(ZENIT News / Cairo, 06.03.2025).- The ancient Monastery of Saint Catherine, nestled at the foot of Mount Sinai, is once again at the heart of a delicate geopolitical and religious tension after an Egyptian court issued a decision that raised alarms across the Orthodox Christian world. Though the ruling, handed down by the Court of Appeals in Ismailia on May 28, was presented by Egyptian authorities as protective of the monastery’s status, it has prompted a wave of concern from Greek ecclesiastical and political leaders, who fear the move could lead to long-term erosion of the site’s historic autonomy.
Saint Catherine’s Monastery, often described as the world’s oldest continuously operating Christian monastery, dates back to the reign of Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it represents a spiritual, cultural, and historical touchstone for Eastern Orthodoxy, and has long been administered by Greek Orthodox monks under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
The court ruling comes at the conclusion of a legal process that has spanned over a decade, centered around disputes over land ownership and use in the surrounding region. While Egyptian officials insist the judgment affirms the monks’ rights to continue their religious and custodial activities within and around the monastery, Greek media initially reported that the decision could pave the way for expropriation of certain properties and even the eviction of the monastic community. There were even mentions of plans to convert some monastery spaces into a museum — claims later denied by Cairo.
In an official statement, the Egyptian presidency reaffirmed its respect for the monastery’s religious character and its Greek Orthodox identity. The statement explicitly connected the court’s decision to earlier promises made by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during a state visit to Athens on May 7. According to the presidency, the court’s ruling «consolidates the unique religious identity» of the monastery and safeguards its «sacred character.»
Despite those assurances, reaction in Athens was swift and anxious. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reportedly held a phone call with Egyptian authorities on the day of the ruling, underscoring the expectation that Egypt would uphold the commitments made to Greece and the Orthodox Church. The Greek Foreign Ministry is still reviewing the full implications of the judgment, particularly regarding parcels of land now considered to be state-owned due to alleged lack of formal documentation.
The ecclesiastical response was more direct and emotional. Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens warned that the monastery had entered «a time of severe trial,» invoking memories of historic losses for Hellenism and Orthodoxy. “I do not want to believe, and I cannot believe, that today we are witnessing another historic decline,” the archbishop said in a strongly worded statement. He called on the international community and all Orthodox faithful to remain vigilant in defense of the monastery’s integrity.
Senior Orthodox leaders across the globe joined in expressing concern. Statements flowed from the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. While their tones varied, the underlying message was one of solidarity and unease, suggesting that even symbolic shifts in the monastery’s legal or administrative status could have far-reaching consequences for religious freedoms in the region.
The heart of the issue appears to lie not within the stone walls of the monastery itself, but in the vast wilderness that surrounds it. Some of the disputed lands fall within national nature reserves, areas the court concluded lacked definitive legal titles. For the monks, however, these lands are not peripheral but central — they include pilgrimage paths, hermitages, and ancient trails used for centuries in monastic life.
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