syria Campaign" through which the Council shall be dealing with the relief efforts in this emergency period and later on with rehabilitation plans in order to help people survive properly and resume a normal life with dignity.

MECC will be publishing a periodical report under the name of "Rescue Syria Update" which will keep you informed about the developments of MECC action as well as the overall situation in a context analysis perspective. 

Following the catastrophic earthquake that struck Syria and hit it to the core, the team of the Middle East Council of Churches in Syria made an interview with His Eminence Ephraim Maalouli, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Alexandretta and Dependencies, in which, and via the following video, he describes the first moments of terror they passed through due to the earthquake and how the Church worked to heal the wounds of the affected and afflicted people.

Report: February 12th, 2023

The Middle East Council of Churches is being involved in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in Syria under the name of "Rescue Syria Campaign" through which the Council shall be dealing with the relief efforts in this emergency period and later on with rehabilitation plans in order to help people survive properly and resume a normal life with dignity.

MECC will be publishing a periodical report under the name of "Rescue Syria Update" which will keep you informed about the developments of MECC action as well as the overall situation in a context analysis perspective. 

Video - Georges Batikha Survives the Disaster and Highlights the Urgent Needs

The earthquake which occurred at dawn on Monday 6 February 2023, was nothing but a fatal blow to the Syrians, who lost everything they owned. Immediately, the Middle East Council of Churches launched a relief appeal calling on the international community to support the Syrian people, urging the lifting of sanctions on wounded Syria.

Hence, the MECC team in Syria is seeking to heal the wounds of the afflicted people and support them on various levels.

In the video, Georges Batikha, a survivor of the earthquake, describes the difficulties they witnessed during the first actions they had to make following the disaster, stressing that the urgent needs are increasing daily.

Video - Rogina Makhoul Describes the Fear of the Afflicted Families and Children

The situation in Syria is very touching... Children are living in constant anxiety, families keep praying, hoping that hope will be restored despite all the pain. In fact, the earthquake that hit Syria is a great tragedy which left many people without a roof protecting them.

The Middle East Council of Churches, in coordination with the Churches of Syria, is making its efforts to help those affected. MECC launched an appeal in which it calls on the world to support Syria and help the country overcome this ordeal, and urges for the lifting of sanctions on the Syrian people.

In the video, Rogina Makhoul, a mother who survived the earthquake, highlights the first moments of terror that they experienced, describing the state of panic, fear and anxiety that families in Syria are suffering from.

New Photos Shows the Massive Disaster

The Syrian people are living very difficult days after the earthquake that struck the region and hit Syria to the core... The country is facing a huge catastrophe which destroyed the future of its people.

In fact, the Churches opened their doors to be a safe shelter for the afflicted and affected people who lost, in less than minutes, everything they owned. However, Prayer remains their only source of strength so that they can overcome this ordeal with deep faith and great hope in Jesus Christ.

You can find new photos taken by the Middle East Council of Churches’ team in Syria, showing the difficult humanitarian conditions in the wounded Aleppo, Syria.

It takes just a few seconds and everything changes!

A few seconds are enough to turn buildings into ruins, stable families to homelessness, living people obliterated from the face of the earth, rich people into beggars, and flourishing cities into hidden remnants.

Seconds and everything turns into  ashes!

The earthquake that hit the north of the Antiochian Levant reminded man, once again, how small, helpless, and worthless a creature he is without the protection of the Creator.

He  who was arrogant, arbitrary, and oppressive, you find him transformed into a dependent creature, in need of the least necessities of life in order to go on living.

How petty you are, O creature armed with might, in front of the horror of nature created by the Creator, He whom you forget when you are at the peak of your power.

You forget that He, who suspended the earth on the waters, washed the feet of his disciples and gave Himself for you. In the height of your dominance, you forget.

In Some Photos Taken by MECC

Amidst the political, economic, and health crises that the Syrian people are suffering from, Syria drowned, in less than moments, in a new catastrophe due to the earthquake that hit it at dawn on Monday 6 February 2023… Syria is stricken at the core.

The earthquake resulted massive destruction in the streets and heavy losses to public and private properties. As for the Syrians who survived the disaster, they passed through very difficult moments of terror which will remain engraved in their minds forever.

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.

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.

The MECC team distributed hygiene kits to 800 returning families to Kafr Nasej in the northern rural of Daraa, as part of its ongoing relief program.