Minister Gajdoš commemorates the 1155th anniversary of the arrival of St Cyril ad St Methodius in Great Moravia at a historic site close to Zalavár
- Author:
- Photo:
- Date: 16.06.2018
- Share: Zdieľať na Facebook
Minister Gajdoš today commemorated the 1155th anniversary of the arrival of St Cyril ad St Methodius in Great Moravia. What is todayʼs village of Zalavár (Hungary) was among the places where St Cyril and St Methodius served during their mission to Great Moravia. Now in its 7th year, the commemoration and meeting of the Slovak and Hungarian Military Ordinariates at the historic site was also attended by Hungarian Minister of Defence Tibor Benkő, HE Mons František Rábek and HE Mons László Bíró.
On the legacy of the Byzantine missionaries, SVK Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš said: “Slovakians and Hungarians have been bonded together through their common chapter of history, common tradition of Christianity, and common values. This site where St Cyril and St Methodius served over 1,000 years ago stands as a testament to the history of both our nations.” He continued: “Cyril and Methodius were well educated, could speak foreign languages, and demonstrated unity between the East and the West, which we sometimes have a hard time to find today. For this, they can be a great inspiration to us.”
While on their way to Rome, Cyril and Methodius were welcomed to the court of Koceľ, the son of Prince Pribina of Nitra, in Blatnohrad (todayʼs Zalavár), making it one of the centres of their mission to Great Moravia for three months. Close to the village is a large archaeologic site with the foundations of Pribina’s Castle and St Hadrian Basilica, dating from the period of Great Moravia. Statues of St Cyril and St Methodius were unveiled at the site during a ceremony in 2013.
On his visit to Hungary, Minister Gajdoš today met with Hungarian Minister of Defence Tibor Benkő for their first bilateral meeting since the appointment of Tibor Benkő as Minister of Defence of Hungary. Topics of current relevance included bilateral cooperation in the field of security and defence and the priorities of the SVK V4 Presidency, which Slovakia will take over from Hungary as early as next month. On the joint engagement of SVK and HUN troops in UNFICYP, they also spoke about the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic and the Ministry of Defence of Hungary on the Participation in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operation in Cyprus (UNFICYP), which is currently being drafted.
On the legacy of the Byzantine missionaries, SVK Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš said: “Slovakians and Hungarians have been bonded together through their common chapter of history, common tradition of Christianity, and common values. This site where St Cyril and St Methodius served over 1,000 years ago stands as a testament to the history of both our nations.” He continued: “Cyril and Methodius were well educated, could speak foreign languages, and demonstrated unity between the East and the West, which we sometimes have a hard time to find today. For this, they can be a great inspiration to us.”
While on their way to Rome, Cyril and Methodius were welcomed to the court of Koceľ, the son of Prince Pribina of Nitra, in Blatnohrad (todayʼs Zalavár), making it one of the centres of their mission to Great Moravia for three months. Close to the village is a large archaeologic site with the foundations of Pribina’s Castle and St Hadrian Basilica, dating from the period of Great Moravia. Statues of St Cyril and St Methodius were unveiled at the site during a ceremony in 2013.
On his visit to Hungary, Minister Gajdoš today met with Hungarian Minister of Defence Tibor Benkő for their first bilateral meeting since the appointment of Tibor Benkő as Minister of Defence of Hungary. Topics of current relevance included bilateral cooperation in the field of security and defence and the priorities of the SVK V4 Presidency, which Slovakia will take over from Hungary as early as next month. On the joint engagement of SVK and HUN troops in UNFICYP, they also spoke about the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic and the Ministry of Defence of Hungary on the Participation in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operation in Cyprus (UNFICYP), which is currently being drafted.
