religion

Budapest’s breathtaking sights: St. Stephen’s Basilica

budapest st stephen basilica

St. Stephen’s Basilica, or Lipót City Parish Church, is one of the most significant ecclesiastical buildings of Hungary as well as a major tourist attraction of the capital.

An architecturally stunning building. When approached from the bank of the Danube, the building slowly appears, metre by metre, yet without dominating its surroundings. The church was built on a small hill on which several hundred people sought refuge during the great flood of 1838, from whence they were rescued by boat. Construction began with funds from donations, and was finally completed in 1906.

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The first plans for the neo-Renaissance structure were drafted by József Hild, which was then taken over by Miklós Ybl, while the ornamental elements and interior were designed by József Kauser. On the main facade, below the tympanum, is an inscription of Christ’s words: EGO SUM VIA, VERITAS ET VITA. The basilica is named after Saint Stephen, the Hungarian king who founded the Hungarian state.

The relic of his right hand is preserved in one of the chapels. Built on a Greek cross ground plan, the interior is covered with mosaics, frescoes, statues and stained glass, and can seat up to 8,000 for services. The height of the basilica is, like that of the Parliament, 96 metres, commemorating the founding of Hungary in 896.

Advent Feast at the Basilica Best Christmas Market 9
The Basilica during Advent. Photo: adventbazilika.hu/en

The circular observation area surrounding the cupola is accessible to visitors, offering a view of both the inner structure supporting the cupola and an outstanding panorama of the surrounding area. Item of interest: several former members of Hungary’s Golden Team that dominated world football in the early 50s, including the legendary Ferenc Puskás, were laid to rest here.

St. Stephen Square in front of the Basilica, paved in decorative stones with geometric patterns, is a favourite spot in summer: terraces with parasols, plants and the fountains of the Basilica all contribute to a Mediterranean atmosphere.

The Basilica is also the venue for celebrated Organ Concerts organised weekly.

St. Stephen_s Basilica, Budapest, view, building
Photo: Wikimedia Commons by ktanaka

This article was originally published by budapestinfo.hu.

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Livestream: World Jewish Congress Public Lecture in Budapest – programme guide

Dohány Street Synagogue

U.S. Holocaust envoy Ellen Germain to speak on Monday at Rumbach Street Synagogue about recent manifestations of antisemitism worldwide.

The World Jewish Congress and the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (MAZSIHISZ) will host a special lecture by U.S. State Department Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues Ellen Germain at 18:00 CET on Monday, Nov. 7, at the Rumbach Street Synagogue (Rumbach Sebestyén Street 11-13., 1075 Budapest).

The event will be livestreamed here.

Ms. Germain will speak on a range of issues, including recent manifestations of antisemitism around the globe and the latest news about the restitution of Holocaust-era assets. The event is being held in partnership with the National University of Public Service Hungary Faculty of Public Governance and International Studies and the U.S. Embassy in Hungary.

Prof. Menachem Z. Rosensaft, associate executive vice president of the World Jewish Congress, and Mr. András Heisler, president of MAZSIHISZ, will also deliver remarks.

The office of the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, established in 1999, develops and implements U.S. policy to return Holocaust-era assets to their rightful owners, secures compensation for Nazi-era wrongs, and ensures that the Holocaust is remembered and commemorated appropriately.

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“Preserving Christianity state task”

Azbej Tristan Armenia Church

Preserving Christianity is a task enshrined in the Hungarian basic law, the state secretary for aiding persecuted Christians said at the inauguration of a new section of the Armenian Catholic Church’s house in Budapest on Wednesday.

Addressing the ceremony, Tristan Azbej said Christianity is “a power” that has been essential in preserving Hungary’s statehood over the past 1,000 years. He noted the Hungary Helps programme launched by the government to aid persecuted Christians around the world and the HUF 90 million (EUR 220,000) contribution to the new section.

Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and head of the Hungarian Catholic Church, said at the ceremony that the Armenian Catholic community had long been an integral part of Hungarian society.

The cardinal was joined by Patriarch Raphael Bedros (Péter) Minassian XXI, head of the Armenian Catholic Church, in consecrating the new section.

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Head of Armenian Catholic Church honours PM Viktor Orbán

Orbán Viktor Armenia

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met Patriarch Raphael Bedros (Peter) Minassian XXI, head of the Armenian Catholic Church, in his office on Wednesday, the prime minister’s press chief told MTI.

The patriarch presented the Holy Cross Medal of Gratitude to the Hungarian premier, Bertalan Havasi said.

According to the laudation, Hungary and personally Orbán have provided valuable support for oppressed and persecuted Christians all over the world.

“Your unconditional commitment to Christians and support for protecting their lives and their moral and social values are highly appreciated,” it said.

Citing King St. Stephen’s admonitions of thousand years ago in his acceptance speech, Orbán stressed the importance of the Hungarian state supporting Christianity and the church at all times, Havasi reported.

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Orbán: Transylvanian Reformed kindergartens and schools are the guarantors of Hungarian survival

palace of culture

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán greeted Transylvania’s Hungarian Reformed Church community in a letter on Monday, marking the completed renovation of the Reformed College of Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely), in western Romania, the prime minister’s press chief said.

“The time for joy and thanksgiving has come,” Orbán wrote in his letter. “The huge amount of work that has been done and the years-long struggle have paid off: the Reformed College of Targu Mures has been restored to its former glory.” The prime minister thanked Transylvania Hungarians for their perseverance, work and prayers.

He said the Reformed Church community had followed their conscience despite all the difficulties they had faced. “Because we Hungarians were already fighting for our survival when the Reformation first made its way to Hungary and Transylvania,” he said.

“The homeland that had been ripped into three parts lay in ruins and hope for prosperity and glory was all but lost when the Word of God preached and read out in the mother tongue was able to fill people with strength again.” New congregations and schools were set up, including the Reformed College of Targu Mures, which over its five centuries of existence produced many eventual scientists, teachers as well as church and secular leaders, Orbán added.

“As we look around today on the anniversary of the Reformation, we see that Reformed kindergartens and schools are being built and renovated in Transylvania,” the prime minister said, adding that those institutions were crucial to the survival of Hungarians. He said all the conditions at the Reformed College of Targu Mures were in place for the school to have more graduates committed to their homeland like their renowned predecessors.

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Hungary helped more than 500,000 persecuted Christians worldwide

Hungary helps program

Persecuted Christians need help to be given in their homelands, while those who have fled their homelands must be helped to return, the state secretary for aiding persecuted Christians said on Thursday in Bratislava at an international conference on the protection of religious freedom.

Tristan Azbej told public media that action was necessary at a time when a large part of the world’s population lived in countries where the religious freedom of some communities was oppressed.

Azbej, who also heads the Hungary Helps programme, said he had briefed at the conference representatives of the Visegrád Group and other countries of Hungary’s six-year work in over 50 countries to support persecuted Christian communities.

He lamented the “disinterest and denial” Hungary encountered earlier when seeking cooperation with other countries.

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“While over 300 million people are discriminated against because of their Christian faith worldwide, Western liberal politicians try to deny that fact,” he said, pointing to the killing of some 50 people at a Nigerian Catholic church this year. While Hungary sent swift aid, “leading western politicians and European Union leaders said it shouldn’t be seen as religious persecution but as a consequence of climate change,” he said.

“Putting aside politically correct considerations,” Hungary works directly with local churches and religious organisations, and so far has helped more than 500,000 people worldwide, he said. The initiative is gaining followers in the Visegrad Group, and cooperation has already started Slovenia too, he said.

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Read alsoHungary Helps: It’s factually clear that Christianity is the world’s most persecuted religion

Hungarian Christian church leaders hold joint prayer for peace

church mass

Leaders of Hungary’s three largest Christian churches held a joint prayer for peace at the chapel of the northern Lutheran diocese episcopate office on Tuesday, the Lutheran church communication service said.

András Veres, head of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Zoltán Balog, pastoral president by the Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church, and Tamás Fabiny, presiding bishop of the Lutheran Church in Hungary, held a joint prayer with an appeal to God for world peace and the restoration of peace in Ukraine.

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Hungary helps persecuted Christians all over the world

Hungary helps program

The foreign ministry department in charge of helping persecuted Christians and the Hungary Helps scheme have met with Hungarian Interchurch Aid leaders to review the results of their cooperation and set future tasks, the ministry said on Thursday.

Hungarian Interchurch Aid has acted as a strategic partner of the Hungary Helps programme in recent years, implementing several schemes in east Africa, and it has also been a key partner in supporting government aid in Ukraine, the ministry said in a statement.

They agreed to extend and strengthen their cooperation, especially in relation to efforts to ease the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, support persecuted Christians returning home to Iraq, and help communities subjected to economic and violent threats in Ethiopia, the ministry said.

The statement cited foreign ministry state secretary Tristan Azbej as saying that the humanitarian aid programme launched by the Hungarian government five years ago — which has helped over half million people return to their place of birth — “could not have worked without the cooperation and help of such key partners and the Hungarian Interchurch Aid”.

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Read alsoHungary Helps: It’s factually clear that Christianity is the world’s most persecuted religion

President: Hungary is a friend of Israel and Jewish communities

katalin novák president new york

President Katalin Novák met the leader of the World Jewish Congress and the heads of several international and American Jewish organisations during the first day of her official visit to the United States, where she attended the opening event of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) 77th session.

Discussion about Jewish communities

The situation of Hungarian Jews was among the topics discussed with President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder in the organisation’s headquarters in New York. Lauder welcomed Novák in Hungarian on Tuesday local time and they held talks behind closed doors.

Novák also met William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Eric Greenberg, Director of United Nations Relations and Strategic Partnerships at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and several other officials of the World Jewish Congress. Hungarian Ambassador to Washington, Szabolcs Takács, welcomed the participants at the meeting.

“Hungary is a true friend of Israel”

In a post she published on social media, Novák said the message she had conveyed to the Jewish leaders at the talks was that “Hungary is a true friend of Israel and of Jewish communities”.

In a message issued on the occasion of the opening of the UN General Assembly 77th session, Novák highlighted the importance of peace. “As the head of the Hungarian delegation, I will do my best to bring us closer to peace. This is not only a Hungarian interest, this is in the best interest of all people”, she said.

Novák’s other appearances in New York

On Tuesday afternoon, Novák attended and addressed a UN forum for female heads of government and state convened by Csaba Kőrösi, President of the UNGA.

Novák held bilateral talks with the prime minister of Andorra.

She is scheduled to address the UNGA on Wednesday afternoon local time and hold talks with Kőrösi, Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. According to MTI’s information, Novák is scheduled to attend a reception by US President Joe Biden on Wednesday evening.

LMP: State-run social institutions discriminated

Certain state-run social institutions suffer discrimination and opposition LMP will launch a petition demanding equal per capita support to be paid to state-run social institutions as those currently paid to church-run facilities, the party’s co-leader said on Tuesday.

Péter Ungár said in line with an agreement between Hungary and the Vatican, church-run social institutions get 1.8-times higher per capita payment than state-run institutions.

Increased public utility fees cause great problems to the operators of social institutions and several state-run institutions have additional issues, such as allocating the required funding for food, he added.

Social services are the task of state but over the past twelve years, efforts have been made to delegate them to churches. Withdrawal of the state from the field causes serious problems and the difference in per capita payments represents the most discriminative aspect, Ungár said.

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Hungary Helps: It’s factually clear that Christianity is the world’s most persecuted religion

cross-christian-eastern

The Hungarian government believes that crises should be addressed by providing assistance locally rather than through the imposition of sanctions, Tristan Azbej, state secretary in charge of assistance to persecuted Christians and the Hungary Helps Programme, said in Brussels on Monday.

Azbej attended an international conference on international cultural heritage protection as the head of the Hungary Helps delegation and held talks with Olivér Várhelyi, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement.

Azbej told MTI that both meetings had made it clear that the Hungarian government was prepared to cooperate with the European Union on showing solidarity outside the bloc, be it in the form of humanitarian support, development cooperation or cultural heritage protection.

The Hungarian government has recognised that heritage protection needs to be made an integral part of aid and development policies applied in crisis zones, Azbej said, underscoring its importance in the case of persecuted Christian communities.

He said the conference’s participants had reviewed developments in cultural heritage protection over the past year.

Participants included EU ambassadors, representatives of French cultural heritage foundation Aliph, UNESCO and European commissioners’ offices, he said. They concluded that last year’s meeting initiated by Hungary has had a significant impact on the EU’s contributions to cultural heritage protection, he added.

EU institutions and member states should follow Hungary’s example and form direct partnerships with churches, he said. Not only should “old”, large member states be involved in EU international aid programmes, but the international development agencies of new member states should also play an active role, he added.

Commenting on his talks with Várhelyi, Azbej said it was clear that the EU’s neighborhood policy and the Hungary Helps Programme had many commonalities, both of them aiming to stabilise Lebanon and maintain stability in the Western Balkans, for instance.

Hungary Helps is also about providing aid to groups subject to religious persecution, he said, noting initiatives in many African and Middle Eastern countries where Christians were subjected to atrocities.

He accused western liberal politicians of refusing to see a connection between the persecution of Christians and their religion.

“It’s factually clear that Christianity is the world’s most persecuted religion … with more than 300 million people discriminated against or subjected to mass violence because of their faith,” he said. Wokism trivialises atrocities linked to religion for political ideological reasons, he added.

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Read alsoHungarian singer receives 85 death threats because she is religious

Census in Hungary: Statistical office consults with churches

Hungarian-church-Kolozsvar

The Central Statistical Office (KSH) has held consultations with representatives of Hungarian churches and religious communities about the census to be held in the autumn, KSH said in a statement on Wednesday.

KSH highlighted the significance of census questions on religious affiliation and noted the usefulness of gaining an accurate picture “of the social presence of individual churches and religious communities”.

During the consultations with 29 Hungarian religious communities and the deputy state secretariat for church and ethnic relations of the Prime Minister’s Office regarding the 1 Oct- 28 Nov census, aspects of the census covering religion were reviewed with a view to ensuring that related questions are comprehensible and easy to answer, the statement said.

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Hungary-Africa Week: ‘Africa continent of opportunities, future’

hungary-africa week

Hungary regards Africa as a continent of opportunities and the future, and will seek to build cooperation based on mutual respect and interests with the countries there, the foreign ministry’s state secretary for aiding persecuted Christians told the opening of the Hungary-Africa Week event in Budapest on Monday.

“Hungary is aware of the challenges and threats facing Africa. Slow economic growth, food crisis, armed conflicts, religious persecution, natural disasters and climate change all need to be tackled as humanitarian issues,” Tristan Azbej said.

At the same time, “finding a solution for those challenges is also in Hungary’s national interest because the deepening crises could result in tens of millions of people setting off to Europe, to Hungary,” he said, adding that “the outer line of defence for Europe’s security is in Africa”.

Hungary will strive to shape ties based on mutual dependency, rather than “condescending aid policy which does not contribute to lasting development”,

he said. The “Hungarian model” will approach ties in foreign policy, trade, education, culture and humanitarian cooperation with the recognition that “Africa is closer than we think… and we need a safe, stable and prosperous Africa,” he said.

The main aim of the Hungary Helps programme is to present developing countries with a “vision of the future” through mutually beneficial cooperation, he said. Hungary will not try to determine the solutions its African partners need, he said.

France Mutombo, the honorary consul of the Democratic Republic of Congo to Hungary and head of the organising For Africa Foundation, highlighted the importance of international cooperation, development and humanitarian work. Africa’s stability is key to that of the rest of the world and especially Europe, he said. Europe’s development will not be sustainable without a stable Africa, he said.

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Hungarian Reformed Church supports setting up shelters in Transcarpathia

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The charity service of the Hungarian Reformed Church (MRSZ) has donated 81 million forints (EUR 200,000) to the Transcarpathia Reformed Church (KRE) to support the creation of bomb shelters as required under Ukrainian state rules in educational and social-care institutions, the president of MRSZ said on Tuesday.

The donation will be used to set up and equip shelters in four lyceums in the region and an elderly care home operated by KRE in Berehove (Beregszasz), Karoly Cibere told a press conference in Berehove.

MRSZ’s representatives paid a visit to Berehove to meet their KRE partners to review joint development projects carried out in the summer and to discuss further cooperation, he said.

Cibere noted that MRSZ has contributed 21 million forints to cover the utility costs of 76 congregations for three months. The charity has also collected non-perishable food items worth 41 million forints which will be delivered to Transcarpathia to help communities there in the coming months.

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Serbian Orthodox patriarch decorates Orbán

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Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Porfirije in Budapest on Monday, who decorated the PM with the golden Saint Sava Order.

According to the patriarch’s laudation, Orban has been recognised for his efforts to promote Christian values as well as for his personal contribution to the friendship between the Serbian and Hungarian nations, Bertalan Havasi said. He quoted the patriarch as referring to Orban as the only statesman “fighting for the spirit of Europe”.

At the meeting Orban said he was proud to receive the order from his “Serbian Orthodox brother”.

“We are a peaceful people, wishing for peace, but in fact a war is being waged for the soul of Europe and that war could not be won without a unity between Christians including the Orthodox Church,” Orbán said.

The order is given by the Serbian Orthodox Church to both church officials and laymen in recognition of special merits.

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Read alsoHungarian singer receives 85 death threats because she is religious

Hungarian singer receives 85 death threats because she is religious

tóth gabi

The Hungarian singer Gabi Tóth gave an exclusive interview to Tények. In the interview, she let everyone know in tears that she had received 85 death threats in the near past. Although she has always been a divisive personality in Hungary, she has come under more attack than ever in the past year. Read our article to learn about why people are so mean to her.

85 death threats in the past year

In an exclusive interview with Tények Plus, Gabi Tóth spoke for the first and last time about the attacks she received. She has received 85 death threats from strangers in the last period, but she is also the target of daily frustrations from famous people, origo.hu writes. What hurts Gabi Tóth the most is that several people have called for the death of her child, mainly because of her sympathies for the ruling parties.

Gabi Tóth has received a lot of hurtful comments lately. The number of what she called “hate tsunami” comments jumped when it was revealed a year ago that she was performing at the Eucharistic Congress, Index.hu writes. The singer was surprised, as she sees that she has never hidden what she believes in and where her heart is.

She says she has never hidden her faith

“I have not hidden my faith. It wasn’t such a secret that would’ve been like I, a wild girl, suddenly came out like the great holy Virgin Mary. That’s pretty much what they dumbed me down to, they made my character into a joke, when I had been talking about my faith for years,”

said Gabi Tóth in TV2’s Tények Plus. She says she has become even more religious since the birth of her daughter, and sees Hannaróza as a gift from God.

As is known, the singer has been talking more about her political views as well as her faith over the past year. In the run-up to the elections, she committed herself to Fidesz-KDNP, including performing at the campaign rally of the governing parties, where she admitted that she found a loving environment like no other, as Index.hu puts it.

Criticism over her political commitments

However, these commitments have not been without criticism. “We have received 85 death threats,” the singer said, highlighting that a significant part of the attacks came to her in comments and messages, but she also received many messages via her manager, including one who specifically wished for the death of her child.

The singer finally saw no other way out, she withdrew, which she had already posted about two days ago. “I’ve decided to mute my pages for a while”, wrote Gabi Tóth in her Facebook post on Tuesday evening, who “wants to return to reality, where there are real feelings”.

Pope Francis visit Hungary
Read also Pope Francis may visit Hungary! Here is when

Cardinal: pope may visit several towns, spend at least 3 days in Hungary

Pope Francis visit Hungary

Issues around youth could be among the central themes of Pope Francis’s visit to Hungary planned for next year, Cardinal Péter Erdő, the head of the Hungarian Catholic Church, told MTI on his arrival in the Vatican on Friday.

Erdő, who is in the Vatican to attend a meeting of his counterparts, said the pope could “visit several towns and cities in Hungary which no pope has seen before”. He also noted that Francis usually visited shrines of the Virgin Mary during his travels and suggested that while in Hungary he could visit the Mátraverebély-Szentkút national shrine.

The cardinal also added that the pope had not yet provided any details concerning the duration of his planned visit or the places he would visit in Hungary.

“We would be glad if the pope could spend as long as three days or more in Hungary,”

he said.

Featured image: illustration, the pope’s visit in Canada.

Pope Francis visit Hungary
Read also Pope Francis may visit Hungary! Here is when

Pope Francis may visit Hungary! Here is when

Pope Francis visit Hungary

Pope Francis was surprised when learning about the results of Hungary’s family policy, including a two-fold increase in the number of marriages and a 50 percent drop in the number of abortions, President Katalin Novák told Radio Vatican after meeting the pontiff in a private audience in Rome on Thursday.

Novák said their meeting had been over 40 minutes long and held in Spanish. The pope expressed his appreciation and “our talks had a very earnest tone,” Novak said.

Hungary’s family policy was also discussed and the pontiff was taken by surprise learning about its achievements, she said. He expressed regret over the fact that marriage is no longer fashionable in Europe and in a large part of the developed world, the president added.

“In Hungary, the family is important for people and this is what we have to support and dismantle the barriers where they stand,” Novák said, adding that “harmful ideologies aimed at breaking up the traditional family must be rejected.”

The war in Ukraine was another topic discussed at the meeting, Novák said, adding that “the role women leaders may play in a peaceful settlement of conflict situations also came up”. “I asked the pontiff to act towards promoting peace because it is our common interest to achieve peace as soon as possible,” she added.

Novák said she had personally handed over an invitation to Pope Frances to return to Budapest for a longer visit than last year during the International Eucharistic Congress held in the Hungarian capital. He reaffirmed that he wanted to visit Hungary and expressed hope that it could take place in the first half of next year, Novák added.

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