BUDAPEST (Crux) — When Pope Francis met Saturday with Hungarian Greek Catholics and members of a Ukraine-based Eastern church that is in communion with Rome the community’s leading prelate said its members have shed their blood for the faith and want to be a bridge between Eastern and Western Catholicism Speaking at the Mother of God Greek Catholic Church in Budapest Metropolitan Archbishop Fülöp Kocsis of the Byzantine Eparchy of Hajdúdorog told Pope Francis that he is “beloved by all of us.” “From Pope John Paul II we learned the important truth that the Church of Christ breathes with two lungs the spirit of the East and the spirit of the West which together make up the living mystical body,” he said Archbishop Kocsis said that image is especially potent in Budapest is only a few steps away from the Roman Catholic Church of St Prior to meeting with the Greek Catholic community in Hungary which makes up roughly 300,000 of the country’s estimated 5.6 million Catholics where he met with poor people and refugees Among those present for the event were Ukrainian refugees who had fled the war sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year The Greek Catholic Church is the largest eastern Church in Catholicism Its faithful make up the majority of Catholics in Ukraine and since the outbreak of the war with Russia last February they have been on the front lines providing humanitarian and spiritual support Pope Francis’s schedule for his three-day visit to Hungary initially did not include a meeting with the Greek Catholic community but the appointment was added last-minute and announced days before the pope departed the Greek Catholic church is located mere steps away from the Roman Catholic cathedral meaning the two communities “live together in the same place.” belonging to the Catholic Church is especially important we have had to suffer due to this double belonging Our martyrs died not only for their Christian faith but for their fidelity to the Catholic Church,” he said Referring to the persecution faced during Hungary’s Soviet era Archbishop Kocsis said that “instead of bowing to the dictates of communist violence,” those who were killed “remained faithful to the Catholic Church and while seeking to remain faithful to our eastern roots but intend to become a bridge between the two sister churches Archbishop Kocsis said the pope’s visit to their community gave them “a strong confirmation that we are equal members of the Catholic family,” and he pledged to “commit ourselves in bringing to all a message of unity and fraternity.” He then gave Pope Francis as a gift a rosary of the Eastern church which was made by Greek Catholic youth in Hungary and which was presented to the pope by children belonging to the community “This is the message of all of us who love with filial faith our Lord Jesus Christ joined the Greek Catholics in a traditional prayer most of which was chanted with the pontiff delivering a blessing at the end Pope Francis walked out of the small church using a cane offering blessings to several individuals including an elderly man and several youth Metropolitan Archbishop Fülöp Kocsis of the Byzantine Eparchy of Hajdúdorog is blessed with a constructive vision Your email will be used to send you The Tablet newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy. More info Create your free account or log in to continue reading The Tablet is the newspaper of the Diocese of Brooklyn, serving Brooklyn and Queens since 1908.© 2025 DeSales Media Group, Inc. Website by 345 Design ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " Úgy tűnik nem található semmi ezen a helyen IMPRESSZUM SZERZŐI JOGOK ADATVÉDELEM FELHASZNÁLÁSI FELTÉTELEK A rare Easter tradition endures in the Hungarian town of Hajdúdorog where young armed men known as Christ’s Soldiers stand honour guard at a symbolic tomb inside the local church cherished by the local Greek Catholic community Christ’s Soldiers begin their watch on Good Friday during the Great Vespers and continue through the Easter Sunday liturgy. The tradition originates in the Bible: according to the Gospels, Jewish leaders feared Jesus’ disciples would steal his body after the crucifixion, so they posted guards at the tomb, Lelépő reports The tradition has been present in Hajdúdorog since the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire Late 19th-century sources refer to participants as “sword-bearing lads” and “guard soldiers” This local folk custom fused with the Gospel story as placing armed guards at noble funerals was a longstanding practice among the Hajdú people Guarding the symbolic tomb is considered a prestigious role only unmarried men who had completed military service were eligible to serve as Christ’s Soldiers the primary requirement is that candidates have to be local The guards serve in groups of ten to twelve led by a corporal who oversees their participation in all liturgical events They wear traditional attire: black trousers their uniforms are decorated with green thuja sprigs replaced by white handkerchiefs after Jesus’ resurrection Their first appearance is during Good Friday services boots striking loudly against the marble floor accompanying the priest who carries a burial shroud around the church and the guards begin rotating shifts through Saturday night They return to the church 15 minutes before midnight on Holy Saturday to kiss the shroud and touch the tips of their swords together they process outside for the blessing of the Easter bread—pászka—with two of Christ’s Soldiers flanking the priest The Christ’s Soldiers tradition in Hajdúdorog represents not just religious but also cultural significance at the recommendation of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee of the Hungarian National Commission for UNESCO the Minister of Human Resources added the custom to Hungary’s national inventory of intangible cultural heritage A much-kept tradition in Hungary, with the Easter sprinkling poems as a basic premise – you can learn it in English here Details: The tradition of sprinkling on Easter Monday in Hungary and website in this browser for the next time I comment Y"},"category":false,"taxonomy":{"active":false,"name":"category"}},"markup":{"custom_html":true,"wpp-start":"","wpp-end":"<\/ul>","title-start":"","title-end":"<\/h2>","post-html":"{thumb} {title} {stats}<\/span>{excerpt}<\/p><\/li>"},"theme":{"name":""}} You have successfully joined our subscriber list © 2025 DailyNewsHungary | All rights reserved March 23 (MTI) – A ceremony was held on Monday in the Greek Catholic Church of Hajdudorog in north-eastern Hungary to celebrate the church’s elevation by the pope to a Metropolitan The decision made by Pope Francis on March 20 about the church’s new status was announced by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches following a holy mass celebrated in the church before hundreds of faithful According to the provisions posted online by Radio Vatican the pope “has elevated the Eparchy of Hajdudorog for the Catholics of Byzantine Rite to a Metropolitan See The ceremony in Hajdudorog was attended by Apostolic Nuncio Alberto Bottari de Castello and Hungarian catholic leader Cardinal Peter Erdo the human resources ministry’s state secretary in charge of church relations