"Despite the conflict and suffering we have gone through, Hungarians never abandoned St. Stephen’s original vision, that of a Western-oriented Hungary."Continue reading
The President of the Hungarian Parliament called the Christian Hungarian state the most precious heritage of Saint Stephen on Sunday in the settlement of Szentkirály (verbatim – holy king), 100 south of the capital Budapest.
Speaking at the 25th meeting of the Association of the Holy King – the organization representing all settlements that bear the name of Szentkirály – László Kövér said that the Christian Hungarian state has been able to preserve the country as a homeland to this day.
It has been our experience for thousands of years that if we persevere in accordance with the admonition of our state founder, we can always preserve our state-building capacity, even when the most brutal times or the fiercest enemies come upon us,
he said.
One of King Stephen’s (975-1038) admonitions is addressed to his son, Prince Imre, and to all future generations of Hungarians. The admonition “If you hold fast, you will save your souls” has kept, sustained and protected Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin for a thousand years, the Speaker added.
According to László Kövér, the Christian message “Do not be afraid” is particularly important in our everyday lives burdened with pandemics, the threat of another world war and the problems of a global economic crisis. According to the President of the National Assembly, “in today’s soul-destroying times, when in the Western world people want to alienate themselves from their God, their country and their family, when they want to drive people into such confusion that they will not even know whether they are a boy or a girl, so that they will no longer be able to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, the legacy of King Stephen is particularly important”.
The remains of St. Stephen are carried annually in Budapest during a procession on August 20th, on the founding day of Hungarian statehood. MTI Fotó: Mohai Balázs
All the states of Europe and all its constituent nations “face a tough political and economic struggle to defend themselves”, he said. The stakes are whether “the arbitrary rule of global private powers, typically outside Europe, based on the private interests of the few, or the democratic cooperation of European nation states representing the public interests of the many, will govern the lives of the European people in the 21st century”.
In this struggle, he stressed, “Hungarians will preserve their supreme freedom, that is to say, they will preserve the self-governing Hungarian state that serves and protects their nation”.
He recalled that “war is raging in the neighborhood”, and the number of Hungarian compatriots in Transcarpathia (Western region of Ukraine) who have fallen victim to the fighting is approaching 100.
Sunday’s festivities began with a solemn mass in the Catholic church and a festive service in the Reformed church. At the end of the meeting, representatives of the member municipalities of the St. Stephen’s Association pinned a commemorative ribbon to the flag of the municipality of St. Stephen’s and laid wreaths at the statue of St. Stephen.
The Hungarian member municipalities of the Saint King’s Association are: From Transylvania (Western parts of Romania), the members are Csíkszentkirály, Kalotaszentkirály, Marosszentkirály, Sepsiszentkirály, Székelyszentistván, Székelyszentkirály, and from Slovakia, Királyfiakarcsa, Sajókirályi, Sajószentkirály and Vágkirályfa.