Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - “May the schisms in the Church cease”. Referring to a prayer from the Coptic liturgy, the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros called for overcoming schisms on the occasion of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), founded in Nicosia in 1974. The celebration, which took place on Saturday 14 September at the new headquarters of the Patriarchate in Cairo, was attended by the Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak and Pastor Andrea Zaki, President of the Protestant Communities in Egypt. Also present was Professor Michel Abs, Secretary General of the MECC, who was recently re-elected for another four years. Pope Tawadros, in his speech, which recalled the first Psalm, compared the Middle East Council of Churches to a planted tree that bears its fruit in due season. The Patriarch also quoted some Coptic prayers that ask for an end to division between brothers and the restoration of unity. “At a time when wars and pressures of various kinds are also increasing the migration of Christians from the Middle East,” added the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch, “the MECC promotes the rooting of native Christians in their land, also through cooperation with academic institutions of the various Churches.” “I greatly value the role of the Middle East Council of Churches, not only at the ecumenical level, but also at the level of dialogue between other religions, and this dialogue is essential in our society,” added Pope Tawadros. In his speech, Professor Abs recalled the work for unity among Christians, carried out even "in delicate and difficult phases" and which has always contributed to maintaining contacts of closeness and communion between the various Churches and Ecclesial Communities. The program of the celebrations included the screening of two films/documentaries on the Middle East Council of Churches and a performance by the "San Marco" choir of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Middle East Council of Churches, founded in Nicosia in 1974 and currently based in Beirut, aims to promote the rapprochement of the Christian communities of the Middle East on issues of common interest and to contribute to overcoming confessional differences. About thirty Churches and Ecclesial Communities are members of the MECC, belonging to four different "families": the Catholic, the Orthodox, the Eastern Orthodox and the Evangelical. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 17/9/2024
