Under the slogan, “The Church in the Middle East: Deep-rooted in Grace”, the Catholic Churches of the East convene in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia, on 20-23 April an international conference marking the 10th anniversary of the launching of the Apostolic Exhortation: “The Church in the Middle East.”

The late Pope Benedict XVI signed this apostolic exhortation at St. Paul's Cathedral in Harissa, Lebanon, on September 14, 2012, during his historic visit to Lebanon. This apostolic exhortation came on the heels of the Synod of Bishops that was chaired by Pope Benedict XVI in October 2010 after having presented as well "a working document" in Cyprus during his apostolic visit.

The conference is organized by the Vatican Department of Eastern Churches, in the presence of Perfect of the Dicastery of Eastern Churches Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, Secretary of the Dicastery Fr. Michel Jalakh, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (which includes Palestine, Jordan, the Galilee and Cyprus), and the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO) in cooperation with Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan and Cyprus Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Tozo.

The participants in the three-day conference include Catholic patriarchs of the East, a number of bishops and priests, nuns, and pastoral functionaries. The conferences includes work, prayers and meditations on the output presented by the Apostolic Exhortation relevant to the Church in the East, and how to activate these recommendations in the future.

The opening session began, on Thursday, April 20 following a solemn Holy Mass according to the Syriac Catholic rite.

After the opening prayer led by Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Perfect of the Dicastery of Eastern Churches and head of the conference Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti delivered a welcoming address in which he presented the outlines of the conference, especially his call on donor departments not to give the impression that they serve as "a teacher" of the Eastern Churches, but rather they are servants of the suffering people who plead the mercy of the Lord by following the model of the Churches of the East.

Then, Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan and Cyprus Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Tozo delivered an address in which he stated that the incarnation of the Lord took place here, and that the Churches of the East are witnesses to this divine incarnation, which perplexes us, but it responds to the strong human desire to see God.