in the life of a king who introduced Christianity here more than a millennium ago.
Thousands of Hungarians traveled to neighboring Romania last weekend, where up to 350,000 people attended the premiere of "Stephen the King", a rock opera by Levente Szorenyi and Janos Brody, at Sumuleu, Transylvania.
The biggest open-air performance in Hungarian theatrical life to date was likely to boost attendance when Hungary, a mainly Catholic nation, commemorates St. Istvan (King Stephen), August 20, BosNewsLife observed.
Last week’s rock opera in Romania came two decades after it first premiered in Budapest in 1983, when the country was still a Soviet satellite state and occupied by Russian forces.
NO REGIME CHANGE
Composer Szorenyi told reporters that although "Stephen the King had not started Hungary’s change in regime, it had been an incredibly brave venture for many."
Brody stressed the opera also shows "an eternal dilemma for the East Central European small peoples where to draw the line between national self-determination and European integration."
It seemed a reference to Church leaders who have warned that Hungary should not give up its Christian values, accepted by King Stephen around the year 1000, when it joins the European Union in 2004.
PASTORS CONCERNED
Yet, some pastors have also expressed concern about the influence of Satanist groups in previous centuries in the country, which long boosted one of the highest suicide rates in the world.
The chief patrons of the performance in Romania were President Ferenc Madl and First Lady Dalma Madl who called for "the necessity to preserve traditions," the Hungarian News Agency MTI reported.
It is yet unclear whether the developments will lead to a national, spiritual revival, in Romania, Hungary and the region. Christians in the United States and around the world have been praying for Hungary, BosNewsLife has learned.
