One hundred churches and one chapel in Fejér County will be partially or fully renovated for 1.731 billion forints, the State Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office responsible for church and ethnic relations announced on Friday at a press conference held in the garden of the Reformed church in Soponya.
Miklós Soltész announced that in the church renovation program, 62 Catholic, 32 Reformed, four Lutheran churches and two Baptist houses of worship will be renovated in 66 settlements in Fejér County. In addition to these, the Don memorial chapel near the Pákozd Military Memorial Park - National Memorial - which is a very important memorial for the Hungarian community - will also be renovated.
The state secretary emphasized that the renewal of churches not only "contributes to the beautification of settlements", but also strengthens local communities, families, and religious life.
Gábor Varga , the region's Fidesz parliamentary representative, said that twenty-six churches in his constituency will be renovated with HUF 375 million. He mentioned that the towers of both the Catholic and the Reformed churches in Soponya had to be rebuilt, because they were destroyed in the Second World War, and in the last few years both were realized with the help of the government.
Zoltán Tessely (Fidesz), Member of Parliament for Bicske and its region, spoke about the fact that 238 million was allocated to various developments in the Magyar Falu program, 600 million to the church in Váli, 264 million to the church in Lovasberény, 250 million to the church in Bicske, and 250 million to the church in Etyek. He received HUF 150 million in his constituency. In addition, HUF 870 million will be allocated to 42 locations in the church renovation program, he pointed out.
Krisztián Molnár (Fidesz-KDNP), the chairman of the Fejér County Assembly, said in relation to Dunaújváros and its region: In Adony, Perkát, Rácalmás and Ercsi, the Catholic, the Reformed in Iváncsá, the Catholic and the Reformed churches in Pusztaszabolcs will be renewed.
Reformed pastor Krisztina Kovács-Csiba recalled that the tower of the Reformed church in Soponya, which is 301 years old this year, was completely destroyed in 1945, in the decades after the war there was only financial opportunity to restore the nave, and the building stood without a tower for decades . Last year, for the three hundredth anniversary, the tower was built with the support of the government, the windows were replaced, and now, thanks to the new support, the outside of the church will be completely renewed.
MTI
Photo: S oponya Reformed Church - MTI/Tamás Vasvári