One out of eight Christians is persecuted for their faith today, mainly in Islamic countries, Semjén said.Continue reading
Eastern and Western Christianity in Hungary have always recognized and respected each other, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén said at his meeting with Constantinople Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in Budapest.
According to public news channel M1’s coverage of the meeting, the deputy PM in charge of church policy noted that Hungary’s King Stephen was venerated by the Orthodox Church in 2000, making him the first shared saint of the East and the West since the Great Schism of 1054.
“Hungary will never forget this gift from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew I,” Semjén said.
Bartholomew underscored the close ties between the Constantinople Patriarchate and the Hungarian state which he said could be traced back to King St. Stephen.
Featured image: Patriarch Bartholomew I (in the middle), and Deputy PM Zsolt Semjén (on the left). Photo by Gergely Botár/MTI/Prime Minister’s Office