During the latest GOARCH Pilgrimage to Egypt, over 50 faithful visited the Monastery of Saint Catherine’s in the Sinai peninsula, Egypt, led by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.
On Wednesday, May 10, Archbishop Elpidophoros presided at the Divine Liturgy for the feast of Mid-Pentecost. In an address, he emphasized the historic, ecclesiastical, and theological significance of the Monastery and expressed wishes for the health of Damianos, Archbishop of Sinai, Faran, and Raitho, who has recently been facing medical issues.
The Dikeos of the Monastery, Hieromonk Porphyrios, welcomed the Archbishop and expressed gratitude for the support of the Archdiocese for this historic and magnificent monastic community. The pilgrims from America participated in an extensive tour of the sacred ecclesiastical items in Saint Catherine’s Monastery. Archbishop Elpidophoros, Protopresbyter Nikiforos Fakinos, representatives of the Archons, and pilgrims venerated the Chapel of the Burning Bush and the relics of Saint Catherine, before visiting the Museum of the Monastery. Gifts were exchanged between the Archbishop and the Dikeos of the Monastery.
A number of pilgrims also joined Archbishop Elpidophoros in climbing to the summit of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai, where Moses received the God-inscribed Commandments. From that spectacular and very sacred site, the Archbishop prayed for the divine protection of all people who are persecuted, afflicted, and exiled from their homes, much like the Israelites, led by Moses in the Bible. The covenant between God and people is based on adherence to the moral principles of the faith, the very precepts inscribed by God on Mount Sinai.
