His Holiness Pope Tawadros II concluded on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, his visit to the Republic of Hungary, which is the first visit of His Holiness to Hungary, since his sitting on the Enthronement on the See
of Saint Mark, and the visit came at the official invitation of His Holiness by the Hungarian government.
It is also the second official invitation that Hungary invites to the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, as it had previously invited His Holiness late Pope Shenouda III at the same time in 2011.
It is noted that the Hungarian University of Bazman Peter offered His Holiness Pope Tawadros II an honorary doctorate degree, which is exactly what it did with His Holiness Pope Shenouda III during his visit in 2011, to become the only two Coptic Popes, (so far) to be given an honorary doctorate, among all the official guests invited to participate in the National Day of the Republic of Hungary.

The visit of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II to Hungary began on Saturday, August 19, when His Holiness and the accompanying delegation left Cairo International Airport, and they were seen off by Mr. Magdy Ishak, President of the Cairo Airport Company and airport leaders, and the journey took about three and a half hours, as His Holiness the Pope arrived at Budapest Franz Liszt international Airport at 3:30 p.m.
H.H. was received there by Mr. Chamien Gault, the Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister, Ambassador Mohamed El-Shenawy, the Egyptian Ambassador to Hungary, members of the Egyptian Embassy in Hungary, and H.G. Bishop Giovanni, Bishop of Central Europe, H.G. Bishop Gabriel, Bishop of Austria, and Archpriest Youssef Khalil, Priest of the Coptic Church in Hungary.

The official delegation accompanying His Holiness during the visit consists of their H.E. Metropolitan Daniel, Metropolitan of Maadi and Secretary of the Holy Synod, H.G.Bishop Bernaba, Bishop of Turin and Rome in Italy, and H.G.Bishop Gabriel, Bishop of Austria, H.G. Bishop Yolios, 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 and Mrs. Barbara Soliman, director of the Papal Office for Projects and Relations, and Journalist Isaac Younan, and Engineer Bishoy Gerges for media coverage.
Upon his arrival at the hotel, His Holiness went to rest before starting his program of visits. The evening session witnessed two visits, the first of which was the visit of His Holiness and the delegation accompanying to the Hungarian Archbishop, Cardinal Peter Erdo, at the headquarters of His Beatitude the Cardinal in Primate’s palace in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, in the presence of a number of bishops of the Hungarian Catholic Church.
During the meeting, His Holiness was keen to emphasize his special relationship with His Holiness Pope Francis, Pope of the Vatican, who visited him last May in the Vatican. H.H. also stressed that the Coptic Orthodox Church is a church that bears witness to Christ, and that in Egypt, the relations that bind the Church with the President of the Republic and our Muslim brothers are strong. H.H. commended historical ties between Egypt and Hungary and 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 the Pope toured the corridors of Parliament, which is a historical seat of the legislative authority, as it contains many historical monuments of Hungary, and the date of its construction in its current form dates back to 1904, and in the middle of its building is a glass box that contains the crown of King Stephen I, founder of the State of Hungary.
After the end of His Holiness the Pope’s tour, a dinner was held in honor of His Holiness, during which Mr. Chamien Gault delivered a speech in which he welcomed His Holiness the Pope and the accompanying delegation, recalling the visit of the late Pope Shenouda III to Hungary at the same time in 2011, commending President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, describing him as a politician who works a lot for his country, and welcoming the upcoming visit of the Sheikh of Al-Azhar to Hungary, stressing that religions must coexist with each other.

The Deputy Prime Minister read out the speech of His Holiness, during which he affirmed his happiness to visit Hungary, praising the relationship between Egypt and Hungary, and 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 the Pope added: “I believe that spiritual relations can be measured from soft power.” He added: “President El-Sisi started building a New Administrative Capital seven years ago, and he started it by 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 beginning spiritual”.
The program for the second day of the visit, which is on Sunday, August 20, began at an early hour, as the procession of His Holiness the Pope left his hotel at quarter to eight in the morning, heading to the headquarters of the Hungarian Parliament, to participate in the official celebration of the National Day, which was held in Lagos Square Kossuth in Parliament and it is a holiday that bears a religious character, as it is the anniversary of the martyrdom of King Stephen I, the founder of the Kingdom of Hungary in the year 1000 AD, and he is considered by the Hungarians as a symbol on the political level, and a saint on the religious level, as he is politically the king who made the revival of Hungary, and religiously he is the saint who spread Christian faith and preserved it, not only in Hungary, but in the whole of Europe.
After the celebration, His Holiness visited the Monastery of Saint Paul in Budapest, and was received by Father Sabulch, the former head of the monastery, who welcomed His Holiness, expressing his happiness with the visit, pointing out that “St Paul” is the saint and intercessor for us.
He was the patron saint of the state of Hungary in the eighteenth century, and that there are many saints from the Coptic Church, including Saint Anthony and Saint Makarios the Great. He said, directing his words to His Holiness the Pope: “You have arrived at your home here in the monastery. Your Holiness is considered the Pope of all the monks.” The monastery held a luncheon in honor of His Holiness the Pope.
At 5 p.m., Budapest time, His Holiness attended the religious part of the national celebration, which is the festive mass in memory of the Hungarian saint, King Stephen the First.
It was headed by Cardinal Peter Erdo, Archbishop of Hungary, and the bishops of the Hungarian Catholic Church participated in it.

This was followed by His Holiness accepting the invitation of Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy, Ambassador of Egypt to Hungary, to attend the dinner banquet held by the Ambassador at his home in honor of His Holiness the Pope, which was attended by Mr. Shamyen Gault, Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary, members of the Egyptian Embassy in Budapest, and a delegation from the Egyptian community in Hungary.

During the banquet, the Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that the visit of His Holiness will remain in the hearts of Hungarians, stressing that Egypt and Hungary have historical friendship, and concluded his speech with the phrase “Long live Egypt and long live Hungary.” For his part, the Egyptian ambassador expressed his happiness at the visit of His Holiness the Pope, describing it as historic, and in his speech, His Holiness thanked the Egyptian ambassador and all the embassy staff who made a great effort in preparing for this visit and their presence in order to make it a success, and also thanked him for the kind invitation and hospitality.

The third day of the visit, Monday August 21, 2023, came to witness a historic event in the Coptic Orthodox Church, and the influential role of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, religiously, nationally and socially, as His Holiness received an honorary doctorate from Bazman Peter Catholic University, in a grand ceremony held at the university’s headquarters in the capital, Budapest.

In the presence of Mr. Shamien Gault, the Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister and a number of Hungarian officials, the Egyptian ambassador to Hungary and members of the embassy, the president of the university and its council, and the church delegation accompanying His Holiness the Pope, as well as their H.G. Bishop Angaelos, Bishop of London, H.G. Bishopp Estephanos, Bishop Beba and Fashn, H.G. Pavlos, Bishop of Greece, and H.G. Bishop Marc, Bishop of Paris and northern France.

Professor Toshka Laszlo, Professor of Arabic at the University of Budapest, gave the university’s speech during the celebration, in which he spoke about the march of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II from his birth until now, and referred to the political events that Egypt had gone through since 2011, focusing on the events of the June 30, 2013 revolution and the meeting on July 3, in which His Holiness Pope Tawadros participated, along with army leaders, Sheikh Al-Azhar and intellectuals.
Professor Toshka addressed the sacrifices made by His Holiness the Pope and the Coptic Orthodox Church over the past years, then summarized the part of His Holiness being granted His Holiness an honorary doctorate, saying:
“Through his work in Christian education and social development, he took on responsibility for the service of all humanity. Therefore, as we realize with pleasure and gratitude the impact of this work on the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church, we consider it an honor for us to celebrate the Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, and we are honored to accept Pope Tawadros II among the doctors Honoraries of Bazman Peter University”.
For his part, His Holiness expressed, in his speech, his pride in receiving a PhD, then he spoke about Egypt, pointing out that it is a unique country with a civilization that extends back seven thousand years, and he quoted the saying: “Egypt came, and then history came after it.”
He also talked about the new administrative capital, describing it as the most prestigious smart city, and that it contains the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ, which is the largest in the Middle East, and talked about building the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is the largest cultural museum to display the ancient Egyptian civilization, inviting those present to visit the museum after its opening within few months.
His Holiness valued the role of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Christian education and community development, and dealt with five types of love, namely: love of God the Creator, love of nature and everything in it, love of the other (man), love of the homeland, and love of heaven and eternity.
After the speech, the President of the University, Prof. Kominatz Geza, presented the document granting the University an honorary doctorate degree to His Holiness, amid warm applause from the audience.
The doctorate handing over ceremony was followed by a press conference by His Holiness the Pope at the university’s headquarters.
After the end of the ceremony, His Holiness the Pope and his accompanying delegation headed to the Republican Palace to meet Mrs. Katlin Novak, President of the Republic of Hungary, who welcomed His Holiness and expressed her thanks and appreciation to His Holiness the Pope for accepting the invitation of the Hungarian government to visit Hungary on this important occasion, which is the celebration of the country’s National Day.
For his part, His Holiness expressed his great happiness with this visit and the hospitality he received from everyone in Hungary, thanking the President of the Republic for this kind invitation, and for granting His Holiness the honorary doctorate of Bazman Peter University. His Holiness the Pope recorded a memorial speech in the register of senior visitors to the Republican Palace.

In the evening, His Holiness met his children in the Church of the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Michael, where he prayed with them on the vespers of the feast of the announcement of the ascension of the body of the Virgin Mary. To contain the problems we face in life, through:
The church was filled with church children who came to meet their father, and he told them about the virtue of containment, which is one of the treasures of the virtues of the Virgin Mary. His Holiness recommended four steps to contain the problems we face in life, through:

1- The feeling of the other.
2- Maintaining friendship with the other and not fighting.
3- Establishing periods for understanding, because the most precious thing a person can offer to another is time.
4- Humility and submission.
After the end of the sermon, His Holiness congratulated the audience on the feast of the Virgin Mary, and he was keen to give the opportunity to all those present to greet him and to receive the blessing from their father and their shepherd.
Within the framework of meeting with his children, His Holiness prayed on Tuesday morning, August 22, 2023, which is the closing day of the visit, the Mass of the Feast of the Virgin Mary in the same church, and the members of the accompanying delegation, a number of bishops, priests and monks, and large numbers of people participated in it. H.H. delivered the sermon of the Mass, at the beginning of which he congratulated the audience on the feast of the Virgin Mary, then he talked about three situations in which the Virgin Mary spoke, drawing important lessons that we can learn, and these words are:

1- “Behold, the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38): This is what calls us to have a spirit of obedience.
2- “Whatever He says to you, do it” (John 2:5).
That is, we live in spirit by the commandment to be true Christians.
3- “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)

That is, to have the spirit of wisdom, which makes us control our tongues and know when to speak and when to keep the words in our hearts.
H.H. concluded by addressing his children in attendance: “Egypt greets you!”, and he advised them: “Take care of raising your children at home and in the church.”
Then he went to the headquarters of the Council of Ministers in Budapest, to meet with Mr. Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary, in the presence of Ambassador Muhammad Al-Shennawy, a number of members of the embassy, and the delegation accompanying His Holiness, where the Prime Minister expressed his happiness at meeting His Holiness the Pope and accepting invitation to the Hungarian government to visit Hungary on this occasion, stressing that the interest His country opened up to the East and strengthened relations with its countries, especially since Egypt is one of the most important countries in the Middle East.

His Holiness expressed his thanks for the warm welcome and hospitality and the appreciation of the State of Hungary for the Coptic Church and for granting him an honorary doctorate from Bazman Peter University, adding: “The East is the heart of the world and the West is the mind; the East is the origin of religions, arts and philosophies, while the West is science, development and inventions.” About Egypt His Holiness said: “President El-Sisi presents a new concept of the citizenship relationship for all Egyptians,” pointing out that Egypt has contributed to confronting illegal immigration to Europe.
It is noteworthy that His Holiness had three meetings on the sidelines of the visit, the first of which was on the first day of the visit, when H.H. met His Eminence Archbishop Hilarion, Metropolitan of the Russian Church in Hungary, at His Holiness’s residence in the Hungarian capital, Budapest. During the meeting, they talked about the pastoral service and its role in building the human being.

As for the second meeting, it came on the morning of Monday, August 21, and it was with His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, in the presence of Ambassador Muhammad Al-Shennawy, Ambassador of Egypt to Hungary, and it was a meeting that came without prior arrangement, as His Highness Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani resides in the same hotel in which His Holiness resides, and they met by chance in the reception lobby of the hotel and exchanged words of greeting and affection, and His Holiness thanked His Highness for the care received by the Copts in the State of Qatar and the interest in the Coptic Church in the Qatari capital, Doha.
The third meeting (also on Monday) was with His Grace Bishop Bernaba, Bishop of Turin and Rome, who presented to His Holiness a report on the Diocese of Southern Germany and the Monastery of St. Anthony in Krefelbach, after His Grace late Bishop Mishael, Bishop of the diocese and the monastery.

After meeting the Prime Minister, His Holiness went to Budapest Franz Liszt International Airport to board the plane, back to Egypt. H.H. was seen off at the airport by Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Shamyen Gullit, the Egyptian Ambassador there, Mohamed El Shennawy, and members of the Egyptian Embassy.
His Holiness arrived home after a long journey four days.

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