“Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid”: MECC hosted by Coptic Church

Under the title: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid,” Mat 14:27, the General Assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) took off yesterday 16 May.

The 12th session of the general assembly which runs till 20 May is for the first time being held in Egypt. The Coptic Orthodox Church is hosting it, with support from the Evangelical Church in Egypt, at Logos Papal Centre in the Western Desert monastery of Anba Bishoy in Wadi al-Natroun, some 120km northwest Cairo. Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark presides over the 12th MECC general assembly.

Participating in the assembly are heads and representatives of the Eastern Churches. They discuss issues related with Christians of the Middle East, the challenges they face, their aspirations, and their strength in unity.

By the end of the assembly session, participants from the four ecclesiastical families of the council are expected to outline a future vision to ensure consolidation of the ecumenical spirit and the fulfillment of urgent humanitarian and social goals for the people of the Middle East.

Twenty-one Churches are represented in this MECC assembly, with 17 patriarchs and Church leaders participating. The participants include MECC presidents: Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, and President of MECC for the Eastern Orthodox family; Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and president of MECC for the Orthodox Family; Cardinal Mar Louis Raphael Sako, Patriarch of the Chaldeans in Iraq and the World, and president of MECC for the Catholic Family; and Rev. Dr Habib Badr, President of the National Evangelical Union in Lebanon and MECC President for the Evangelical Church. Heads of other Middle Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelical Churches are also attending the General Assembly session. A number of bishops are heading their Churches’ delegations.

Other guests are also attending the session; these include members of MECC executive committee, and MECC partners and friends from various Churches and ecumenical organisations in the world such as Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Cyprus, UAE, UK, USA, Germany, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland. MECC Secretary General Michel Abs is heading MECC Associate Secretaries General and the team of the Council’s General Secretariat.

Workshops that tackle MECC Strategies include: Diakonia and Social Service, Communication and Advocacy, Christian Witness and Ecumenical Relations, Dialogue and Social Cohesion – Social Capital Rehabilitation, and Organisational Development and Sustainability.

The 12th session should also see the election of new MECC presidents and members of the executive committee for the next four years.

The General Assembly is the supreme authority of the Middle East Council of Churches; it holds a regular meeting every four years to discuss matters related to Christian presence in the Middle East. Coronavirus pandemic however, prevented the General Assembly being held on its scheduled date in 2020.