They wanted to "smuggle the spiritual content back" by placing the new signs on the path leading to the friends' apartments.

Prayer signs were placed on the road leading to the Tihany friends' apartments. Religious tourism destinations carry a message and evoke thoughts - said Nacsa Lőrinc (KDNP), member of parliament and ministerial commissioner responsible for religious tourism.

As he said, "they wanted to smuggle the spiritual content back" by placing the new signs on the path leading to the friends' apartments.

Tihany is a prime destination for religious tourism and a good example of cooperation between Eastern and Western Christianity, he added.

As part of the investment, new prayer signs were set up along the road with 3.5 million forints, benches and a crucifix made by the Benedictine community of Bakonybéli were placed inside the cave dwelling.

King András I, who founded the Tihany Benedictine Abbey in 1055, along with his wife, Princess Anastasia of Kiev, also brought priests of the Byzantine rite from his homeland to Hungary. A group of them settled in the caves dug into the Tihany basalt tufa, where they lived together with the Western Christian Benedictine monks - it is stated in the information booklet handed over on the spot, which was also prepared as part of the project.

The monks prayed for peace, and the place still offers a spiritual journey that is " worth taking home ", emphasized Lőrinc Nacsa.

Norbert Jeromos Mihályi, the benefactor of Tihany Bencés Abátság, highlighted the fact that the friars' residences have existed as a holy place for nearly a thousand years, where monks lived until the 13th century.

Károly Kontrát, the Fidesz parliamentary representative of the region, emphasized the importance of physical and mental shelter, adding that the creation of mental peace is important to more and more people.

MTI

Cover photo: Norbert Jeromos Mihályi, the abbot of the Tihany Bencés Abátság (b2) gives a speech on the road leading to the friendly apartments in Tihany, at the event held on the occasion of placing the prayer signs on October 28, 2024. Next to him are national assembly representative Nacsa Lõrinc (KDNP), ministerial commissioner responsible for religious tourism (b) and Fidesz national assembly representative Károly Kontrát (b3).
MTI/Soldier Tibor