The monastic community in Pannonhalma has opened their gates in front of the faithful lay people for more than fifty years so that they could celebrate the Paschal Triduum together. The Eastre meeting primarily emphasises shared prayers and private composedness in the context of spiritual programmes. This year, among many other programmes, within the framework of a presentation in the archival-pedagogic room, our interested guests could get acquainted with Abbot Uros, the builder of the 800-year-old third church in Pannonhalma.

The finals of the 23rd Cultura Nostra History Competition of the Carpathian Basin was held in the Archabbey on 26 March. This year, the theme of the contest organised by the Rákóczi Association and the Pannonhalma Archabbey was the history of Hungary in the Arpadian Age. The reason for this was provided by the fact that the third monastic church in Pannonhalma celebrates the 800th anniversary of its consecration this year. Six hundred secondary school pupils of the Carpathian Basin took part in the programme.

On the corner of a parliamentary publication of 1848, pressed in sealing-wax, a sample of the cocharda nationalis was preserved, as it was called then: national cockade (tarajka; “crestlet”).
The cockade of tricolour was spread all over Europe by the French revolution. At the outset, the trimmings of a hat made of cock-feathers (coq=cock) were called this way, later the pleated ribbon trimmings were also referred to this way.

The 800-anniversary of the consecration of the third church of Pannonhalma is celebrated this year. In the jubilee year of the Basilica 800, an exhibition pays our respects to Abbot Uros, who had the church built. In the process of preparing the exhibition, four charters were conserved, which will be on show. In the first charter, Stephen – the Abbot of Monte Cassino – at the request of Abbot Uros visiting him transcribes Pope Innocent III’s letters-patent of 1208 for Saint Benedict’s monastery. (Capsa XXX K. – Nr.

On 7 February, approximately twenty church archivists met to hold a consultation in Pannonhalma. The archivists mainly come from Transdanubia and discussed the actual questions of the common ecclesiastical-archival homepage (Matricula), the register-database, the larger professional projects, and the processes of publishing books. After the Midday Office and lunch, they visited the Archabbey’s brewery in Ravazd where they became acquainted with the activity of the manufacture producing abbey-beer of Belgian type. They could taste same of the products, as well.

The Bulletin of the Collections of the Archabbey of Pannonhalma traditionally publishes papers discussing the history of the Benedictine Order and papers related to the collections of the Order. In the volumed published in December 2023, one of the papers discusses codex-leaves, which might have been parts of a missal with musical notation probably completed in the scriptorium of Tihany at the beginning of the 14th century, and which were used to comprise the binding of the account-book of one of the castellans of Tihany during the Turkish rule.

The Museologists’ Association of Christian Churches, the National Centre for Catholic Collections and the National Committee for Ecclesiastical Art and Monuments held their day of professional discussions in the Greek-Catholic Museum, Nyíregyháza on 16 November. Guided by Irén Szabó, Director, the experts coming from the country’s different parts visited the museum’s exhibitions, and they were introduced to the museum’s creation, collections and plans in an informal discussion.

On 22-23 November, a group from the Ministry of Energy visited the Archabbey. In addition to team-development and professional programmes, they visited our Archives, too, where they head a look at some mediaeval documents, then they became acquainted with the history of the monastery’s energy-intake.

On 22 November 2023, the Association of Hungarian Domanial History organised the 11th National Conference on Domanial History in Gödöllő, on the Saint Stephen Campus of MATE (Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences). After a four-year involuntary break, the researchers interested in the topic met again, who – related to the jubilee year of Petőfi 200 – concentrated on the characteristics of allodial agriculture in the reform period, however, other interesting topics were also discussed by visiting experts.

On 21 November, a Georgian church delegation visited Pannonhalma led by Theodore Chuadze, the Metropolitan of Akhaltsikhe and Tao-Klarjeti. He was accompanied by Metropolitans Gerasim Sharashenidze, Saba Zaza Gigiberia, Amiran Gvazava and Protopresbyter Gia Zviadadze in the Archabbey. Our guests were shown around in the monastery, the treasury, and the Basilica where they could listen to a short organ recital, they attended the Midday Office, and they had lunch with the Benedictine community. In the Archives they were guided by Tamás Dénesi, and in the Library by Ilona Ásványi.