This Sunday we hiked up Kalvária Hegy in the Buda Hills. As the name suggests, it has three crosses at the peak, imitating the Calvary Hill in Jerusalem, where Jesus died.

It also has 14 stops along the way, called “Stations of the Cross”, marking different events of the passion and death of Jesus. At each station we stopped to read relevant Bible verses. The Stations of the Cross are based on biblical text and Roman Catholic tradition and you can follow them in church during the time of lent.

These are the verses we read at each station:

  1. Jesus is condemned to death: Mark 15:1-15, Matthew 27:23-31
  2. Jesus takes up the Cross: John 19:13-17, John 19:5
  3. Jesus falls for the first time: Isaiah 53:4-7, Matthew 11:28-30
  4. Jesus meets his Mother: John 19:25-27
  5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his Cross: Mark 15:21
  6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus: John 14:9, Matthew 25:40
  7. Jesus falls the second time: Hebrews 4:15, Isaiah 63:9
  8. Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem: Luke 23:27-31
  9. Jesus falls the third time: Luke 22:28-32
  10. Jesus is stripped of his garments: John 19:23-24
  11. Jesus is nailed to the Cross: Luke 23:33-43
  12. Jesus dies on the Cross: John 19:28-37, Matthew 27:50
  13. Jesus is taken down from the Cross: John 19:38-40
  14. Jesus is laid in the Tomb: Mark 15:46-47

Once we reached the top we were able to enjoy a beautiful scenic view of the surrounding mountains.

Scenic view from Kalvária Hegy Photo by: Rádi Viktor

If you’re interested, the Presbyterian pastor Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts has written a great post about the Stations of the Cross with deep and beautiful insights, as well as a protestant perspective to this spiritual tradition.