An important donation to the Ecumenical Patriarchate was made by the Government of Hungary, which donated tens of thousands of face masks to meet the needs of the crew of the Mother Church in Turkey, as a precautionary measure against Coronavirus and to prevent its spread.
The gift was brought to the Phanar today by the Consul General of Hungary in Constantinople, Laszlo Keller, who was accompanied by his assistant, Tamas Torma.
During their meeting at the Patriarchal Office, the Ecumenical Patriarch expressed his warm thanks to the Government of Hungary for its donation, but also for its generally harmonious cooperation with the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
He also handed over to the Consul General Patriarchal Letters to the Prime Minister and Mr. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country, in which he expresses the gratitude of the Mother Church for this spontaneous and kind donation, especially useful under the current circumstances.
The distribution of the protective masks will take place through the Hierarchs of the Eparchies of the Throne in Turkey and the overseerσ of the various Regions of the Most Holy Archdiocese of Constantinople.
It is recalled that the Government of Hungary, in 2017, donated to the Ecumenical Patriarchate a 9000sqm building in the center of Budapest, which after the necessary renovation work starting this year, with the funding of the same Government, will be the headquarters of its Exarchate in Hungary, which is under the jurisdiction of the Holy Metropolis of Austria.
Three years earlier, in 2014, a Cooperation Agreement was signed between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Hungarian Government, which regulates the relations of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Hungary with the State. It is worth noting that the Cooperation Agreement highlights the important role that the Orthodox Church has played in the history of Hungary.
Also, during the official visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch to Budapest, in 2001, he was awarded, in a special ceremony in the Parliament, the medal of the Grand Cross of the Hungarian Republic.
