Middle East Council of Churches
Encyclopedia
After many years of preliminary moves, the Middle East Council of Churches was inaugurated in May 1974 at its First General Assembly in Nicosia
, Cyprus
. Initially it contained three "families" of Christian Churches in the Middle East
, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Protestant Churches. These were joined in 1990 at the MECC Fifth Assembly by the seven Catholic Churches
of the region.
It is a regional council affiliated with the ecumenical World Council of Churches
.
The MECC initially had three co-presidents, representing each of the Christian "families", becoming four after the Catholic Churches joined in 1990.
The first General Secretary of the MECC from 1974 to 1977 was Rev. Albert Istero. He was succeeded by Gabriel Habib, from 1977 to 1994. In November 1994, Rev. Dr. Riad Jarjour
was elected General Secretary. He was replaced after two terms by Guirgis Saleh, a Coptic Orthodox theologian and professor, at the Eighth General Assembly in 2003.
The MECC has offices in Beirut
, Cairo
, Limassol
and Amman
, with liaison offices in Damascus
, Jerusalem and Tehran
.
(Source: MECC)
Nicosia
Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. Initially it contained three "families" of Christian Churches in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Protestant Churches. These were joined in 1990 at the MECC Fifth Assembly by the seven Catholic Churches
Catholic Church (disambiguation)
Catholic Church most often refers to:* The Roman Catholic Church, i.e. the Western and the 22 Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with the Bishop of Rome...
of the region.
It is a regional council affiliated with the ecumenical World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
.
The MECC initially had three co-presidents, representing each of the Christian "families", becoming four after the Catholic Churches joined in 1990.
The first General Secretary of the MECC from 1974 to 1977 was Rev. Albert Istero. He was succeeded by Gabriel Habib, from 1977 to 1994. In November 1994, Rev. Dr. Riad Jarjour
Riad Jarjour
Rev. Dr. Riad Jarjour is a Syrian Christian clergyman who has served as General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches between 1994 and 2003. Born in Aleppo and grew up in the city of Homs.-Biography:...
was elected General Secretary. He was replaced after two terms by Guirgis Saleh, a Coptic Orthodox theologian and professor, at the Eighth General Assembly in 2003.
The MECC has offices in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Limassol
Limassol
Limassol is the second-largest city in Cyprus, with a population of 228,000 . It is the largest city in geographical size, and the biggest municipality on the island. The city is located on Akrotiri Bay, on the island's southern coast and it is the capital of Limassol District.Limassol is the...
and Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, with liaison offices in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Jerusalem and Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
.
Oriental Orthodox Family
- The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia
- The Coptic Orthodox Church
- The Syriac Orthodox ChurchSyriac Orthodox ChurchThe Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
Eastern Orthodox Family
- Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All AfricaGreek Orthodox Church of AlexandriaThe Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, also known as the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Orthodox Christianity.Officially, it is called the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria to distinguish it from the...
- Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East
- Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
- Church of Cyprus
Catholic Family
- Armenian Catholic ChurchArmenian Catholic Church|- |The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church sui juris in union with the other Eastern Rite, Oriental Rite and Latin Rite Catholics who accept the Bishop of Rome as spiritual leader of the Church. It is regulated by Eastern canon law...
of Cilicia - Chaldean Catholic ChurchChaldean Catholic ChurchThe Chaldean Catholic Church , is an Eastern Syriac particular church of the Catholic Church, maintaining full communion with the Bishop of Rome and the rest of the Catholic Church...
of Babylon - Coptic Catholic Church of Alexandria
- Greek Melkite Catholic Church & Jerusalemhttp://www.mliles.com/melkite/indexmelkite.shtml
- Latin Patriarchate of JerusalemLatin Patriarch of JerusalemThe Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is the title possessed by the Latin Rite Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem. The Archdiocese of Jerusalem has jurisdiction for all Latin Rite Catholics in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Cyprus...
http://www.lpj.org/, part of the larger Latin Rite of the Catholic Church - Maronite Catholic Church http://www.bkerke.org.lb/
- Syrian Catholic Church of Antioch
Evangelical Family
- Evangelical Church of Egypt (Synod of the Nile)
- Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East
- Diocese of Egypt
- Diocese of Jerusalemhttp://www.jerusalem.anglican.org/
- Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf
- Diocese of Iran
- Episcopal Church in the Sudan
- Evangelical Church in Sudan
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Landhttp://www.elcjhl.org/
- Synod of the Evangelical Church in Iran
- National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon
- National Evangelical Union of Lebanon
- Presbyterian Church in the Sudan
- Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near EastUnion of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near EastThe Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East is an autonomous body of churches comprising 25 congregations throughout Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Iran Iraq and Australia...
- Protestant Church in Algeria
- Reformed Church of Tunisia - French-speaking
- National Evangelical Church in Kuwait
(Source: MECC)