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The Middle East Council of Churches was inaugurated in May 1974 at its First General Assembly in Nicosia, Cyprus, and is now headquartered in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Initially it contained three "families" of Christian Churches in the Middle East, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Evangelical Churches. These were joined in 1990 at the MECC Fifth Assembly by the Catholic Churches of the region.〔http://mecc.org/content/introduction-mecc〕 It is a regional council affiliated with the mainstream ecumenical movement which also gave birth to the World Council of Churches, of which the Middle East Council of Churches is also a member.〔https://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/middle-east〕 The MECC is headed by a Secretary General and supported by three Associate Secretaries General. Its four co-presidents each represent the four church families: the Oriental Orthodox, the Eastern Orthodox, the Catholic, and the Evangelical (Protestant). The MECC is composed of two program categories: Core Programs and Service Programs. The MECC has offices in Cairo and Amman, with liaison offices in Damascus, Jerusalem and Tehran. Through the membership of its four Church families, the MECC is spread over 14 countries from Northern Africa, the Levant, Iraq, Iran and the Persian Gulf, representing 14 million Christians.〔 ==History== The MECC was founded in May 1974 at its first General Assembly in Nicosia, Cyprus with the stated purpose to "deepen the spiritual fellowship among the churches of the Middle East, and to unite them in word and deed."〔http://mecc.demo.dot.com.jo/sites/default/files/MECC%20by%20Law.pdf〕 From the outset, the MECC adopted the model of "families of churches". The Eastern Orthodox, the Oriental Orthodox and the Protestants were the three founding families. In 1990 the Catholic Churches (Latin and Oriental rite) joined the council, constituting the Catholic family within the MECC. Each family is equally represented in the governing bodies and the general assembly, and decides on its own representation.〔https://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/middle-east/mecc〕 The MECC initially had three co-presidents, representing each of the Christian "families", becoming four after the Catholic Churches joined in 1990. The first Secretary General of the MECC from 1974 to 1977 was the Reverend Albert Istero. He was succeeded by Gabriel Habib, from 1977 to 1994. In November 1994, the Reverend Dr. Riad Jarjour was elected Secretary General. He was replaced after two terms by Guirgis Saleh, a Coptic Orthodox theologian and professor, at the Eighth General Assembly in 2003 and served until 2011, at which point Father Boulos Rouhana, of the Maronite Church, was appointed. The term of Father Boulos Rouhana was cut short when he was appointed to the position of Bishop in the Maronite Church. Following a transitional period, Father Dr. Michel Jalakh, also of the Maronite Church, was elected by the Executive committee in 2013 to serve as the sixth Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Middle East Council of Churches」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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