A Hungarian delegation for the Aid of Persecuted Christians visited on Monday, 13 January, the headquarters of the Jerusalem Patriarchate meeting Patriarch Theophilos III.
Mr. Tristan Azbej, Hungarian State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians and the ‘Hungary Helps’ Program, met with the Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem to discuss the current situation of Christians in the Holy Land, the challenges facing the Churches and communities with the ongoing conflict and political and financial instability affecting the region.
Patriarch Theophilos thanked the delegation for the contribution of Hungary to the renovation of the Nativity Church of Bethlehem, the Holy Edicule of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the restoration of the Syriac Church in the Old City of Jerusalem.
In return, Mr. Azbej renewed his, and his country’s, commitment towards further support of the Christians in the Holy Land, sighting an example of their efforts of keeping guard of the minority of Christians left in Syria after the fall of Assad regime.
In addition, Patriarch Theophilos further thanked the Hungarian government for the scholarship programs continued to be offered to the local students who desire to study in Hungary.
Towards the end of the meeting, the delegation offered Patriarch Theophilos a small token representing the patron Saint of Hungary, Saint Stephen. In exchange, Patriarch Theophilos presented Mr. Azbej with a landscape icon view of Jerusalem, and an icon of Virgin Mary of Gethsemane.
