Former Kádár villa to be used by Middle East Christians
16. 12. 2020.
On Wednesday morning as part of an inauguration ceremony, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán handed over the key to the former Kádár villa in the 2nd district of Budapest to Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Aphrem II, and now the residence of the former leader of the anti-church party state will be used by members of the persecuted Christian church, Bertalan Havasi, the Deputy State Secretary heading the Press Office of the Prime Minister informed the Hungarian news agency MTI.

In addition to the Hungarian Prime Minister and the Syriac Patriarch, the amicable meeting was also attended by Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Mosul Nicodemus, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Damascus Timotheus, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén and Minister of State Tristan Azbej. Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II expressed his sincere appreciation to the Hungarian people for the efforts they make in the interest of persecuted Christians, and at the same time, he said thank you for the offer of use of the building, the press chief said. Mr Havasi recalled that, as part of the Hungary Helps Programme, the Hungarian government has provided vital assistance for Christian communities persecuted due to their faith worldwide for four years. The Syriac Orthodox Church’s humanitarian projects in Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon have also been implemented with Hungary’s support. These projects seek to enable local Christian communities to remain in their native land.