GREEK political and ecclesiastical authorities have defended the ancient rights of the Greek Orthodox St Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai, after an Egyptian court ruled on its legal status last week.
The UNESCO-protected site, constructed between 548 and 565 AD in the south-central Sinai Peninsula by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, is regarded as the world’s oldest continuously functioning Christian monastery.
The legal case, initiated more than a decade ago, culminated on Wednesday in a ruling by the Ismailia Court of Appeal.
Reports from Greek media initially suggested that the ruling could result in the confiscation of the property and the eviction of its monks. Purported plans included transforming certain areas into a museum. These have been refuted by the Egyptian authorities, who claim that the court ruling protects the ownership rights and the Greek character of the Sinai monastery, and deny the reports of confiscation.
“The Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt reiterates its full commitment to preserving the unique and sacred religious status of Saint Catherine’s Monastery and preventing its violation,” said a government statement. “The Presidency affirms that the recent court ruling consolidates this status, aligning with the points President El-Sisi emphasised during his recent visit to Athens on May 7.”
The ruling is still being analysed in Athens due to the complexity of the case, but the court’s decision — according to the Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs — upheld the monks’ continued right to use the surrounding areas and to access the religious and archaeological sites. The court, however, clarified that certain remote areas within nearby natural reserves were lacking any documentation of ownership and were therefore considered state property.
In a statement reported by the Orthodox Times, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Greece, Ieronymos II of Athens, expressed grave concern about the potential effects of ruling, saying that the monastery “now enters a period of severe trial — one that evokes much darker times in history. . . I do not want to believe — and I cannot believe — that today Hellenism and Orthodoxy are experiencing yet another historical fall. We cannot allow this to happen.”
The decision also drew responses from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarch of Alexandria, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America, and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, under whose jurisdiction the monastery formally falls.
In a phone call after the court decision on Wednesday, the Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis reportedly reiterated his expectation that Egypt would uphold the promises made by President Abdel el-Sisi when visiting Athens in early May, that he would not interfere with or change the status of the monastery.
The Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis is due to travel to Cairo later this week for consultations with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, to discuss the recent situation.
