Middle East Council of Churches

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) is a regional ecumenical organization headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon. It was inaugurated at its First General Assembly in Nicosia, Cyprus, in May 1974, with the purpose of deepening spiritual fellowship among churches in the Middle East and encouraging them to act together. The council was established around a “family of churches” model rather than as a single ecclesiastical body. Its founding participants were the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Evangelical or Protestant church families. The Catholic churches of the region joined in 1990, creating the four-family structure that continues to define the council’s governance. Each church family receives equal representation in the council’s principal governing structures and General Assembly. The organization is led by four co-presidents, one from each family, and a Secretary General supported by three Associate Secretaries General. The council is affiliated with the wider ecumenical movement and is a member of the World Council of Churches. Through its member churches, it represents and serves Christian communities in more than 14 countries across North Africa, the Levant, Iraq, Iran, Cyprus, and the Persian Gulf, with the reference material describing its constituency as approximately 14 million Christians. MECC’s work is divided into Core Programs and Service Programs. Its ecumenical relations work promotes Christian unity and cooperation among churches with different theological and historical traditions. Its inter-religious relations program supports Christian-Muslim dialogue and other forms of religious engagement in a region where interfaith relations are central to social and political life. Communications, publications, documentation, and archives preserve and circulate material concerning the churches and the history of the ecumenical movement in the Middle East. Past publications have appeared in Arabic, French, and English. The council also operates or supports humanitarian and development initiatives through affiliated departments and regional offices. Its Diakonia and Social Justice work addresses the rights and protection of migrants and refugees, with particular attention to women and children. The Inter-church Network for Development and Relief, founded in 1975 to respond to needs in Lebanon, provides child protection, psychosocial assistance, rights education, and food-security support; the network is described as financially and administratively autonomous from MECC. MECC offices in Syria and Jordan have responded to displacement and refugee needs, including humanitarian aid, support for Syrian internally displaced people, rehabilitation of school water systems, and community-development projects for Iraqi and Syrian refugees. Its Department of Services for Palestinian Refugees, established in 1951 after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, works in areas including the West Bank, Gaza, Nazareth, Lebanon, and Jordan. MECC has also participated in regional Christian statements and initiatives involving the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem. Its work sits at the intersection of church cooperation, humanitarian service, social justice, interfaith dialogue, and preservation of Christian presence and heritage in the Middle East. The council is not a commercial consumer brand; its “brand” is better understood as the public identity of a regional religious and humanitarian network.

The Middle East Council of Churches was inaugurated in May 1974 during its First General Assembly in Nicosia, Cyprus. Its creation reflected the need for a regional body capable of bringing together churches that shared a Christian identity but belonged to distinct ecclesiastical and theological traditions. From the beginning, the council adopted four-family terminology in substance, although its original membership consisted of three families: Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Evangelical or Protestant churches. The structure was intended to give the participating traditions balanced representation while allowing each family to determine its own delegates and internal representation. The council’s stated mission was to deepen spiritual fellowship among the churches of the Middle East and unite them in word and action. It became part of the broader modern ecumenical movement associated with the World Council of Churches and developed a role that extended beyond formal theological dialogue. Alongside ecumenical relations, the council addressed inter-religious relations, communications, historical documentation, and practical service to communities affected by conflict, displacement, poverty, and political instability. A major institutional change took place in 1990, when the Catholic churches of the region joined the council. The Latin Church and Eastern Catholic churches were represented collectively as the Catholic family. Their admission expanded the council from three to four church families and led to a corresponding change in the leadership model: the council’s three co-presidents became four, with one representing each family. Equal family representation remained a central feature of the General Assembly and governing bodies. The council’s leadership history began with Albert Istero, who served as the first Secretary General from 1974 to 1977. Gabriel Habib followed and held the position until 1994. In November 1994, Riad Jarjour was elected Secretary General and served two terms. At the Eighth General Assembly in 2003, he was succeeded by Guirgis Saleh, a Coptic Orthodox theologian and professor. Saleh served until 2011, when the Maronite priest Boulos Rouhana was appointed. Rouhana’s tenure ended after he was appointed a bishop in the Maronite Church. Following a transitional period, the Executive Committee elected Michel Jalakh, also a Maronite priest, in 2013 as the council’s sixth Secretary General. Membership and representation have not been without theological and institutional difficulty. The Assyrian Church of the East sought membership in 1985, invoking its historical connection with the Eastern Christian traditions, but the request was not accepted. A later proposal in 1994, made in the context of improved Christological relations between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, also failed. The reference material attributes the outcome to opposition from the Coptic Orthodox Church, which at that time maintained a theological objection to the Assyrian tradition. The council therefore continued to represent the four established families without including the Churches of the two councils associated with the ancient Church of the East. MECC’s programmatic development has combined ecumenical and service functions. Core programs include ecumenical relations, inter-religious relations, communications, and documentation and archives. The council has supported Christian unity initiatives and contributed resources to the 2022 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, whose theme concerned the visit of the wise men from the East. Its inter-religious work has included Christian-Muslim dialogue, while its communications and archives programs have helped preserve the record of church cooperation in the region. Service work expanded through affiliated departments and country offices. The Inter-church Network for Development and Relief was founded in 1975 to address needs in Lebanon and later provided psychosocial services, child protection, rights education, and food-security assistance. The Department of Services for Palestinian Refugees, originally formed in 1951 in response to the humanitarian consequences of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, developed into a multi-location service organization working in Palestinian communities across the West Bank, Gaza, Nazareth, Lebanon, and Jordan. In later years, MECC programs responded to the Syrian war and associated displacement, including assistance for internally displaced people, water and sanitation rehabilitation in schools, and refugee support in Jordan for Iraqi and Syrian communities. The council is headquartered in Beirut and maintains offices in Cairo and Amman, together with liaison offices in Damascus, Jerusalem, and Tehran. Through its member churches and regional structures, it works across more than 14 countries. Its contemporary identity is consequently both ecclesial and humanitarian: it acts as a platform for cooperation among Middle Eastern churches while delivering or coordinating assistance for refugees, displaced people, children, women, and other vulnerable groups.

• 2022

  Contribution to Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

  [1]Middle East Council of Churchesen.wikipedia.org

  MECC provided the theme and developed resources for the World Council of Churches and Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity observance.

• 2013

  Michel Jalakh elected Secretary General

  [1]Middle East Council of Churchesen.wikipedia.org

  After a transitional period following Boulos Rouhana’s appointment as a bishop, the Executive Committee elected Michel Jalakh as Secretary General.

• 2003

  Guirgis Saleh becomes Secretary General

  [1]Middle East Council of Churchesen.wikipedia.org

  The Eighth General Assembly replaced Riad Jarjour with Guirgis Saleh, a Coptic Orthodox theologian and professor.

• 1990

  Catholic churches join

  [1]Middle East Council of Churchesen.wikipedia.org

  Latin and Eastern Catholic churches of the region joined MECC as its fourth church family, changing the council’s representation and presidency structure.

• 1975

  Inter-church Network for Development and Relief founded

  [1]Middle East Council of Churchesen.wikipedia.org

  The network was created to respond to needs in Lebanon and later developed humanitarian, protection, psychosocial, and food-security activities.

• 1974

  Council inaugurated in Nicosia

  [1]Middle East Council of Churchesen.wikipedia.org

  The Middle East Council of Churches was inaugurated at its First General Assembly in Cyprus, initially bringing together Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Evangelical church families.

• 1951

  Department of Services for Palestinian Refugees established

  [1]Middle East Council of Churchesen.wikipedia.org

  A service department was formed in response to the humanitarian crisis following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and later developed programs in Palestinian communities across several countries.

A region-wide Christian ecumenical network combining church-to-church cooperation with interfaith dialogue, humanitarian relief, refugee assistance, social justice, and preservation of Middle Eastern Christian history.

• Christian unity and church cooperation

  Ecumenical Relations Program

  The program serves as a bridge among the region’s Christian traditions. It supports dialogue on Christian unity, cooperation among the four church families, and participation in wider ecumenical initiatives such as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

• Interfaith dialogue

  Inter-religious Relations Program

  This program engages other religious communities in the Middle East, with a historical emphasis on Christian-Muslim dialogue and the development of relationships across religious boundaries.

• Social justice and protection

  Diakonia and Social Justice

  The Diakonia and Social Justice unit focuses on the rights, protection, life, and dignity of migrants and refugees, especially women and children affected by displacement and vulnerability.

• Humanitarian and development services · 1975

  Inter-church Network for Development and Relief

  Founded in 1975 for work in Lebanon, this affiliated network provides psychosocial support, child protection, rights education, assistance for Syrian refugee women and children, and food-security programming. It is described as financially and administratively autonomous from MECC.

• Humanitarian response

  Syrian Internally Displaced Persons Program

  Administered through the MECC Syria Office, this program responds to the Syrian war by distributing humanitarian assistance and rehabilitating water systems in schools to restore water and sanitation access.

• Refugee assistance

  Iraqi and Syrian Refugees Program

  Operated through the MECC Jordan Office, the program provides humanitarian aid and community-development projects for Iraqi and Syrian refugees living in Jordan.

• Refugee and community services · 1951

  Department of Services for Palestinian Refugees

  Established in 1951, the department developed from an emergency response to the displacement caused by the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Its work has included services in the West Bank, Gaza, Nazareth, Lebanon, and Jordan.

• 2022Week of Prayer for Christian Unity resources

  Middle East · International

  MECC supplied the theme and prepared resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity organized through the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

  Outcome. The initiative connected MECC’s regional ecumenical work with a global Christian unity observance.

  Source

• 1994

  Second unsuccessful Assyrian membership proposalOther

  Background

  A further proposal arose in the same year as the Catholic-Assyrian Common Christological Declaration.

  Action taken

  The proposal to admit the Assyrian Church of the East did not secure acceptance, with the reference material attributing the opposition to the Coptic Orthodox Church’s theological objections at the time.

  Aftermath

  The four-family membership structure remained unchanged.

  Source

• 1990

  Admission of the Catholic church familyOther

  Background

  The council originally consisted of three church families. Regional Catholic churches sought participation in the ecumenical structure.

  Action taken

  Latin and Eastern Catholic churches joined collectively as the fourth church family, and the leadership structure expanded from three co-presidents to four.

  Aftermath

  The four-family model became the council’s defining governance arrangement.

  Source

• 1985

  Membership request by the Assyrian Church of the EastOther

  Background

  The Assyrian Church of the East requested admission, referring to its Eastern Christian heritage.

  Action taken

  The membership request was not accepted.

  Aftermath

  The council continued without representation from the Churches of the two councils associated with the ancient Church of the East.

  Source

1. 1Middle East Council of Churchesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Middle East Council of Churches official websitemecc.org