According to the laudation, Mr Orbán earned the decoration with his efforts made in Hungary and throughout Europe to protect Christianity, the promotion of Christian values and his personal contribution to the friendship of the Hungarian and Serbian nations.
Upon handing over the decoration, the Serbian Patriarch stressed that Mr Orbán was a unique statesman in Europe who “fights for the soul of Europe” and whose words are also heeded by other peoples, including the people of Serbia.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Orbán highlighted that he was proud to accept the decoration from his Serbian Orthodox Christian brother. “We are peaceful people, we want peace, but there is indeed a war under way for the soul of Europe, and without Christian unity, with Orthodoxy in it, we cannot win this fight,” the Prime Minister said.
Saint Sava (1174-1236) was the founder of the independent Serbian Orthodox Church. The order of merit named after him is conferred by the Serbian Orthodox Church upon church and secular persons with special merits.