Hungary To Restore Church Status Of Pastor Once Close To Orbán (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief reporting from Budapest, Hungary

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Hungary’s new center-right government has pledged to restore the church status of the Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship (MET), headed by 74-year-old Pastor Gábor Iványi, a longtime critic — and former ally — of ex-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Iványi, who officiated Orbán’s marriage vows and baptized two of his children before relations soured, said the new administration of Prime Minister Péter Magyar promised to restore MET’s legal recognition after years of financial pressure and legal disputes under the previous government.

The pastor told the media on Thursday that he had held informal talks with Culture and Social Relations Minister Zoltán Tarr, who reportedly assured him that the government and the ruling Tisza Party back the move.

Dressed mostly in black and wearing a flowing white beard that has prompted supporters to compare him to an Old Testament prophet, Gábor Iványi became one of Viktor Orbán’s fiercest church critics, warning that Hungary was drifting toward authoritarianism despite the former premier’s rhetoric about “Christian liberty.”

Iványi’s MET, a Methodist Church-linked evangelical congregation, operates shelters, schools, homeless outreach programs, and care homes serving thousands of vulnerable Hungarians, including children with disabilities, impoverished families, and homeless people.

COMMUNIST-ERA PRESSURE

Yet his Christian work has been accompanied by suffering and political pressure.

Under Hungary’s communist regime in 1968, at age 17, he was expelled from school after writing an essay authorities considered subversive.

Years later, he was expelled from clerical college for joining a Methodist movement opposing state interference in churches, helping form what became MET.

During Hungary’s communist era, Iványi was detained several times, barred from preaching in churches, and reportedly forced at times to deliver sermons in the streets while also helping publish underground Christian materials.

In 1977, after communist authorities shut down his Methodist church in Budapest, Iványi vowed not to shave until it reopened. Authorities eventually demolished the church building, while the pastor continued conducting outdoor services until restrictions eased about five years later.

CHURCH STATUS REMOVED

Following the collapse of communism in 1989, Iványi had hoped his church would be able to operate more openly. For a while, he enjoyed relative freedom.

However, after becoming a critic of Orbán’s policies, their friendship ended. The Fidesz-controlled Hungarian parliament stripped MET of its church status in 2011, removing significant state subsidies tied to official recognition under controversial legislation.

Hungary’s Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights later ruled aspects of the measure unlawful, but the government never fully restored the organization’s legal standing.

Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, accused Hungarian authorities of harassing Iványi and obstructing the church’s humanitarian work.

Iványi has repeatedly accused Orbán’s former government of trying to financially suffocate MET. The church accumulated billions of forints in debt — worth several million U.S. dollars — while relying heavily on private donations to continue operating social programs.

FINANCIAL PRESSURE GROWS

In 2024, prosecutors charged Iványi with alleged “group-committed violence against an official person” linked to a 2022 tax authority raid at a Budapest homeless shelter operated by his church.

Hungarian prosecutors sought a two-year suspended jail sentence against Iványi in the case, prompting major protests by supporters and rights activists who described the charges as politically motivated.

Supporters said the case reflected broader pressure on organizations assisting migrants, homeless people, Roma communities, and other vulnerable groups.

Most of MET’s schools serving disadvantaged children were later closed or nationalized, while elderly care institutions were temporarily transferred to the Lutheran Church in Hungary.

Iványi expressed hope that under the new government, schools in Budapest and Szeged that were shut down shortly before the academic year two years ago could reopen this autumn.

SCHOOLS MAY REOPEN

The schools reportedly served many children with special educational needs, including autistic students, and their closures sparked criticism from educators and parents who struggled to find alternative placements.

Iványi said dismissed teachers are willing to return, adding that a 100 million forint (about $280,000) donation from businessman György Wáberer would help improve school conditions.

The funds were initially intended for Magyar’s Tisza Party, but Magyar reportedly returned the money, after which Wáberer donated it to MET.

In a widely discussed “Advent Statement,” modeled partly on the 1934 Barmen Declaration opposing Nazi influence over German churches, Iványi and fellow clergy accused the Orbán government of undermining democracy, marginalizing minorities, and using Christianity for political purposes.

“We are ringing the alarm bell,” Iványi said at the time. “In ancient Israel, the prophets spoke out against corruption and wickedness. We take courage from their example.”

With Orbán out of the spotlight, Iványi’s immediate priority is restoring MET’s official church recognition, which he says can be achieved without amending Hungary’s church law if parliament approves a new resolution.

Latest Worthy News