There is No Longer a Difference between the Dead Soldiers According to Rank, Position or Origin

Praising the military heroes at the candle-light tribute ceremony staged on All Souls’ Day at the Kapisztrán Square, in Buda Castle, Dr. Tibor Benkő noted that according to the Hungarian beliefs, each soul has a burning candle in heaven, and until it burns, it symbolises the life on Earth of a man. "If we think about this while remembering the fallen comrades, soldiers, we will see that their candles in heaven burned out prematurely" – said the Minister of Defence of Hungary.

He recalled that behind the prematurely burnt out candles there were soldiers in uniform, and behind all of them there was a loving father, a sweetheart, a brother, a sister, a child, a cousin, an uncle, who had wanted their candles to burn out together with the candles of the loved ones, but they did not receive this grace. "Because they went off to fight for a common goal. Regardless of their affiliation, titles and ranks they sacrificed their lives for the homeland, for freedom and for building a happier future. There is no distinction between the soldiers resting in the graves according to ranks, positions, or their origin. When we light the candles of reverence, there is no distinction between the soldiers fighting for the homeland and the soldiers of the enemy" – emphasised Dr. Tibor Benkő. He also underlined that we remember them with the same reverence, as they sacrificed the most precious, their own lives for their homeland.

Minister of Defence stressed that although the lighting of the candles eases the mind of man, the light of the candle foreshadows the idea, that we have to avoid war, and thereby that of still having to light lots of candles due to the heroism and bravery of others.

During the candle-light tribute ceremony Chief Military Rabbi Totha Péter Joel, Brigadier General János Jákob, Protestant Military Bishop and Colonel Tibor Berta, the Vicar General of the Catholic Military Ordinairate prayed for the souls of the deceased.

The commemoration was attended – among others – by Dr. Pál Kádár, the State Secretary for Public Administration of the Ministry of Defence, István Szabó, the Defence State Secretary of the Ministry, Lieutenant General Ferenc Korom Chief of Defence, Colonel Dr. Vilmos Kovács, the Commandant of the MoD Military History Institute and Museum, and some members of the Military Attaché Corps accredited to Budapest.

Photos of Tünde Rácz