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Middle East Council of Churches general secretary Dr Michel Abs, who moderated the webinar, noted that, in times of war, the church is called to diakonia. “Prayer remains the heart of the church—but true prayer must also become action,” he said. “This is one of the most powerful forms of Christian witness: service without discrimination.”
The presence of the church is not just symbolic—it’s deeply practical, Abs further noted. "Sometimes the most Christian act is to remain when everyone else has left,” he said.
Fr Antoine Al Ahmar, a Catholic priest member of the Lebanese Maronite Order, serves as director of the Theological and Ecumenical Department at the Middle East Council of Churches. He offered a glimpse into the tension between giving in secret and visible service. “It is first of all a matter of the heart, of intention,” he said, noting that we give not to seek attention, or applause, or any sort of reward.
“That’s what we call grace,” he said. “Jesus is calling us to purity of intention.”
Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, WCC programme director for Life, Justice, and Peace, reflected that the Middle East is a region that is sacred for the three monotheistic religions but is too often described with language of violence. Really, he noted, “it is very easy for us to speak in generalities when we are speaking about war but in reality war is real victims: faces, names,” he said. “The Council on Foreign relations reports that the number of ongoing conflicts is the highest since 1945.”
Mtata also offered a reflection encompassing theological grounding for diakonia amid war.
George Majaj, regional representative for the ACT Alliance in the Middle East and North Africa, introduced the ACT Alliance’s structure, and how it operates through national and regional forums.
Samer Laham, who established the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development within the Patriarchate of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in Syria and Lebanon, reflected that diakonia has remained at the heart of the mandate and strategic vision of Middle East Council of Churches. He described how, over the years, the resources of the Middle East Council of Churches have enabled local churches to respond more effectively.
Sarah Savva, deputy director-general of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development, shared a vision of faith in action, and described how the department works with 24 international partners.
Hisham Saad, executive director of the St Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee in Syria, offered an overview of the committee’s work as the relief arm of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate.
Fr Samir Ghawi, president of Caritas Lebanon, spoke about not only the role of Caritas Lebanon but also about the role of all the staff and all the partners with which Caritas Lebanon works. “We work all together, we work in a very difficult situation, and we work in very difficult times,” said Ghawi.
Fr Movses Garen Yosolkanianhe from the Armenian Apostolic Church - Holy See of Cilicia, who coordinates regional eco-justice initiatives linking Christian faith with environmental stewardship within the Middle East Council of Churches, reiterated the role of the church related to diakonia. “The church cannot remain confined within its walls,” he said. “It must go out into the world, into places of pain, injustice, and suffering.”
He described how diaconal programs serve many people at all phases of life. “In times of peace, they build communities,” he said. “In times of crisis, they become lifelines."
Amir D Bitar, executive director of the Compassion Protestant Society, the diaconal arm of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon, spoke of the deep reasons why diaconal response is so important. “When families are displaced, homes are destroyed, institutions are overwhelmed, and communities are fractured, perhaps one of the greatest dangers of war is that it teaches society to stop seeing people as human beings,” he said.
Sami El-Yousef, chief executive officer of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, brought greetings and insights from the Old City of Jerusalem, where four generations of his family have lived. “I’d like to point out that, for four generations of my family, none of us holds a birth certificate from the same governing authority, yet we were all born in the same house in the city of Jerusalem,” he said, reflecting that, for over 150 years, while the governing bodies have shifted, the church has remained constant.
Global Prayer for Peace in the Middle East: “we are one world and one human family”
