Hungarian government contributes 60 million forints (EUR 145,000) for refurbishing Syriac Orthodox Monastery Tristan Azbej, the state secretary for aiding persecuted Christians and the head of the Hungary Helps programme, on Monday noted that the Hungarian government has contributed 60 million forints (EUR 145,000) to the refurbishment of the Syriac Orthodox Monastery of Saint Mark.

Refurbishing Syriac Orthodox Monastery

"This monastery is the Monastery of Saint Mark, built above the house of Saint Mark the Evangelist, which was the location of the Last Supper and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost," Azbej said on Facebook.

By supporting the refurbishment of this community space, the Hungarian government expressed its commitment to the community of Christians in the Holy Land who are in a difficult situation and contributed to the long-term survival of strong Christian communities in the place where Jesus lived his life, the state secretary said.

Speaking on public broadcaster M1, Azbej said supporting Christians and Christian shrines in the Holy land was "a national mission inherent in the thousand years of Hungary's statehood". Azbej noted talks with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state of the Holy See, and Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, saying they were in agreement that conflicts in the Middle East had resulted in dwindling revenues from religious tourism, the sole revenue source to Christian communities in the area. That, in turn, was leading to more Christians leaving their homeland, he added.

At the talks, Parolin appreciated Hungary's efforts to assist persecuted Christians across the world, and encouraged the Hungarian government to continue its endeavours. Concerning the second regional office of the Hungary Helps programme, which has recently opened in Jordan, Azbej said the office was in charge of the programme's Middle East chapters, focusing on religious sites and humanitarian programmes.

Speaking on public radio, Azbej lambasted Western countries for "neglecting Christians in the Middle East and in the Holy Land", calling that attitude "a great tragedy". "Hungary has been the only country to send material aid to those two Biblical sites," he said.

Azbej also lamented that "the number of Christians at the sites of the life of Jesus is dramatically diminishing ... while rich countries with Christian roots show complete disinterest." "Once Christians disappear from the cradle of Christianity, it could mean the end to Christian civilisation... It is in Europe's fundamental interest for people in the Middle East to stay in their homeland rather than masses of migrants setting off for Europe," he added