The Ecumenical Patriarchate was visited, today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, which was received by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
During their meeting they discussed at length the initiatives of the Ecumenical Throne, for the ministry of his Exarchate in Hungary, as well as for other matters of mutual interest, as are the dramatic consequences of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Péter Szijjártó was accompanied by the Hungarian ambassador in Ankara, Viktor Matis, and the high-ranking official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peter Sztáray.
From the side of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the meeting was attended by M. Ecclesiarch Aetios, director of the special Patriarchal Office, and M. Sygelos Iakovos.
It is recalled that during his last official visit to Hungary, in September 2021, His Holiness performed the Holy Service of laying the foundation stone of the under construction Holy Church of the Three Hierarchs, in the renovated historical complex of the Karolyi family, total area 9.000 sq, in the center of Budapest, which the Hungarian government donated, the 2017, to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in order to accommodate the Exarchate of Hungary.
Earlier, the 2014, signed between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Hungarian government, Partnership Agreement, which regulates the relations of the Hungarian Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the state. It is worth noting that the Cooperation Agreement highlights the important role, whom the Orthodox Church played in the history of Hungary. "Cyril and Methodius brought Eastern Christianity here, which is still present as a living church community. Even before the establishment of the state, the ancient Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople cultivated relations with the Hungarian people and sent the bishop Ierotheos to spread Christianity", it is noted, among other things, in the preamble of the Agreement signed by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban.