The fourth candle was lit on the city’s Advent wreath

The fourth candle was lit on the Advent wreath of the city in the Reformed Church of Debrecen on the 22nd of December 2024.

At the beginning of the candle-lighting ceremony, András Beszterczey, pastor of the Debrecen Reformed Great Church, greeted the gathering with a thought from The Little Prince: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” He said, “We believe that God is love; if God is in our hearts, we see well. We all want to see well, and we all want to be seen. If we have God and love in our hearts, we will listen to each other and see each other. When we see each other, we will know that yes, you are with me, you are mine. With your whole being, personality, past, and present, believe me, I want to be part of your future. I wish we could experience this meeting at Christmas.”

István Puskás, Deputy Mayor of Debrecen, wished all present to enjoy the miracle of Christmas in peace, strength and good health among their loved ones.

Barnabás Sipos, parochus of the Hungarian Orthodox parish of St. Trinity in Debrecen, recalled the Christmas story by Wass Albert for the celebrating community.

The fourth candle on the city’s Advent wreath was lit with the flame of peace and love from Bethlehem. After the candle-lighting ceremony, everyone could take home the flame of peace and love from the Memorial Garden, which was transformed into the Soul Garden for the Advent season and distributed by members of the Catholic Missio and Gentes community in Debrecen.

The programme included performances by the Kuckó Art Theatre, students from the Ady High School, the Debrecen Folk Ensemble, the Hajdú Dance Ensemble, the Hortobágy Folk Dance Ensemble, the Bíró Orchestra, Norbert Antoni and Klaudia Kuczmog, opera singers, and Gergő Csorba, organist of the Reformed Great Church Congregation.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu