Milan (AsiaNews) – Saint Catherine’s Monastery, located at the foot of Mount Sinai, may have found a way out of its long-standing dispute with the Egyptian government over land ownership and the conditions necessary to ensure the continuity of monastic life.
Last Saturday, on the eve of another legal deadline, Archbishop Symeon, who leads the community, announced his willingness to sign an agreement proposed by the Egyptian government.
This development has been welcomed with satisfaction in Athens, with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis hailing it as “a historic day for Hellenism and Orthodoxy.”
It should be noted, however, that the deal has not yet been formally signed. Archbishop Symeon’s announcement commits the community to moving towards signing, which should take place at a later date.
Furthermore, the full terms of the agreement have not yet been made public. While the monastery’s expressed willingness opens up a path towards a resolution, the final chapter has yet to be written.
Meanwhile, the issue is still before the courts. Yesterday, the Ismailia Court of Appeal adjourned the cases concerning the disputed land until 27 December, allowing time for the submission of documentation to verify the legal standing of the head of the monastery’s administration.
The property dispute
To understand the significance of Archbishop Symeon’s announcement, one must look back at the ruling issued by the Ismailia Court of Appeal on 28 May 2025.
The dispute, which began in 2015, concerned 71 plots of land used by the monastery, encompassing not only the religious community’s buildings but also places of worship, monastic facilities, agricultural land, and other surrounding properties.
At the time, the Court did not recognise the monastery’s ownership of the land, attributing it instead to the Egyptian government. However, it granted the monks a form of “religious possession” over 29 sites of a religious nature, while the status of other plots was addressed differently, partly in light of preliminary sale agreements.
The decision left major questions unanswered regarding the continued use of certain spaces and the guarantees afforded to the community.
Both Saint Catherine’s Monastery and the Egyptian government filed appeals against that ruling.
The latter sought, in essence, to further restrict the areas left for the community’s use. An unfavourable outcome could have exacerbated the consequences of the 2025 decision.
For this reason, along with the legal proceedings, diplomatic negotiations took place between Athens and Cairo, with the goal of reaching an agreement before the Court of Cassation delivered its final verdict.
The protection of the monastery effectively became a matter of importance for the entire Orthodox world, as well as for relations between Greece and Egypt.
The Egyptian proposal was presented in August 2026, but the monastic community, comprising fewer than 20 religious members, remained divided for a long time.
Former Abbot Damianos opposed the agreement, arguing that the monastery’s survival would be inconceivable without the recognition of its property rights.
The new archbishop, Symeon, in turn, sought the support of key Orthodox authorities.
The decision came on the eve of a judicial deadline: the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Alexandria, and the Churches of Cyprus and Greece all backed an agreement.
The historical significance of the complex
What was at stake went far beyond a dispute over ownership. Saint Catherine's Monastery stands in the southern Sinai Peninsula, in a mountainous landscape identified by biblical tradition as the place where Moses received the Tablets of the Law.
It is one of the oldest Christian monastic settlements still in operation and serves as a cornerstone for the Orthodox faith, particularly the Greek Orthodox tradition.
Its origins date back to the early centuries of Christianity, when hermits and monks sought refuge in desert locations linked to biblical memory.
The monumental complex took shape in the 6th century under the patronage of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
The site was already associated with the memory of the Burning Bush and, over time, became a destination for pilgrims from a wide variety of regions.
Its dedication to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a Christian martyr according to tradition, became firmly established over the centuries.
The monastery has remained a centre of prayer and communal life throughout the various political and religious transformations that have shaped the region, from Byzantine, Arab, and Ottoman rule to the modern state of Egypt.
Its architectural features are also unique: the fortified walls enclose churches, chapels, living quarters for the monks, service areas, and places of worship, all of which bear witness to an exceptional continuity of use.
This is not a Christian monument preserved merely as a relic of a bygone era, but rather a living community that continues to celebrate the liturgy and uphold a spiritual tradition spanning a millennium.
In 2002, UNESCO added the area of Saint Catherine to its World Heritage List, acknowledging its architectural, artistic, and spiritual significance.
The designation highlights the continuity of monastic life since the 6th century and the unique importance of the site, a place held sacred by Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike.
Among the treasures housed within the monastery walls is its library, considered the oldest functioning monastic library in existence.
The collection encompasses both religious and secular manuscripts, including biblical texts, works by the Church Fathers, liturgical books, legal documents, and records reflecting daily life through the centuries.
The diversity of languages represented, including Greek, Syriac, Georgian, Coptic, Armenian, Arabic, Ethiopic, and others, underscores the library’s international significance.
These manuscripts document the exchange of texts and ideas among various Christian communities across the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, as well as the interactions with Muslim societies and the various regimes that have governed the region over time.
Foremost, a religious community, not a tourist destination
The announcement made on 24 October was welcomed by the two governments involved in the negotiations.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reiterated Cairo’s commitment to preserving the monastery’s spiritual and religious character, describing it as a symbol of tolerance, fraternity, and coexistence among religions and civilisations.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described it as a historic turning point, while Foreign Minister Gerapetritis gave assurances that the agreement will safeguard the continuity of monastic life, including through long-term residence permits for the monastics, who previously had to renew their visas on an annual basis.
This is what the official statements indicate, but, as noted, specific guarantees, the legal status of the land, and the practical implementation details remain to be verified.
According to press reports, the proposed solution may involve the state retaining ownership of the land, while granting the monastery usage rights and guarantees for its religious life.
For the Egyptian government, the monastery remains part of the nation’s historical heritage, and its status is being brought under the country’s existing legal framework.
For the monastic community, the priority is to ensure that the loss of formal property ownership does not lead to a gradual erosion of their religious life, their autonomy, or their role as custodians of the site. These objectives do not necessarily align, and therefore require clear, explicit agreements.
In the context of contemporary Egypt, the preservation of an ancient Christian monastery is not merely a matter of freedom of worship or the fate of a piece of property. It is also about the ability to pass on to future generations a heritage in which architecture, prayer, texts, and historical memory are inextricably linked.
The risk, conversely, is that Saint Catherine’s Monastery could be reduced to a mere tourist attraction or archaeological site, forgetting that, for 15 centuries, it has been, first and foremost, a house of prayer.
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