Magyar News, 2000. szeptember-2001. augusztus (11. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

2000-12-01 / 4. szám

1000th ANNIVERSARY OF HUNGARY)

FROM THE

Congress of the United States of America

Congratulating the Republic of Hungary on the millennium of its foundation as a state:

☆ whereas the ancestors of the Hungarian nation, 7 tribes excelling in horsemanship and handicrafts, settled in the Carpathian basin around the end the 9th century;

☆ whereas during the next century this tribal association had accommodated itself to a pennanently settled status;

☆ whereas the ruler of the nation at the end of the first millennium, Prince Stephen, realized with great foresight that the survival of his nation depends on its adapting itself to its surroundings by becoming a Christian kingdom and linking its future to Western civilization;

☆ whereas in 1000 A.D. Stephen, later canonized as Saint Stephen, adopted the Christian faith and was crowned with a crown which he requested from Pope Sylvester II of Rome;

☆ whereas, by those acts, Saint Stephen, King of Hungary, established his domain as one of the seven Christian kingdoms, of Europe of the time and anchored his nation in Western civilization forever;

☆ whereas during the past 1,000 years, in spite of residing on the traditional cross roads of invaders from the East and the W est, the Hungarian nation showed great vitality in preserving its unique identity , language, culture, and traditions;

☆ whereas in his written legacy, Saint Stephen called for tolerance and hospitality toward settlers migrating to the land from other cultures;

☆ whereas through the ensuing centuries other tribes and ethnic and religious groups moved to Hungary and gained acceptance into the nation, enriching its heritage;

☆ whereas since the 16th century a vibrant Protestant community has contributed to the vitality and diversity of the Hungarian nation;

ú whereas, particularly after their emancipation in the second half of the 19th century , Hungarians of the Jewish faith have made an enormous contribution to the economic, cultural, artistic, and scientific life of the Hungarian nation, contributing more than half of the nation's Nobel Prize winners;

☆ whereas the United State has benefitted immensely from the hard work, dedication, scientific knowledge, and cultural gifts of hundreds of thousands of immgrants from Hungary; and

☆ whereas in this year Hungary also celebrates the 1,000th anniversary of its first post- communist free and democratic elections, the first such elections within the former Warsaw Pact:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), that the Congress

(1) congratulates the Republic of Hungary, and Hungarians everywhere, on the one thousandth anniversary of the founding of the Kingdom of Hungary by Saint Stephen; and

(2) commends the Republic of Hungary for the great determination, skill, and sense of purpose it demonstrated in its recent transition to a democratic state dedicated to upholding universal rights and liberties, free market economy, an integration into Europe and transatlantic institutions.

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