Today, Saturday, August 19, 2023, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II began a four-day official visit to the Republic of Hungary, at the invitation of its government, to participate in the celebrations of the Hungarian National Day.
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II departed from Cairo International Airport, where H.H. was received at Cairo International Airport by Mr. Magdy Ishak, President of the Cairo Airport Company, and airport leaders.
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II arrived at Budapest Franz Liszt International Airport, at 3:30 pm.
Upon his arrival, His Holiness was received by Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Chamien Gault and Egyptian Ambassador to Hungary Mohamed El Shennawy, and the members of the Egyptian Embassy in Hungary, and H.G. Bishop Giovanni, Bishop of Central Europe, H.G. Bishop Gabriel, Bishop of Austria, Fr Youssef Khalil, priest of the Coptic Church in Hungary.
During the visit, His Holiness is expected to hold meetings with senior officials there and leaders of the Catholic Church and H.H. will receive an honorary doctorate from the Hungarian University of Bazman Peter, which preceded and granted the same degree to the late Pope Shenouda III in 2011, and it is the degree that is awarded to inspiring and influential personalities in the world.
The evening period witnessed two visits within the program of His Holiness, the first of which was the visit of His Holiness and the accompanying delegation to the Hungarian Archbishop, Cardinal Peter Erdo, at the residence of His Beatitude the Cardinal in Primate’s palace in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, with the presence of a number of Bishops of the Catholic Hungarian Church.
During the meeting, H.H. was keen to emphasize his strong relationship with H.H. Pope Francis, Pope of the Vatican, whom he visited last May in the Vatican, and he also emphasized that the Coptic Orthodox Church is a church that bears witness to Christ, and that the strong relations that bind the Church with the President of the Republic and our Muslim brothers, praising the distinguished relations between Egypt and Hungary. H.H. invited the archbishop and bishops to visit Egypt.
The second evening visit to the Hungarian Parliament was accompanied by Mr. Chamyen Gault, Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary, where His Holiness toured the corridors of the historical headquarters of the legislative authority, as it contains many historical archaeology of Hungary, whose construction in its current form dates back to 1904. In the middle of its building is a glass box that contains the crown of King Stephen I, the founder of the state of Hungary around the year 1000 AD, and he is called the saint of Hungary, and the king who made the revival of Hungary, and preserved the Christian faith, not only in Hungary but in all of Europe.
After the tour of His Holiness, a dinner was held in honor of His Holiness, during which Mr. Chamien Gault delivered a speech in which he welcomed His Holiness and the accompanying delegation, where he recalled the visit of the late Pope Shenouda III to Hungary at the same time in 2011, commending His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, describing him as a politician who does a lot for his country. He welcomed the upcoming visit of the Sheikh of Al-Azhar to Hungary, stressing that religions must coexist with each other, and re-welcomed His Holiness , thanking His Holiness for his visit.
The Deputy Prime Minister read out the speech of His Holiness the Pope, during which he affirmed his happiness to visit Hungary, commending the relationship between Egypt and Hungary. He expressed his appreciation for the invitation extended by the Hungarian government to His Holiness to participate in the celebration of the national holiday of Hungary, which is also Saint Stephen’s Day, describing the celebration as a celebration of love, holiness and history.
His Holiness added: “I believe that spiritual relationships can be measured from soft power. His Excellency President El-Sisi started building a new administrative capital seven years ago, and he started it with building a church and a mosque, before he built any other buildings, he started with the church and the mosque, and thus he started the spiritual beginning.
The two evening visits were preceded by the Pope’s reception of His Eminence Archbishop Hilarion, Metropolitan of the Russian Church in Hungary, at His Holiness’s residence in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
During the meeting, there was talk about the pastoral service and its role in building the human being.

The official delegation of H.H. during the visit is H.E. Metropolitan Daniel, Metropolitan of Maadi and Secretary of the Holy Synod, H.G. Bishop Bernaba, Bishop of Turin and Rome, Italy, H.G. Bishop Gabriel Bishop of Austria, H.G. Bishop Yolios, General Bishop of Old Cairo and Bishop of Public Services, H.G. Bishop Giovanni, Bishop of Central Europe, Tamav Takla, head of of St. George’s abbey in Old Cairo, Fr. Kyrillos St. Bishoy, director of the office of His Holiness, Fr Youssef Khalil, Priest of the Coptic Church in Hungary, Mrs. Barbara Soliman, director of the Papal Office for Projects and Relations. The delegation also includes: Journalist Isaac Younan, and Bishoy Gerges for media coverage.

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