{"id":287,"date":"2025-05-30T12:24:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T12:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orthodoxiapost.com\/?p=287"},"modified":"2025-05-30T12:39:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T12:39:10","slug":"ecumenical-patriarchate-monastery-saint-catherine-sinai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orthodoxiapost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/30\/ecumenical-patriarchate-monastery-saint-catherine-sinai\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecumenical Patriarchate saddened by Egyptian Authorities’ Decision on Monastery of Saint Catherine on Mt. Sinai"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Catherine
St. Catherine Monastery on Mt Sinai – Egypt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Ecumenical Patriarchate, in a statement published today, Friday, May 30, expressed deep sorrow and surprise upon learning that the competent Egyptian court called into question the longstanding ownership status of the historic Holy Monastery of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the passed verdict, the court recognized the local monastic brotherhood at Mt. Sinai only as having the right to use the monastery\u2019s property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerns of Ecumenical Patriarchate on Saint Catherine Monastery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Ecumenical Patriarchate<\/a>, the First-In-honor among Orthodox Churches, is disappointed and saddened by this ruling. The Church has always embraced the venerable foundation established by Emperor Justinian, admiring and grateful for its contributions to faith, nation, and culture over the centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ecumenical Patriarchate appeals to the Egyptian government to preserve the monastery\u2019s ownership status \u2014 an arrangement that Islam itself has respected and safeguarded for centuries \u2014 and to implement the recent agreement reached with the monastery. Respecting longstanding traditions and honoring agreements will enable the Monastery of Saint Catherine to continue its religious and cultural mission from the Sinai Peninsula, where God once spoke to humankind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The centuries have respected the Monastery of Sinai; let Egypt respect it today as well as a civilized, law-abiding nation that upholds religious freedom and human rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sinai Monastery is a precious acquired treasure for the land of the Nile, which brings honor to it and symbolically and essentially connects on its territory the two great religions of Christianity and Islam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top Hierarchs concerned with the situation at St. Catherine’s Monastery<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In a solemn statement yesterday, Friday, May 29, regarding the critical situation surrounding the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai, following a decision by Egyptian judicial authorities, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens expressed his concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archbishop Ieronymos said that, \u201cFollowing yesterday\u2019s scandalous decision involving the violent violation of human\u2014and specifically religious\u2014freedoms by the Egyptian judicial system, the oldest Orthodox Christian monument in the world, the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine in Mount Sinai, now enters a period of severe trial\u2014one that evokes much darker times in history,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite recent assurances made by the President of Egypt to the Greek Prime Minister, the Egyptian government has effectively chosen to dismantle every notion of justice and, with a single stroke, attempt to erase the very existence of the Monastery\u2014abolishing its religious, spiritual, and cultural function, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement published yesterday, Archbishop Elpidophoros<\/a> of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America noted, I call upon religious leaders, international organizations, and all people of faith, to join in advocating for the preservation of the Holy Monastery of St. Catherine at Mt. Sinai. Let’s ensure that this sacred place continues to unite people of all faiths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Egyptian presidency reaffirmed its commitment to preserving the monastery at Mt. Sinai<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sources from Egypt indicate that the Egyptian presidency<\/a> has reaffirmed its full commitment to preserving the unique and sacred religious status of St. Catherine\u2019s Monastery in South Sinai, ensuring this status remains untouched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement released yesterday, Thursday, May 29, the Egyptian presidency stressed that the recent judicial ruling regarding the monastery reinforces this status and aligns with what President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi affirmed during his recent visit to Athens on May 7th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The presidency underscored the importance of maintaining the \u201cclose and fraternal relations between the two countries and brotherly peoples, and ensuring they are not harmed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n