The Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs of the East met from October 17-19, hosted by the Armenian Catholic Patriarch, H.B. Patriarch Nerces Bedros XIX in the Lady of Bzoummar Monastery, under the theme ³the Church and the Homeland². The MECC Participated in the opening ceremony, represented by th e MECC General Secretary and Ms. Alexa Abi Habib, Coordinator of the MECC Justice, Peace and Human rights Program. An important number of lay and clergy, and two former members of the Lebanese Parliament also attended the Conference.
Patriarchs discussed the issue of Christian emigration from the Middle East , addressing both negative and positive aspects and reasons of emigration. Th e Conference underlined the positive role played by the Christians in the Middle East over the past several centuries, emphasizing the importance of the active and enriching Christian presence in the life of individual countries, as the Christian human and spiritual heritage, belongs not only to the Church but to the whole world. Consequently, this trend should be stopped.
The positive aspects of emigration include the active and lively contributions of the emigrants to the mother Church, keeping the link both spiritually and socially, and building churches and congregations in the Diaspora.
Middle East Council of Churches Office of International Ecumenical Relations P.O. Box 5376, Beirut, Lebanon
Guirgis Ibrahim Saleh, General Secretary
mecc@cyberia.net.lb or guirgissaleh@cyberia.net.lb
+961-1-353-938 http://www.mec-churches.org/