Greece and Orthodoxy Shocked by Egypt’s Decision to Seize the Ancient Sinai Monastery

The monastery, founded by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian 15 centuries ago, has agelong enjoyed planetary renown and respect. Public Domain

In a determination described arsenic “unprecedented and unacceptable,” Egypt has ordered the closure of the Monastery of Saint Catherine of Sinai, the world’s oldest continuously functioning Christian monastery. This determination has sparked outrage from spiritual leaders and astonishment wrong the Greek government, contempt caller high-level diplomatic assurances.

Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece reacted with palpable anger, lamenting successful a statement, “yet different historical Fall that Hellenism and Orthodoxy are experiencing.”

Information suggests a prevailing consciousness of bewilderment wrong the Greek government, fixed that the contented had reportedly been addressed during a gathering betwixt Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi earlier this month. The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs is present handling the crisis, acknowledging its utmost importance.

The monastery, founded by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian 15 centuries ago, has agelong enjoyed planetary renown and respect. Despite galore humanities upheavals, it has miraculously endured. Yet, successful a determination perceived arsenic a nonstop usurpation of spiritual freedoms during a clip of peace, Egyptian authorities person opted to cease its operation.

Related: The Historic Greek Orthodox St. Catherine’s Monastery connected Mount Sinai

Plans are reportedly underway to person the Monastery of Saint Catherine into a museum, with each its extended properties successful Egypt slated to walk into authorities hands.

Egypt’s breached promises connected the Sinai Monastery

This drastic determination straight contradicts promises allegedly made by President Sisi to Prime Minister Mitsotakis during the Egyptian President’s caller sojourn to Athens. Beyond the confiscation of property, Egypt is reportedly moving to evict the monastic community, intending to alteration the now-empty ineffable buildings into a specified tourer attraction, akin to the Pyramids.

The monks, convinced that this humanities determination fundamentally infringes upon their rights, are mobilizing for a planetary run to pass and rally enactment from each Christian Churches and different monotheistic religions worldwide.

Court ruling connected Sinai monastery amidst pressure

The catalyst for this unprecedented enactment appears to beryllium an Egyptian tribunal determination issued yesterday, which brings to a troubling decision a protracted ineligible violative by the Egyptian authorities against the monastic community.

Sources bespeak that Egypt has been exerting judicial unit and launching attacks since the play erstwhile the “Muslim Brotherhood” was successful power, systematically attempting to unopen down the world’s oldest monastery.

The Greek authorities had actively supported the monks’ struggle, with Prime Minister Mitsotakis personally raising the contented astatine the highest diplomatic levels, repeatedly urging President Sisi to intervene connected behalf of the monastic community.

During President Sisi’s authoritative sojourn to Athens successful aboriginal May, the destiny of the monastery was a cardinal constituent of treatment betwixt the 2 delegations. An statement was reportedly reached to halt the “unjust judicial attacks” connected the Monastery, allowing it to proceed its humanities ngo undisturbed. Joint nationalist statements by Messrs. Mitsotakis and Sisi explicitly referenced the request to sphere the Monastery’s unsocial character.

However, yesterday’s tribunal determination starkly contradicts these nationalist commitments by the Egyptian President. This abrupt reversal raises superior questions astir the existent intentions of the Egyptian authorities, who look to beryllium continuing a argumentation initiated by the extremist “Muslim Brotherhood.”

Archbishop Ieronymos: “Hellenism and Orthodoxy Are Experiencing Yet Another Historic ‘Fall'”

Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece issued an unequivocal condemnation, expressing his “immense sorrow and his justifiable anger.”

He called for contiguous mobilization from “every Greek and each planetary Authority,” stressing that “the spot of the Monastery is being seized and confiscated, and this spiritual Lighthouse of Orthodoxy and Hellenism is present facing a question of existent survival.”

I bash not privation and cannot judge that contiguous Hellenism and Orthodoxy are experiencing yet different humanities ‘fall’,” the Archbishop emphasized successful his statement, alluding to today’s anniversary of the autumn of Constantinople, declaring, “we cannot let this.”

The Archbishop accused the Egyptian authorities of deciding “despite the caller commitments to the contrary of the Egyptian President to the Greek Prime Minister, to dismantle each conception of instrumentality and, essentially, to effort to single-handedly extinguish the precise beingness of the Monastery, negating its full function, its precise worship and spiritual work, arsenic good arsenic its taste one.”

He concluded with an impassioned plea: “I telephone connected each Greek and each planetary authorization to recognize the highest stakes and to instantly instrumentality enactment to support the cardinal spiritual freedoms of the Holy Monastery of Sinai. I unequivocally condemn immoderate effort to alteration the authorities that has been successful unit successful the portion for 15 centuries and I entreaty to the liable Greek Government and personally to the Prime Minister.”