Officials in Sinai, Cairo and Athens believe that negotiations on the future legal status of Saint Catherine’s Monastery are entering their final stage, with only the details of implementation remaining to be settled.
“We have reached the point at which the Sinai brotherhood will respond to the Egyptian state’s latest positions, which were sent in early August. The process will then move toward the final signatures,” a source familiar with the negotiations said.
“There was some delay because of the Dormition feast, according to both the New and Old Calendars, which Cairo and Athens fully understand,” the source added, according to Ta Nea.
According to Church sources, the central element of the agreement, which has now been broadly accepted, provides for a form of “dual ownership.”
The Sinai brotherhood will retain the exclusive and permanent right to occupy, use and operate the Monastery’s movable and immovable property for religious purposes. However, it will not be permitted to transfer, alter or commercially exploit the Monastery’s historic properties or its unique archaeological and Byzantine treasures.
The opinion of the Egyptian Antiquities Authority will also play an important role in decisions concerning the use, exhibition or transportation of Egypt’s national religious treasures and the Monastery’s historic properties.
Legal sources describe the proposed arrangement as a modern system combining “bare ownership” on one side with “conditional usufruct” on the other. The framework is intended to respect Egyptian law as well as internationally accepted standards governing religious communities.
The brotherhood is currently examining provisions concerning dozens of smaller properties and plots of land belonging to the Monastery. A team of experts has completed extensive work to document and describe these assets, from which the brotherhood receives a modest income that supports its needs.
Brotherhood’s response expected
The brotherhood is expected to send its response to Egypt’s proposals after Greek-American U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Michael Rigas leaves the Monastery.
Rigas visited Saint Catherine’s Monastery and attended the Divine Liturgy on the feast of the Dormition according to the Old Calendar.
He is the second U.S. official, after senior presidential adviser Massad Boulos, to meet Archbishop Symeon of Sinai and express the U.S. president’s interest in the Monastery’s future.
Talks between the Egyptian authorities and the Monastery began about two months after the enthronement of Archbishop Symeon of Sinai, with one or two meetings held each month.
The discussions intensified in May, June and July ahead of an expected ruling by Egypt’s Court of Cassation, which was subsequently postponed once again.
The talks have been conducted with respect for the Egyptian Constitution, national legislation, court decisions, the Monastery’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and, above all, its unique status quo. This includes its Greek Orthodox identity and its position as the world’s oldest Christian monastery in continuous operation for 15 centuries.
Once the Egyptian state receives the brotherhood’s final response in the coming days, Cairo’s definitive decision will be awaited.
Archbishop Symeon is also expected to receive Egyptian citizenship and be officially recognized by presidential decree as the lawful Abbot of Saint Catherine’s Monastery. The special residency status of the members of the brotherhood will also be clarified.
The fundamental rules governing the brotherhood may also be formally recognized to facilitate its future relations with the Egyptian state.
If the process proceeds smoothly, the agreement will be signed by a delegation comprising representatives of Egypt, Archbishop Symeon of Sinai and a representative of the Hellenic Republic.
