History and Culture
Hungary and Orthodoxy: A Tradition of Mutual Respect
Examining Hungary’s contemporary relationship with Orthodox Christianity and the communities that sustain it.
The relationship between Hungary and Orthodox Christianity goes beyond the preservation of religious heritage. It reflects the place of minority Christian traditions in public life and the challenges religious institutions face amid changing political circumstances. Although Orthodox Christians represent a small part of Hungarian society, their presence raises important questions about the relationship between faith and politics.
These questions have become increasingly relevant since the war in Ukraine. Since it began, state institutions have increased pressure on the Moscow Patriarchate and any church with institutional ties to it, bringing religious leadership and political allegiance closer into the public discussion. As previously reported by the UOJ, churches under the Moscow Patriarchate are seen as an extension of Russian influence in European states.
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