” “The Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, Alexius II, invited cardinal Péter Erdo, primate of Hungary, to take part in a solemn Orthodox liturgy in the Cathedral of the Holy Dormition in Budapest. He did so as part of an exchange of letters on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the year of prayer for the renewal of the nation. Cardinal Erdo had sent a letter to Alexius II last February 7th. Today his reply has been made known. "Many proofs have been received by our nations in the XX century writes Alexius II. The victims of the violent persecutions of the Atheist regime included many priests and laymen of the Russian Orthodox Church". "The remains of the Russian soldiers he recalls later on lie in many cemeteries on the Hungarian soil, whilst thousands of Hungarian soldiers have found their last dwelling on Russian land". Even the postwar period, recalls the Patriarch of Moscow, saw "sour pages" of history, such as "the events of 1956". "The wounds inflicted by the historical events of the past can only be healed by prayer, repentance and reconciliation", states Alexius II. Alexius II concludes by recalling the current improvement of relations between Russia and Hungary, a sign of which is "the return of the Sarospatak Library, taken out of Hungary by the Germans during the Second World War": "This event redresses historical justice".” “
