Bishop Irinej of Backa awarded the Hungarian Order for its contribution to the historical reconciliation of the two peoples at a ceremony that was held on September 28, 2021, at the Patriarchal Palace in Belgrade.
The ceremony took place in the presence of Patriarch Porfirije of Serbian, Bishop Jerotej of Toplica, Bishop Justin of Hvosno, elected Bishop of Marca, Archimandrite Sava, the head of the Patriarch’s Office; members of the state delegation of Hungary, as well as Bálint Pásztor, Member of Parliament and prominent representative of the Hungarian people in Serbia; Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary Zsolt Semjén, on behalf of the President of Hungary János Áder, Bishop Irinej of Backa with the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit.
The ceremony was also attended by Antal Benkovics from the office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the representative of the Serbs in the Parliament of Hungary, Ljubomir Aleksov; Consul General of Hungary in Subotica, Mrs. Csallóközi Eszter; Mr. Radován Rusz from the Consulate General of Hungary in Subotica, Secretary at the Embassy of Hungary Robert Kaszab and Bálint Pásztor from the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians.
Source: Serbian Orthodox Church
