Debrecen4U March 30, 2026

10th Anniversary Palm Sunday Stations of the Cross Held in Great Reformed Church

In a unique way in Hungary, together with the city’s Christian denominations and the wider community, Debrecen commemorates Palm Sunday and the events of Holy Week that follow—the story of Christ’s Passion—through ecumenical cooperation.

The celebration, held for the 10th time on 29 March 2026, took place this year in the city’s historic sacred space, the Great Reformed Church.

Károly Fekete, Bishop of the Transtibiscan Reformed Church District, began his address by noting the presence of children in the church, saying that when Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem from Jericho on the first Palm Sunday, a similar scene may have greeted him. Much like today: children and adults arriving together, crying out with one heart and one soul: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Later, on Palm Sunday afternoon, the children in the church began singing on their own what they had heard from the adults. This simple, pure praise, however, outraged the religious leaders of the time. Jesus responded with the words of the Psalms:
“From the mouths of children and infants you have brought forth praise.”

In this context, Károly Fekete warned of the great responsibility adults bear in the example they set for their children. The bishop also explained that the word “hosanna” originally was not praise but a cry for help: “Lord, save us!” In the case of Jesus, however, both meanings—praise and a plea for help—are true at once. He is the one to whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given, the one who both can and will help. The message of Palm Sunday remains alive today: let us dare to say and sing together, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Let us allow Jesus to enter our lives and transform them, so that we may recognise the good and true thought: that we have a redeemer in the person of Jesus Christ. Thus we may set out joyfully towards Holy Week, so that suffering does not crush us but lifts us up and leads us to the great feast of the Resurrection, to the day of Easter.

Following the prayer of Fülöp Kocsis, Archbishop-Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Hajdúdorog, an address was delivered by Ferenc Palánki, Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza. Speaking about Holy Week, he quoted the reflections of Áron Márton, who said that Jesus would have come into the world even if original sin had not occurred, so that humanity might grow accustomed to the nearness of God. God wishes to draw very close to us—we simply do not yet notice it. We often think, when bearing our crosses, that God has abandoned us. Yet as we walk the Stations of the Cross, we may realise that God loves us, that Jesus did not notice us out of nothingness, but through his love. He undertook sacrifice for us and invited us to walk our own personal life journey alongside him, which may often seem like a way of the cross, but we must understand that our salvation is taking place.

Ferenc Palánki also recalled the thoughts of the poet Zoltán Zelk: “My friends think I lie still; they do not know that with a yielding heart I am learning to walk beside God.” According to the bishop, as we now spiritually walk the way of the cross of Jesus, let us walk beside God. Let us think of our wounds, but also of love, and of those who bear far heavier burdens. Ferenc Palánki also mentioned that Pope Leo XIV said in his Palm Sunday homily that when we look upon the crucified Christ, we must think of all those who are suffering in the world today due to war, arrogance, and evil. “Let us pray in this gathering, in our community, for peace, for an end to wars, and that people may realise that only together can we attain salvation,” he asked those assembled.

In keeping with tradition, the stations of the ecumenical Way of the Cross were presented with the participation of representatives of the Debrecen Baptist Congregation, the Debrecen Lutheran Parish, the Debrecen-Nyíregyházi Diocese, the Debrecen Holy Trinity Hungarian Orthodox Parish, the Hajdúdorog Archdiocese, and the Transtibiscan Reformed Church District, accompanied by reflections from János Kiss (Baptist pastor), András Porkoláb (Reformed minister), Miklós Sivadó (Greek Catholic parish priest), Barnabás Sipos (Orthodox parish priest), Richárd Asztalos (Lutheran senior minister), and Zoltán Krakomperger (Roman Catholic episcopal vicar).

Contributors to the ceremony included artists of the Csokonai Nemzeti Színház—Katalin Benedekffy (opera singer), Boldizsár Kulcsár (vocal artist), Kinga Újhelyi and Hunor Pál (actors); Sebestyén Toók; the combined choir of primary school pupils from the Talentum Baptist Primary School, the Svetits Catholic Kindergarten, Primary School, Grammar School and College, and the Saint Joseph Catholic Kindergarten, Primary School, Grammar School and College; the Dalárda ensemble, the Kuckó Art Colony, the Baptist choir, the Galilea Praise Band, the Lautitia Choir Family, and the choir of the Debrecen Holy Trinity Hungarian Orthodox Parish. Piano accompaniment was provided by Richárd Ugrai and organ accompaniment by Ádám Tabajdi.

During the ceremony, participants were given blessed willow branches by the girls of Debrecen’s folk dance ensembles (Főnix Children’s and Youth Folk Dance Ensemble, the Debrecen Hajdú Dance Ensemble, the University of Debrecen Hortobágy Folk Dance Ensemble, and the Debrecen Folk Ensemble). At the end, members of the Debrecen Charity Board distributed flower seeds.

The Palm Sunday celebration continued with the organ concert The Way of the Resurrection in the Organ Music of Zoltán Gárdonyi, held as part of the “Kistemplom 300” jubilee concert series. The evening’s performer was organist Ádám Tabajdi.

In the Reformed Great Church, a musical worship service titled Dominica Palmarum was held, featuring the Debrecen Garrison Band conducted by Captain Róbert Kovács. The sermon was delivered by Lieutenant Colonel Szilárd Sajtos, senior leading Reformed chaplain of the Protestant Military Chaplaincy Service of the Ministry of Defence.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu