Center for Middle Eastern Christianity

From its inception, a major purpose of FoMENTS has been to support the work of the Center for Middle Eastern Christianity at the Cairo Evangelical Seminary, in Egypt.

The mission of CMEC is to revive and preserve the Christian heritage of the Middle East by raising the intellectual awareness of students and graduates of the seminary, as well as church leaders, of their rich Eastern heritage. Furthermore, the mission is to connect this heritage with the Reformed theological tradition in a way that equips them to have a significant and effective participation in enriching theological and biblical studies around the world. To these ends, like other centers at the seminary, CMEC is a center for academic research. It achieves its goals through academic studies and writings, seminars and workshops for the general public, and academic programs that award academic degrees.

Objectives of the Center for Middle Eastern Christianity include:

  • Reviving the traditions of the Arab Eastern church

  • Equipping scholars and expanding publishing activity in Middle Eastern Christianity

  • Building bridges between different cultures and beliefs

  • Building bridges between the church in the Middle East and the global church

  • Promoting partnerships with like-minded ecumenical centers interested in Arab and Middle Eastern heritages

CMEC offers a Diploma in Arabic Christian Heritage. This academic program is designed to introduce students to the richness of the Arab Christian heritage by expounding Christian doctrines in terms relevant to the cultural and historical context. It also provides a means for understanding and interpreting the Bible from a Middle Eastern perspective. The courses are taught in an academic atmosphere that respects ecumenical relations among the Christian denominations and seeks to build bridges between the students with their various backgrounds and cultures.

The Center for Middle Eastern Christianity’s current director is Dr. Atef Gendy.

Ph.D. in New Testament (Aberdeen University)
MTh in New Testament (Aberdeen University)
BA in Theology (Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo)
B. Sc. in Civil Engineering (Assiut University)

Atef Gendy was born to a Presbyterian family in Assiut, a large city south of Egypt. He is married to Manal Mourad and has two sons: Amir married to Heidi and Nayer married to Nardine. He is a grandfather to Tia and Nicole Amir.

Atef worked as a civil engineer from 1982-1984, then served as director of a training center in the south of Egypt to help equip lay leaders for the ministry (1984–1992). He followed his calling to enroll at ETSC and graduated in 1992. He was selected in the same year as an Instructor of New Testament at ETSC. In July 2000, a few months after returning from His PhD studies, he was Elected as President of ETSC. He served in this position for 21 years. Retired from the presidency, he continues to serve the seminary and its students as a director of the center of Middle Eastern Christianity (CMEC) and remains a full-time NT Professor.

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For more information about the Center for Middle Eastern Christianity visit the Cairo Evangelical Seminary website.