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Overseeing the seminar were His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, president of the Middle East Council of Churches, and His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, and honorary president of the Middle East Council of Churches.
At the end of the seminar, the Middle East Council of Churches issued a statement in which it declared 22 April as "The Ecumenical Day for the Abducted and the Forcibly Absented.”
The seminar, which began with a joint statement issued by the Patriarchates of Antioch and All the East for the Greek Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox Churches, included sharing of testimonies and struggle, conceptual and legal approaches, and the rights of missing persons in light of transitional justice. The seminar ended with the statement of the Middle East Council of Churches.
During recent World Council of Churches (WCC) meetings—including gatherings of the regional ecumenical organizations and the Faith and Order Commission—the WCC prayed for the missing bishops and for an end to kidnapping and other forms of violence.
