The National Evangelical Church of Beirut (NEC) is a reformed church in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, member of the

National Evangelical Church Union of Lebanon The National Evangelical Church Union of Lebanon was founded by Presbyterian and Congregational missionaries from the United States. It is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. History The first reformed church was built in 1869. Th ...

History

Established in the Lebanese capital,

, in 1848 by

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

American missionaries, the NEC is the oldest and the largest of nine congregations situated outside Beirut in the towns of Abeih, Aramoun, Khaldeh,

Kafarshima Kfarshima ( ar, كفرشيما), also spelled Kfarchima, is a town in the Baabda District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, southeast of Beirut and is part of Greater Beirut. The town is populated by Lebanese Christians: mainly Melkite Greek ...

Hadath Al-Ḥadath al-Ḥamrā' (Arabic for "Hadath the Red") or Adata ( el, ) was a town and fortress near the Taurus Mountains (modern southeastern Turkey), which played an important role in the Byzantine–Arab Wars. Location The town was located ...

, Dbayyeh,

Jdeideh Jdeideh ( ar, جديدة المتن translit. al-Judaydat), also Jdayde, Jdaideh and Jdeidet el-Matn, is a coastal municipality and the administrative capital of the Matn District in the Mount Lebanon Governorate. Jdeideh has an area of approxim ...

and

Dhour el-Shweir Dhour El Choueir ( ar, ضهور الشوير), sometimes Dhour Shweir, is a mountain town in Lebanon ('dhour' meaning 'summit, top f a mountain) located in the Matn District. It lies slightly north of the main Beirut - Damascus highway, overlook ...

. The National Evangelical Church of Beirut is the headquarters and administrative centre of these nine churches which operate under the name of the

National Evangelical Union of Lebanon The National Evangelical Church Union of Lebanon was founded by Presbyterian and Congregational missionaries from the United States. It is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. History The first reformed church was built in 1869. Th ...

(NEUL). In 1870, the first Evangelical Church was built to house the Arabic and English speaking congregations. During the next hundred years, the church was the centre for all the activities and celebrations of both communities. Then during the Lebanese civil war (1975–1990) it was totally destroyed except for the bell tower and its congregation consequently scattered. Since its reconstruction in 1998, the National Evangelical Church of Beirut has been standing again in the heart of

's Central District, re-gathering its people with its worship services presided by Rev. Dr. Habib Badr as well as with its many socio-cultural and educational activities. On 4 August 2020, the church was badly damaged in the Beirut explosion, when all of its

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows were blown out.

References

External links

The National Evangelical Church of BeirutJohann Ludwig Schneller SchuleMiddle-East Council of ChurchesThe Near East School of Theology
{{Demographics of Lebanon Protestant churches in Lebanon Churches in Beirut 2020 Beirut explosion Religious organizations established in 1848 1848 establishments in Asia Churches completed in 1870 Churches completed in 1998 Evangelicalism in Lebanon

History

See also

References

External links