The Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches (FMEEC) is an

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

organisation comprising

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

with representatives from

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. Established in 1974, the current president of the FMEEC is the Rev Dr Andrea Zaki.

History

Early cooperation

Protestant churches and missions were one of the early proponents of ecumenism and inter-church cooperation in the Middle East. In 1911, an inter-Protestant effort was initiated 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 ...

leading to the establishment of the United Missionary Council in 1920. A parallel development occurred in 1924 when a Conference for Workers in Moslem Lands was convened in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

leading to the eventual formation of the Western Asia and North Africa Council in

Helwan Helwan ( ar, حلوان ', , cop, ϩⲁⲗⲟⲩⲁⲛ, Halouan) is a city in Egypt and part of Greater Cairo, on the bank of the Nile, opposite the ruins of Memphis. Originally a southern suburb of Cairo, it served as the capital of the now de ...

in 1927. Other early cooperative efforts that stemmed from these early initiatives were the Missionary Conference of Syria and Palestine and the Missionary Conference of all Egypt. These various groups eventually united as the Near East Christian Council in 1927.

Near East Council of Churches

As missionary influences gradually reduced, the Near East Christian Council took on a more indigenous flavour. As amicable contact and informal cooperation between the Protestants and the Eastern and

Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

Orthodox continued to develop, the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

established formal cooperation with the Protestants in 1962 and enlarged council became known as the Near East Council of Churches.

Middle East Council of Churches

In 1964, dialogue began to form a larger ecumenical organisation in the Middle East incorporating the various Church traditions present in the region. This meant that the Protestants had to intentionally take a smaller administrative role in coordinating inter-church work. The result of this dialogue was the establishment of the

Middle East Council of Churches The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) was inaugurated in May 1974 at its First General Assembly in Nicosia, Cyprus, and now has its headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon. Initially it consisted of three "families" of Christian Churches in the Mid ...

in 1974. A Protestant specific fellowship was also retained and became formally known as the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches in the same year.

Current developments

Efforts continue to be made to establish full fellowship and communion between the member churches of the FMECC. In 1997, the FMECC tabled a Proposal for the Unity of the Evangelical Churches in the Middle East but failed to achieve agreement between the member churches. A renewed effort was made in 2005 focusing on member churches of the

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

and

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

traditions and in 2006 an agreement was reached in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

for full communion was reached with the signing of the Amman Declaration of Lutheran and Reformed Churches in the Middle East and North Africa. The declaration established the mutual recognition of baptism, eucharist, ministry and ordination between the signatory churches.

Member churches

The FMEEC consists of the following Protestant denominations: ;

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

* Trans-national :*

Protestant Church of Algeria The Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA french: Eglise protestante d'Algérie) is a federation of Protestant churches from the Reformed and Methodist traditions established in 1972 in Algeria. It is officially recognised by the government of Algeri ...

:* Methodist Church in Tunisia *

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

:* Anglican Diocese of Egypt :* Evangelical Church of Egypt (Synod of the Nile) :* Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Egypt *

Episcopal Church of the Sudan The Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, formerly known as Episcopal Church of Sudan, is a province of the Anglican Communion located in South Sudan. The province consists of eight Internal Provinces (each led by an archbishop) and 61 d ...

:* Evangelical Presbyterian Synod of the Sudan :* Presbyterian Church of the Sudan ;

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

& Mashriq * Trans-national :*

Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem The Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem ( ar, أبرشية القدس الأنغليكانية) is the Anglican jurisdiction for Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. It is a part of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Mi ...

:* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land :*

National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon The National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL), also known as Synod SL (of Syria and Lebanon), is a Reformed denomination in the Middle East. It is a federation of Arabic-speaking congregations, that trace back their origin to the evan ...

:* Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East *

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

:* Council of Protestant Churches in Iraq *

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

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 ...

;

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

* Trans-national :*

Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf The Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf is one of four dioceses in the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, a province in the Anglican Communion. It covers Cyprus and the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Yemen. The bishop in Cyprus and the Gul ...

Anglican Diocese of Iran The Diocese of Iran is one of the four dioceses of the Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. The diocese was established in 1912 as the Diocese of Persia and was incorporated into the Jerusalem Archbishopric in 1957. The most recent ...

:* Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Iran *

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

:* National Evangelical Church in Kuwait

Affiliations

The FMEEC is a regional member of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

External links

References

{{reflist, 2

Christianity in the Middle East

Christian organizations established in 1974