Red Wednesday in Hungary - by Amy Balog

More than half a million people took part in ACN’s Red Week and #RedWednesday activities last week. Hundreds of churches and other buildings were lit up red in dozens of countries worldwide, in honour of Christian martyrs and those persecuted for their faith.

As part of this international campaign, I had the pleasure of speaking at the annual #RedWednesday Conference in Budapest. I’m originally from Hungary, and it was an honour to be invited to talk about ACN’s work in my home country.

This year’s conference highlighted the plight of Christian communities in northern Nigeria and the Middle East. Prince Lawrence, an evangelical pastor from Nigeria who had studied in Budapest, pointed out the inaccuracies in how Western media outlets tend to portray the increasingly common anti-Christian attacks in the country. Archimandrite Meletius Shattahi, director-general of the charitable arm of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, expressed the debilitating uncertainty felt by Syria’s diminishing Christian community about their future, while stressing that Christians in Syria see themselves not as a minority but as an integral part of the nation’s history and culture.

We heard from European officials about the responsibility of governments in helping to put an end to anti-Christian persecution and discrimination. Hungary was the first country ever to appoint a formal representative dedicated to the aid of persecuted Christians in 2017, followed by Italy in 2023.

I participated in a panel discussion with speakers from other aid and advocacy organisations, sharing experiences, learnings and ideas based on our daily work. We began by reflecting on the concept of #RedWednesday, which was conceived nine years ago by my colleagues. I emphasised that the colour red symbolises the blood of martyrs, which is also the seed of the Church and therefore a living sign of hope even in the face of darkness. Indeed, we have much to learn from the powerful witness of persecuted Christians who remain steadfast in their faith and refuse to despair. 

We went on to explore some of the reasons why the oppression and persecution of Christian communities rarely receive the same media and political attention as discrimination against other minority groups. These reasons include the increasing secularisation in the West, which can make religion seem abstract, and the idea of suffering for one’s faith incomprehensible for those lacking a relationship with God.

I summarised the main findings of ACN’s latest Religious Freedom Report, highlighting the worsening situation for Christians living in cultures hostile to the Faith. I also introduced our Article 18 Petition and reflected on the Christian principles of human dignity, charity, solidarity, and the fundamental right to seek the truth freely – the foundational values of Western civilisation.

I finished by sharing a recurring theme which I experience whenever I meet ACN’s project partners from around the world. When I tell them I’m from Hungary, their reaction is the same every time: their face lights up because they or someone they know has received help from Hungary. This shows that, despite the tragedy of persecution endured by so many of our brothers and sisters worldwide, organisations like ACN and Hungary Helps can make a meaningful difference by bringing Christ’s merciful love to those in the most desperate need.