The XVI. NAPS International Ecumenical Concert 2024

At the beginning of the Concert, which was held during the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the national flags of Hungary and the Slovak Republic and the flag of the European Union were brought to the Concert hall of the Slovak Philharmony in Bratislava.

The orchestra played the national anthems of Hungary and the Slovak Republic.

The moderator of the ecumenical evening was Karin Majtánová.

The joint patronage of the concert was taken over by the Deputy Prime Ministers of Hungary and Slovakia, Mr. Tomáš Taraba and Mr. Zsolt Semjén. In his speech at the beginning of the concert, Deputy Prime Minister Taraba praised the importance of Christian and ecumenical values in Slovak society and the thousand-year shared history with our southern neighbor.

Good neighborly relations and their potential for the future were also underlined by Miklós Soltész, State Secretary of the Government of Hungary for Churches, Minorities and Civil Affairs, who attended the Concert on behalf of Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén.

The Lúčnica choir offered the attendees songs of the Roman Catholic tradition. Since 2003, Mrs. Elena Matušová has been the artistic director and conductor of the choir.

The message of the international event was also appreciated by Archbishop Nicola Girasoli, Apostolic Nuncio in Slovakia, who interpreted the greeting from Pope Francis to those present.

Those present heard the hymns of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession performed by the Children’s and Girls’ Choir of Slovak Television and Radio.

The young singers performed alongside opera soloist Marianna Prievozníková Geleneka.

The Greek Catholic Church suffered extremely in the last century and bore witness to the loyalty to the Pope and the inner strength of the unwavering faith of many of its members. Those present remembered this period with a psalm in the Old Slavic language, which was sung by singer Štefan Štec, by the soloist of the Hornád Folklore Ensemble, Mária Mamrillová, and a member of the Fajta group, pianist and organist, Dominik Korytko.

Charismatic singer Štefan Štec honored all those who had to leave their homeland because of the war with a unique Ruthenian song.

In addition to diplomats from 11 countries, the Chinese ambassador to Slovakia, H.E. Mr. CAI Ge and his wife, also participated in the event.

The guests present used the concert break for a short conversation and refreshments.

Those present also celebrated the Heavenly Father with the songs of the Reformed Christian Church. And it was performed by talented young artists: Hungarian soprano Luca Balogh and Slovak organist Marek Janko.

The members of the Cantica Istropolitana choir also created a profound atmosphere of Eastern Christian chants during the concert.

During the performance, the soloist of the Košice National Theater, Mr. Ondrej Mráz, joined the choristers.

The entire festive concert was accompanied by the Slovak Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Adrian Kokoš.

The unique Bratislava musical group Pressbuger Klezmer Band enriched the 550 guests present with two Jewish songs.

„In today’s difficult times, which are marked by bad interpersonal relations and painful war conflicts, the mission of the event seems more than timely,“ said the Founder and Director of NAPS Institute, Peter Solej, during the concert, and at the same time he briefly evaluated 20 years of non-commercial activities of the Slovak institute.

At the end of the event, NAPS Director Peter Solej presented the NAPS Award Letter of Thanks to Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Tomáš Taraba and Hungarian State Secretary Miklós Soltész.

The end of the concert traditionally belonged to the blessing of the hierarchs of the Christian churches and the prayer of the rabbi of the Jewish religious community. His Excellency Mons. Nicola Girasoli, Archbishop, Apostolic Nuncio in the Slovak Republic, blessed in Latin.

Reverend Mr. Ján Hroboň, Bishop of the Western District of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia, gave the blessing in the Slovak language.

His Grace Milan Lach, Greek Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Bratislava, gave the blessing in the Old Slavonic language.

The Very Reverend Mr. Róbert Géreši, bishop of the Reformed Christian Church in Slovakia gave a blessing in the Hungarian language.

The prayer was delivered by the honorable Míša Kapustin, rabbi of the Central Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Slovakia.

After the blessing and prayer, those present listened to the final song of the evening: Hallelujah from Handel’s oratorio Messiah performed by members of the Lúčnica i Cantica Istropolitana choir and several opera soloists.

Thanks to the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic for delegating the unit of the Honorary Guard of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic.

The mission of the evening was also supported by personal participation of the Slovak Minister of Health, Mr. Kamil Šaško.