By Nick Stamatakis (with information from Athens news sources and assisted by A.I.)

During Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s recent visit to Athens, he and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reaffirmed their commitment to preserving the historical and religious significance of Saint Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai. This monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the world’s oldest continuously operating Christian monastery, holds profound importance for both nations.Reuters+11Orthodox Times (en)+11Hellasjournal.com+11Orthodox Times (en)+1eKathimerini+1

The monastery of Saint Catherine’s in Sinai had become an issue between the two countries because since 2015, with the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian government tried to take away the substantial property of the Monastery consisting of 71 buildings and real estate parcels (the monastery was established in the 6th century AD.!!) and render the Monastery a “lessee”.  This eventuality seems to have been avoided for now, after the agreement between Mitsotakis and El-Sisi. 

President El-Sisi addressed and refuted rumors suggesting potential negative actions by Egypt toward the monastery, emphasizing that such claims contradict Egypt’s principles of religious tolerance. He described the relationship between the Egyptian state and the monastery as “a perpetual contract that no one can touch,” underscoring Egypt’s dedication to protecting its diverse religious heritage. Dailynewsegypt+2EgyptToday+2EgyptToday+2

Prime Minister Mitsotakis expressed gratitude for Egypt’s efforts in safeguarding the monastery’s Greek Orthodox character and highlighted the shared cultural and historical ties between the two countries. He noted that both nations are pillars of stability in the region, with common aspirations regarding major regional challenges. Hellasjournal.com+2Orthodox Times (en)+2eKathimerini+2Hellasjournal.com+1Orthodox Times (en)+1

This reaffirmation of mutual respect and cooperation was further solidified by the signing of a strategic partnership declaration between Greece and Egypt, aiming to enhance collaboration across various sectors, including cultural preservation and religious tourism. Reuters+5Ahram Online+5EgyptToday+5

BELOW A COMPLETE PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS BY MANOLIS KOTTAKIS

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source – newsbreak.gr / estianews.gr

By Manolis Kottakis

Those who watched yesterday’s joint interview between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Egyptian President El-Sisi realized the power of Orthodoxy and why its symbols must be sacred and respected . Both leaders addressed an issue that has tested relations between the two states in the background over the past ten years.

In the ownership of the Monastery of St. Catherine of Mount Sinai. It is considered the oldest Christian monastery in the world, it is built on the homonymous peninsula of Egypt and belongs to the Autonomous Church of Mount Sinai. The monastery was built under the Byzantine emperor Justinian at the site of Moses’ burning bush and the place is sacred to both Christians and Jews. The existence of the monastery at the site, for the operation of which Muhammad himself gave permission with a written obligation “Akhtname” and was later respected by Napoleon the Great, is of enormous importance both for Orthodoxy and for Hellenism, the spiritual borders of which extend to the Patriarchates of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria and Antioch, to the Autocephalous Churches of Cyprus and Albania in the Balkans and the Middle East and of course to Mount Athos . The Monastery of Saint Catherine became a political and diplomatic issue for one reason only: The Egyptian state has tried since the time of the Muslim Brotherhood’s dominance in 2015 to seize the property of the monastery and, with a proposed multi-year agreement, to make it a tenant in its property in the form of a usufruct.

Specifically, in 2015, he attempted to seize 71 properties of the monastery (land in Hersonissos), including the monastery building and the Imaret in Kavala, where the founder of the Egyptian state was born, in order to give it to… Erdogan. For this to happen, of course, the Muslim Brotherhood exploited the legal vacuum. The Monastery of Saint Catherine did not have legal personality until recently. Just as the Ecumenical Patriarchate , the Patriarchate of Alexandria and others do not have legal personality. But even after the election of Sisi, probably without the knowledge of the Egyptian president, as was evident yesterday from his honest and spontaneous statements at the Maximos Palace, the bureaucracy of the Egyptian government continued on the same path, taking advantage of the laxity of our diplomatic authorities and others, demanding in writing the return and concession of all the property of the monastery in exchange for the gift that the Orthodox would remain as… tenants in the oldest Christian monastery in the world in the form of a usufruct . Otherwise, the threat hanging in the air was that the Egyptian government would resort to local justice and win everything, expelling the monastery!

Proposal

The paradox is that the Greek embassy in Cairo was also in agreement with the proposal of the Egyptian government, which invited the very elderly abbot of the Damianos monastery to sign the concession of holy relics at the age of 93. When things took an unexpected turn, the head of the branch of the Monastery of Saint Catherine of Sinai in Athens, Father Porphyrios, and the Secretary General of Religious Affairs, George Kalatzis, took action, explaining to the central government what the Monastery of Saint Catherine means for Orthodoxy, Byzantine Hellenism and its spiritual borders. And the good news was that the call to grant the status of a legal entity under public law to the monastery’s metohi in Athens in order for Egypt to do something similar to the Sinai Monastery so that it would have a single legal personality was responded to by two unexpected people: Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou, who in the crucial meeting rejected the proposal of the embassy and Foreign Ministry officials that the monastery sign the unacceptable agreement. She was even tougher than her minister. The second was Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who accompanied his father Constantine to Sinai as a teenager, who had the foresight to take him with him, was impressed by the relics kept in the Monastery and never forgot it . The monastery’s library preserves the second largest collection of manuscripts and codices of the early Christian period and unique 6th-century wax icons, including the oldest depiction of Jesus Pantocrator to survive from the iconoclastic period. The “Sinaitic Codex” is in the Metropolitan Museum of London.

The Prime Minister contacted President Sisi, while the Cabinet recently approved a bill to convert the monastery’s share in Athens into a public limited liability company. Yesterday, Mr. Mitsotakis thanked President Sisi for the interest he shows in “ the protection of the monastery and the Greek Orthodox community .” Sisi spontaneously and sincerely responded: “When I was informed about the issue, I was angry, I was afraid, I was anxious that it would unnecessarily affect our relations,” while recalling that “Egypt rebuilt 65 Orthodox churches that were burned down in the past by extremists ” and declaring his respect for pluralism. He even noted that he always invites their visitors to “ come and see a great saint. We have a firm stance towards Saint Catherine .”

The results of the Sisi-Mitsotakis meeting were reported to Archbishop Ieronymos by Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis yesterday afternoon. We hope that Egypt’s initiative will be implemented quickly legislatively and within the country so that we can officially welcome the agreement. After the signing of the agreement between the monastery and five ministries for the recognition of its ownership, Mitsotakis and Sisi will solemnly visit Sinai .

Until then, let it be understood by those who are not involved : The fact that the Patriarchs in Jerusalem are Greeks, the abbots in monasteries-symbols of Christianity are Greeks, the Monastery of Saint Catherine is a meeting point for three religions, such as Christians, Jews and Muslims (Sinai is a passage to Mecca), that the Holy Mountain is self-governing shows the great importance of Orthodoxy for our nation.

Unlike the sad case of the National Gallery, this time the prime minister fortunately understood. May it continue.