Sturovó, Slovakia
The renovation of institutions in Slovakia (in parts of the country that historically belonged to Hungary) is a powerful example of the unity of the mother country and the Hungarian community, as well as of the good relations with our churches said Miklós Soltész, State Secretary for Church and Nationality Relations at the Prime Minister’s Office, in Csicser (Čičarovce), Slovakia, where he attended the handover of the renovated St. László Catholic Church on Sunday.
The Catholic church in the village near the Slovak-Ukrainian border, which is predominantly inhabited by Hungarians, was renovated in two stages with 27 million forints (71 512 euros) in Hungarian funding. The second stage of the renovation, which began a year and a half ago, was recently completed.
At the handover ceremony, the state secretary pointed out that over the past decade and a half, Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Reformed, Evangelical, and Jewish denominations have received approximately ten billion forints (26 million euros) in Hungarian support, much of which has been used to renovate the churches of these denominations and, in some cases, to build new ones. He explained that with the help of this support, more than two hundred churches and prayer houses have been renovated in recent years.
Photo: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt
He said that the support program aimed at renovating and building new kindergartens, nurseries, and other educational institutions also played an important role, with more than 200 such institutions being renovated, expanded, or newly built.
All of this has greatly contributed to helping the Hungarian community living in these settlements, both in terms of starting families and raising children,”
added Miklós Soltész.
The state secretary pointed out that all these subsidies serve to preserve the Hungarian community and, specifically, pursue three goals: preserving the faith and Christianity, preserving the Hungarian identity, and ensuring that wherever these renovations and construction projects have been carried out, they also serve Hungarian-Slovak coexistence, which is greatly needed in these times.
Referring to the current situation, Miklós Soltész pointed out that the settlement is only ten kilometers from the Ukrainian border, and so, in light of what happened a century ago, it can be said that it was a stroke of luck that the settlement did not end up in Ukraine when the borders were drawn, because then the people living there would now be hugely exposed to the political games of the superpowers that are currently taking place on the other side of the border.
“This is a huge warning, partly about the enormous pain and suffering of war, and partly about the fact that we Hungarians and Slovaks must stand together, based on our faith, Christianity, and historical and cultural traditions, because peace is worth more than anything else.”
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Via MTI; Featured image: Pixabay
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