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As World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay began a visit to Lebanon on 20 March, his agenda included a private meeting with His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Holy See of Cilicia.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay will visit Lebanon from 19-22 March, to commemorate the 50th jubilee of the Middle East Council of Churches and meet with all WCC member churches from Lebanon and Syria. 

H.E. Mor Boutros Kassis, who has been serving the community for the last seven years as a temporary bishop, was installed as archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Aleppo on 15 October.

Gathered on 24 June as part of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee meeting, representatives from churches and ecumenical organizations in the Middle East took stock of old and new challenges in the region where Christianity itself originated, reflecting on the contributions Middle Eastern Christians can make at the upcoming WCC 11th Assembly. 

Rev. Raban Gabriel Dahho was consecrated on 10 April as the new archbishop for Jerusalem, the Holy Land and Jordan at the hands of His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church. The consecration took place at St Ephraim Cathedral in Amman, Jordan.

The WCC Permanent Committee on Consensus and Collaboration issued a communique on 9 April calling for the release of two metropolitans of Aleppo, His Eminence Boulos (Yazigi), from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and His Eminence Mor Youhanna Gregorios (Ibrahim) from the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East.

On 25 March, His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church, officially blessed and opened Suboro TV, which will offer religious, cultural and social programs that aim to fulfill the spiritual needs of Syriac people.

WCC News met with the Very Reverend Archimandrite Dr Alexi Chehadeh, who leads the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East in Damascus, Syria. He is an impressive role model and peacemaker in Syria.

Representing hope in the face of adversity, the Antioch Syrian University opened its doors on 8 September in Ma’arat Sednaya, about 20 km from Damascus.

His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church, concluded a maiden apostolic visit to the Sultanate of Oman. The highlight of the five-day visit was the consecration of the new church, Mor Shmouni, in Ghala, Muscat, Oman, on 10 May.

The WCC remembers today, 24 April, the 1.5 million Armenian victims – children, women and men – who died 100 years ago.

High officials from ancient Christian churches in the Near East have issued a common statement denouncing the emergence of armed extremist groups who “murder, shatter and violate the sacred nature of the churches” and other suffering communities in the Middle East.

Early Thursday morning – the very morning he would gather with his WCC colleagues to talk about unity among churches and solidarity in conflicts - Metropolitan Eustathius Matta Roham watched a disturbing video recorded in Syria.

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), extended greetings from the worldwide fellowship of churches to His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II during a celebration in Beirut on 1 June following his enthronement as Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All East, and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church.

Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, newly elected patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East, has received congratulations and an affirmation of support from the WCC general secretary.