In the land of Saint Stephen and Saint Elizabeth: Laudian thoughts from Budapest

Ye shall pray for Christ’s holy Catholick Church; that is, for the whole Congregation of Christian People dispersed throughout the whole World ...

The words from the Bidding Prayer in the Canons of 1604 came to mind last Thursday as I stood amidst the splendour of Saint Stephen's Basilica in Budapest. The Bidding Prayer echoes, of course, the Prayer for the Church Militant:

beseeching thee to inspire continually the universal Church with the spirit of truth, unity, and concord: And grant, that all they that do confess thy holy Name may agree in the truth of thy holy Word, and live in unity, and godly love ...

That the Christians of Hungary - Roman Catholic and Lutheran, Calvinist and Orthodox - were intended to be included in these prayers is evident from Archbishop Matthew Parker's 1566 prayers "for the preseruation of those Christians and their Countreys, that are nowe inuaded by the Turke  in  Hungary". These prayers were published by royal authority, to be used in parish churches. Their ecumenical nature is evident from the preface's reference to "the Emperours exellent Maiestie, as Gods principall minister", with the Ottomans described as those who "labour vtterly to roote out not onlye true religion, but also the very name and memory of Christ our only Sauiour, and all Christianitie". The prayers also, as the preface stated, reflected the historic vocation - embodied in Saint Stephen of Hungary - of "the kyngdome of Hungary", which "hath of long tyme ben as a moste stronge wall and defence to all Christendome": this vocation, in other words, was rooted in pre-Reformation history.

The prayer for the Roman Catholic emperor, and his army gathered from the Catholic and Protestant lands of the empire, emphasised a shared Christian identity:

geue to the Emperour thy seruaunt, and all the Christian army now assembled with hym, thy comfortable myght and courage, that we and they that delyght to be named Christians, may enioy both outwarde peace, and inwardly laude, prayse, and magnifie thy holy name for euer ...

To stand in the midst of Saint Stephen's Basilica was to experience this sense of Christendom, of societies shaped by and rooted in the confession of Christ, a shared confession embracing lands on opposite sides of the Reformation divide, "that delyght to be named Christians". As an Anglican and a subject of a the British Crown, it was still the case that this Hungarian Roman Catholic Basilica was 'ours', part of a shared Christian patrimony.

This was also evident as I stood in front of the relic of Saint Stephen's hand. The explanatory notice beside the relic stated that, since its discovery, it "has been highly esteemed by the nation ever since". No further claims were made nor was there mention of particular acts of devotion to be directed towards the relic.  For a Laudian, this is an entirely acceptable use of relics: a means of remembrance, encouraging us to recall with thanksgiving the witness of past saints. We might also compare the relic of Saint Stephen's hand with the shrine of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey: both are a focus of national remembrance, embodying the Christian vocation and identity of the realm. (While Hungary is a republic, the Crown of Saint Stephen remains the symbol of Hungarian sovereignty.)

I returned to the Basilica for evening Mass on Thursday. There was a goodly congregation (I estimated 60) for Mass in the Ordinary Form, with a homily and two hymns. A warm atmosphere of piety and devotion was evident. I was grateful for the blessing I was given when I went forward at the administration. (I did not, out of respect for the tradition amongst whom I was a guest, receive the Sacrament.) My prayer at the Eucharist was for the ministry of the Basilica in the heart of Budapest, and for the churches of Hungary - Roman Catholic and Lutheran, Calvinist and Orthodox - that their presence and witness in that ancient land would continue to be means of grace and blessing.

Above the high altar is an image of Saint Stephen of Hungary. During the homily, with my knowledge of Hungarian being non-existent, I reflected on how the image is a vivid reminder that royal saints and the devotion of monarchs are a common feature of Christianity in Europe, across the confessions, in East and West. This is why Jeremy Taylor came to mind during the homily at that evening Mass. Taylor dedicated his The Worthy Communicant to the Princess Mary, daughter of the Royal Martyr. Rejoicing in her piety, Taylor declared:

your name hath been dear and highly honourable amongst the sons and daughters of the church of England: and we no more envy to Hungary the great name of St. Elizabeth ...

That Taylor had no hesitation in rejoicing in the witness of the 13th century Saint Elizabeth of Hungary - a faithful Latin Christian - is another example of what it is to "delyght to be named Christians", to know the unity (impaired though it may be) we have with "the whole Congregation of Christian People dispersed throughout the whole World". This was also my joy as I stood and prayed in Saint Stephen's Basilica, Budapest.