Syriac Orthodox Patriarch meets with State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians and the Hungary Helps Program in Budapest

BUDAPEST — His Holiness, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, met with State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians and the Hungary Helps Program Tristan Azbej at the headquarters of the State Secretary in Budapest on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended by Archbishop of Mosul, Kerkeslokh (Kirkuk), and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and its Environs Mor Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf, Patriarchal Vicar in the Patriarchal Archdiocese of Daramsuq (Damascus) Mor Timotheus Matta al-Khoury, and Patriarchal Secretary and Media Office Director Rev. Rabban Joseph Bali.

First, Patriarch Aphrem II and the accompanying delegation visited the chapel at the Ministry’s headquarters and prayed the Lord’s Prayer in Syriac. The Patriarch then met with officials of the ministry and discussed the projects undertaken by the Syriac Orthodox Church with the support of the Hungarian government through the Hungary Helps Foundation.

They also discussed the progress of several projects, including the construction of a meeting hall in the Syriac Church Complex in Latakia, Syria, the renovation of houses in Old Hmoth (Homs) city, Syria, and the construction of the Meltho School in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).

During the visit, the Patriarch was also given the keys to the building which the Government of Hungary gifted to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate to use as a Syriac Center for a period of 50 years. This is the first Syriac Center in Hungary.