At the day eight of prayers, the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” ended after daily prayers that sowed hope and desire to achieve this unity at which the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) had always strived, since its establishment in 1974. This year was exceptional since public celebrations were postponed due to the outbreak of the pandemic worldwide. It was replaced by several virtual ecumenical prayers and webinars during which religious officials, youth movements and believers participated together under the title of “To remain in God’s love and in self-reconciliation". (John 15: 1 -17)

For this occasion, Dr. Michel Abs, the MECC Secretary General, addressed a message titled, "Be one, Discourse on Unity and Solidarity”, in which he underlined the concept of unity, the benefits of achieving it on the life and destiny of the group!

Dr. Abs started his message by identifying the prayer as one of the effective paths to the unity of the faith community. "But reaching the unity and the solidarity of the group requires other paths”, he added. Also, he considered unity as a target, and "the target deserves for the person to make the best attempts in order to achieve it", describing it as “a value in itself!”

In addition, Dr. Michel Abs, the MECC Secretary General, emphasized the divine transfiguration that appeared to creation, “in the form of one God we worship and thank him for his gifts, we resort to him in misfortunes...” As well as, he pointed out that “the one incarnate God, then, is the final destination, the Alpha and the Omega, of the unity of the universe, the unity of creation and the unity of creatures, which are called to unite in the image and representation of the Creator”. He added “the Holy Trinity is one incarnate God… “Be one,” the Master told us”.

Quoting what Jesus said “remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me”, Dr. Abs concluded “if the branch splits and does not unite with the vine, it will not bear fruit, and its fate will be desperate”.

Moreover, he continued and said “the opposite of Unity is division… and the unknown fate”, and explained the difference between diversity and division, “the believing group diversifies does not mean that it is divided. Diversity is riches, division is misery”. Therefore, he saw that the “lack of diversity stifles human creativity and harms human dignity and social progress”. He also stressed that “unity is not a lack of diversity, but rather an organization of it”, and “what is important is for unity to remain in diversity, that is, for the group to have a unity of spirituality and path, regardless of its formation and the various ways of expressing its belief”. Dr. Abs announced that “only in unity does existence hold together, and the group becomes compact, solidifies and wins the struggle for survival”.

Dr. Abs concluded his message saying "Whenever the group is able to diversify within the unit, "on that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. Love each other as I loved you”. So, “either you are a compact, tenacious bundle resisting nothingness, or you will be broken stick by stick. The decision is yours!”