Prayers and bells are rung for the victims of the coronavirus epidemic in Christian churches in Hungary on Sunday morning, reads a statement sent to MTI by the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference (MKPK) and the Ecumenical Council of Hungarian Churches (MEÖT).
The presidency of the MEÖT and the MKPK ask their churches and their followers to "remember the dead and our losses caused by the epidemic with the ringing of the bell" on Sunday morning.
"Let this ringing of bells also be an expression of gratitude that we survived, that with God's help we can start anew"
they said. The two bodies also wrote a joint prayer for the occasion, which is recited in all Christian churches.
Reformed bishop Zoltán Balog told MTI that he initiated the joint commemoration and prayer in the presidency of the ecumenical council because the church community cannot give more to those who are grieving, who have suffered a serious illness, who have lost their jobs, or who have been spiritually affected by the epidemic. , as it gives them spiritual strength to bear the loss. In our language, giving strength is prayer, he said.
"I would like everyone who has suffered a loss to feel that the church community stands by him together, regardless of denomination," said the pastor president of the Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church.
He emphasized: with the joint prayer, they want to ask for and give strength not only to bear the loss, but also to start over. He called it important that gratitude should be the basic mood in the country: gratitude that we survived, that we remained, that we can start life anew. To start anew, you also need the spiritual energy that prayer can provide - added Zoltán Balog.
András Veres, the president of the MKPK, told MTI: an important element of the Christian faith is that "we believe in the community of the church, the living and the dead", which is why the living regularly pray for the dead.
This common prayer is for those who died during the pandemic, but of course we also pray for those who are grieving, he said. As he said, by commemorating together, they also express that they are moving towards a goal as people of faith, that the salvation of people is important to them and that fraternal solidarity is more important than anything else.
He added: the prayer and the ringing of the bell are also about the gratitude of the survivors.
"Of course, we are not grateful for the pandemic, but for the fruits that were born or may be born due to the epidemic situation. It is necessary to find and recognize what the pandemic is telling us"
said the president of the MKPK. The text of the prayer can be found meot.hu , katolikus.hu and reformatus.hu .
MTI
Photo: Richárd Kalocsai, reformatus.hu
