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What’s happening at Egypt’s St Catherine’s Monastery?

06/002/25

A controversial court ruling over the ownership of the ancient monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai has caused outcry.

An Egyptian court ruling last week triggered an outcry across the Christian world.

"The May 28 ruling concerned the ownership of the land of the ancient St. Catherine’s Monastery, nestled at the foot of Mount Sinai."

"Rumors circulated on social media that the Egyptian judiciary had ordered the monastery’s closure, the confiscation of its property, and the eviction of one of the oldest monastic communities in the world."

"For Eastern Orthodox Christians, the reports were nearly as traumatic and disturbing as if a Catholic read that a secular court had declared ownership of Vatican City."

"The Egyptian government quickly challenged this interpretation of the court ruling. Nevertheless, considerable disquiet remains."

What did the court ruling say?

In 1980, the Egyptian government asked property owners whose land was not already listed in an official registry to file declarations of ownership. St. Catherine’s Monastery filed 71 declarations, covering its chapels, gardens, and other parcels of land.

In 2015, the authorities in the South Sinai Governorate, which covers St. Catherine’s Monastery, turned to the courts in an effort to assert state ownership over the monastery’s plots of land.

In an effort to resolve the legal dispute, the monastery entered into discussions with the South Sinai authorities and also the Greek government, which takes a strong interest in the institution given it is part of the Greek Orthodox Church.

According to Greek media, a draft agreement recognized that the monastery building, its plots, and its churches were the property of the monastery belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church.

But according to Archbishop Damianos, the agreement was ultimately scuppered.

“Though we agreed on a text, they altered it and presented something entirely different,” he said.

On May 28, the Egyptian Court of Appeals issued a ruling widely interpreted as declaring the monastery state property, while recognizing the monks’ right to perform their religious duties at the site.

But the 160-page text was of such complexity that even legal professionals struggled to grasp it fully.

A spokesman said the Greek government was still processing the ruling five days later, “because it includes not only titles and explanatory opinions, but also extremely complex legal reasoning in the Arabic language.”

In a May 29 statement, Egypt’s State Information Service addressed what it described as “completely unfounded” claims about the court ruling.

It argued that the ruling “represents the first instance in which the legal status of the monastery has been regulated, with a clear affirmation of the preservation of its sacred standing.”

It said the court also affirmed the monks’ continued right to benefit from additional sites classified as natural reserves, as well as local religious and archeological sites.

But it noted that there were no ownership records for some uninhabited areas distant from the monastery.

“Consequently, these lands are considered state property,” it said.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, said May 30 that it was “disappointed and saddened” by the ruling.

It suggested the court had “recognized the local monastic brotherhood only as having the right to use the monastery’s property,” calling into question the monastery’s long-standing ownership status.

“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,” it said.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem acknowledged the Egyptian authorities’ attempt to clear the air.

What’s next?

The day after the court ruling, the roughly 20 resident monks reportedly closed the monastery to visitors in protest. According to Orthodox media, the monks intended to remain within the monastery, praying for its protection.

Nikos Meletis, a columnist for the Greek news outlet Proto Thema, wrote in a June 1 op-ed that the Egyptian authorities had “methodically let time pass without signing the agreement [with the monastery], waiting for the court’s decision.” He said they could now present the court ruling as a fait accompli to demand “drastic changes” to the text.

Meletis suggested the Egyptian side wanted to move the discussion away from property ownership rights by stressing its intention to respect “the religious character and sanctity” of the monastery.

He said the Greek side now had to decide whether to escalate the matter, using its considerable leverage over Egypt as the country’s primary advocate within the European Union, or accept that a new agreement must be forged in light of the court ruling.

Greece’s foreign minister Giorgos Gerapetritis will reportedly lead a delegation traveling to Cairo June 4. The involvement of such a high-ranking figure suggests the Greek government is serious about defending the monks’ rights, while seeking to maintain its strategic partnership with Egypt.