Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece made a solemn statement today regarding the critical situation surrounding the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine in the God-trodden Mount Sinai, following a controversial decision by Egyptian judicial authorities.
“Following yesterday’s scandalous decision involving the violent violation of human—and specifically religious—freedoms by the Egyptian judicial system, the oldest Orthodox Christian monument in the world, the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine in Mount Sinai, now enters a period of severe trial—one that evokes much darker times in history,” the Archbishop said.
He added that despite recent assurances made by the President of Egypt to the Greek Prime Minister, the Egyptian government has effectively chosen to dismantle every notion of justice and, with a single stroke, attempt to erase the very existence of the Monastery—abolishing its religious, spiritual, and cultural function.
“The Monastery’s property is being seized and expropriated. This spiritual beacon of Orthodoxy and Hellenism is now facing an existential threat,” he warned.
With deep sorrow and justified indignation, Archbishop Ieronymos called upon all Greek and international authorities to recognize the gravity of the situation and to act urgently in defense of the Monastery’s fundamental religious freedoms.
“I categorically condemn any attempt to alter the long-standing status quo that has existed for 15 centuries in this sacred region,” he emphasized, issuing a direct appeal to the Greek Government and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to take immediate and appropriate action to restore lawful order and prevent the de facto abolition of the Monastery.
“I wholeheartedly express my fraternal solidarity to the Brotherhood of the Monastery and to its Abbot, His Eminence Archbishop Damianos of Sinai, Pharan, and Raitho, as well as to all the Greek brothers who serve sacrificially in the wider Sinai region,” he said.
In closing, Archbishop Ieronymos expressed his disbelief and concern: “I do not want to believe—and I cannot believe—that today Hellenism and Orthodoxy are experiencing yet another historical fall. We cannot allow this to happen.”
Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
