On May 28th an Egyptian court’s ruling raised concerns that Saint Katherine's Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai might be seized by the state and the monks evicted. This surprise ruling was met with universal condemnation by the Orthodox Church, with appeals to the Egyptian government that this not take place.
In response to concerns among the global Greek Orthodox community and government in Athens, the President of Egypt issued a statement late
Thursday, May 29th, aiming to ease fears over the status of operations of the
6th-century Greek Orthodox Monastery on Mount Sinai.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate stated among other things on May 30th:
"The Ecumenical Patriarchate appeals to the Egyptian Government, on the basis of yesterday's statements by the President of the country, His Excellency Mr. Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, to find the appropriate way to preserve the status quo of the Sacred Monastery, which has been particularly respected and preferentially secured for centuries by Islam, and to implement its recent agreement with the Monastery. Respect for the centuries-old traditions and adherence to the agreements can help the Monastery of Saint Katherine continue its religious and cultural mission from the Sinai Peninsula, where God once spoke to people."
Regarding the developments surrounding the Sacred Monastery of Sinai, following the assurances of the representative of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to maintain the sanctity of the site, His Eminence Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia spoke on the morning of May 30th on SKAI television on the show "SIMERA".
"First of all, I think that if something like this were to happen and the decision of the Egyptian court were to be implemented, it would be an infringement of religious freedoms, individual rights and mainly a dispute of the timeless history and presence of the Monastery in this particular place," he stated.
"We need to see what its presence and its positive contribution to the place is: in principle, Islamic shepherds lived in the Monastery itself. It has contributed substantially to the increase in tourism, the Bedouins live under the Monastery and the Monastery finances them, gives them houses to stay and they respect it. There is no discrimination in such things.”
“Unfortunately, an extremist Islamic organization is the one that started this whole issue, questioning the ownership of the monks over the Monastery and over the monuments. Which monument today in the world has ownership titles? Let’s be logical: none! This had started with the Muslim Brotherhood,” the Metropolitan emphasized.
Asked whether the Egyptian president was reassuring after his announcement, he stated that everyone knew what the court's decision would be, which is why the Greek government, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had been in communication with the corresponding services and ministries of the Egyptian government for many months and had reached an agreement, which had to be signed by both parties, so that it would become a law of the state.
"With this, the Monastery and its property and the estates and everything else that was considered pending would be secured," he emphasized.
Finally, he stated that: "It had been discussed at the level of civil servants and with scientific committees, but President Sisi also committed to the Greek Prime Minister that this solution would proceed. We need a little composure in our reactions when we face such things, especially in areas where there is great difficulty in accessing due to language. I don't think we all know Arabic and can read the original decisions. I also think the Greek translations of the decision don't clarify the case," he concluded.
"The Ecumenical Patriarchate appeals to the Egyptian Government, on the basis of yesterday's statements by the President of the country, His Excellency Mr. Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, to find the appropriate way to preserve the status quo of the Sacred Monastery, which has been particularly respected and preferentially secured for centuries by Islam, and to implement its recent agreement with the Monastery. Respect for the centuries-old traditions and adherence to the agreements can help the Monastery of Saint Katherine continue its religious and cultural mission from the Sinai Peninsula, where God once spoke to people."
Regarding the developments surrounding the Sacred Monastery of Sinai, following the assurances of the representative of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to maintain the sanctity of the site, His Eminence Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia spoke on the morning of May 30th on SKAI television on the show "SIMERA".
"First of all, I think that if something like this were to happen and the decision of the Egyptian court were to be implemented, it would be an infringement of religious freedoms, individual rights and mainly a dispute of the timeless history and presence of the Monastery in this particular place," he stated.
"We need to see what its presence and its positive contribution to the place is: in principle, Islamic shepherds lived in the Monastery itself. It has contributed substantially to the increase in tourism, the Bedouins live under the Monastery and the Monastery finances them, gives them houses to stay and they respect it. There is no discrimination in such things.”
“Unfortunately, an extremist Islamic organization is the one that started this whole issue, questioning the ownership of the monks over the Monastery and over the monuments. Which monument today in the world has ownership titles? Let’s be logical: none! This had started with the Muslim Brotherhood,” the Metropolitan emphasized.
Asked whether the Egyptian president was reassuring after his announcement, he stated that everyone knew what the court's decision would be, which is why the Greek government, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had been in communication with the corresponding services and ministries of the Egyptian government for many months and had reached an agreement, which had to be signed by both parties, so that it would become a law of the state.
"With this, the Monastery and its property and the estates and everything else that was considered pending would be secured," he emphasized.
Finally, he stated that: "It had been discussed at the level of civil servants and with scientific committees, but President Sisi also committed to the Greek Prime Minister that this solution would proceed. We need a little composure in our reactions when we face such things, especially in areas where there is great difficulty in accessing due to language. I don't think we all know Arabic and can read the original decisions. I also think the Greek translations of the decision don't clarify the case," he concluded.
