Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
The news from Egypt in late May was frankly shocking. The Times of London reported on May 29, 2025 that “Egypt could be set to close the world’s oldest continuously functioning Christian monastery after almost 15 centuries, igniting international concern and fury from the Greek Orthodox community.”
Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Mount Sinai was established in the sixth century by the order of the Roman Emperor Justinian, and has functioned continuously as a Greek Orthodox Christian monastery since then. The idea that it could be suddenly closed on the order of the Egyptian government was a profound shock not only to Greek Orthodox Christians worldwide, who have recently endured the conversion of Hagia Sophia and the Chora Church in Constantinople into mosques, but to all Christians and people of good will.
An international outcry accordingly ensued. His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America stated: “It is with profound concern and deep sorrow that I address the grave situation facing the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine at the God-trodden Mount Sinai, following the recent judicial decision by Egyptian authorities that threatens to seize the monastery’s property and disrupt its sacred mission.”
His Eminence added: “The recent judicial actions which threaten to confiscate the monastery’s property and disrupt its spiritual mission are deeply troubling. Such measures not only violate religious freedoms but also endanger a site of immense historical and cultural importance. It is imperative that the Egyptian government honors its previous commitments to protect the monastery’s autonomy and heritage.”
His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece likewise decried this “scandalous decision involving the violent violation of human—and specifically religious—freedoms 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—one that evokes much darker times in history.” His Beatitude concluded: “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.”
As the controversy grew, however, the Egyptian Presidency issued a statement saying that the monastery would not be closed: “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. The Presidency affirms that the recent court ruling consolidates this status, aligning with the points President El-Sisi emphasized during his recent visit to Athens on May 7. The Presidency also affirms the importance of preserving the close and fraternal relations that bind the two countries and peoples and ensuring that they are not jeopardized.”
The Egyptian court ruling on the legal status of the monastery, however, asserts that it is the property of the Egyptian state. This puts the monks in a precarious position, for if they only have the right to use the property by the permission of the state, that permission can be revoked at any time.
On May 31, 2025, the Ecumenical Patriarchate issued its own statement regarding the Egyptian court’s ruling and the status of this venerable monastery:
The Ecumenical Patriarchate 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 Sinai. The court recognized the local monastic brotherhood only as having the right to use the monastery’s property.
The First-Throned Church of Orthodoxy 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.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate appeals to the Egyptian government to preserve the monastery’s ownership status — an arrangement that Islam itself has respected and safeguarded for centuries — 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.
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.
The monastery is a precious spiritual and cultural treasure for Egypt, bringing honor to the country and symbolically and substantially connecting the two great religions of Christianity and Islam on its soil.
The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate are grateful for this wise statement from the Ecumenical Patriarchate; may this call to restore and protect the rightful status of the Holy Monastery be heard and heeded.