Last week, Greek and Egyptian officials said at a conference on the possibility of forced closure of the world’s oldest, continuous and active Christian monastery, the monastery and its monks would be protected, but no clear legal guarantees were provided as to how this would be achieved.
Orthodox Christians were shocked when news leaked on May 28 that an Egyptian court had stripped its ownership for over 1,500 years. Some outlets incorrectly reported that the monastery grounds were quickly seized and the monks were expelled.
Greek and Egyptian officials did not make a clear resolution on the status of St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai, but the Greek delegation characterized the rally, held on Wednesday (June 4) as “productive.”
“Today we discussed with the Egyptian Foreign Minister. Issues regarding the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai,” Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetrichitis said in a statement following the meeting. “We have agreed to work in the near future to ensure the rights of the monastery and its legal status.”
In a conference call two days later, Egyptian President Abdel Fatta El-Sisi with Greek Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitotakis emphasized “an unwavering commitment to maintaining Egypt’s unique and sacred religious status,” according to an Egyptian press release. The judicial ruling stated that “consistent with Egypt’s devotion to the sanctity of religious and church locations, it reaffirms the unique heritage, spiritual and religious status of St. Catherine’s Monastery.”
Founded in 565 AD under the orders of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, St. Catherine’s Monastery is the oldest and continuous inhabited Christian monastery in the world, and perhaps the most historic monastery in Christendom. It is located in the area of Mount Sinai, and according to tradition, God enjoyed himself to Moses through the miracle of the burning bushes. The Greek Orthodox Church also claims that the monastery is near where Moses received the ten commandments.
The monastery has a library containing thousands of ancient manuscripts considered valuable to many Christians. Codex Sinaiticus is a Greek Bible that contains the oldest complete New Testament, dating back to AD 325, and was discovered in the library in 1844.
The library also includes a copy of Muhammad’s contract. Also known as the Ashtinam of Muhammad, it is a charter that Muhammad orders Muslims to protect the status of the monastery, persecutes those who live there, and refrains from exempting them from the usual tax requirements imposed on other conquered Christians. Muhammad ordered his followers to follow the treaty until “the Day of Resurrection and the End of the World.”
The court’s decision designated the monastery as an archaeological site, which placed under the supervision of the Supreme Council of Bones. Gardens, olive groves, springs and other important areas adjacent to the monastery, essential to the daily life of the monks, are all placed under the control of the council. However, Egyptian leaders offer the assurance that state ownership does not necessarily imply daily control or invasion of the religious life of the monks.
The Egyptian government’s records of places of Christian worship are mixed at best. Egypt has long faced criticism of Draconia’s policy of restricting the construction or renovation of church buildings. According to Egyptian human rights activists, progress has been made recently to address the issue, but much work remains.
The government is implementing renovation projects for the Coptic Monastery, but the renovations have largely been linked to ongoing tourism development projects. In other development projects, the church building has been bulldozed in the name of tourism, including excavation projects to restore the Sphinx path in Luxor.
Critics of the legal order say the ruling is a legal overreach to accomplish Egypt’s “great transformation project,” a tourism-driven development project that hopes to turn Mount Sinai into a “world-class spiritual and tourism destination.” The project includes a five-star hotel, a shopping centre, mountain chalets, restaurants, outdoor recreational facilities, and a hotel with panoramic views of the monastery and Mount Sinai.
The project is supported by Egyptian urbanization, tourism and environmental ministries and Egyptian and international investors. Greek critics of the project claim that it would spend more money than the site’s unique needs, destroying the monastery and instead turn it into a “spiritual Disneyland.”
Egypt ranked 40th on the 2025 World Watchlists of 50 countries that are the hardest to become Christians.
