“Today, history is being made, and it inscribes your honorable names in golden letters in its book. This bill, which grants legal status under public law to the representation of our Holy Monastery in Greece, should have been passed many years ago.”
Archbishop Damianos, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai, made this emphatic statement and urged everyone to treat anything said or done concerning the Monastery of Sinai as a sacred and national matter, free from conflict.
“I rejoice that the Monastery of Sinai is becoming a symbol of unity and cohesion and a testament to the fact that, when Hellenism agrees and wills it, great things can be achieved.
Until now, we were faced with an absurdity. An article in the constitution recognizes the inalienable rights of the Holy Monastery of Sinai. Yet until today, it lacked legal personality in Greece. It was essentially suspended in midair.” Therefore, this bill should not only be passing today – it should have passed many years ago,” stressed Archbishop Damianos in defense of the Ministry of Education’s bill article that recognizes the Holy Monastery of Sinai as a legal entity under public law in Greece.
“Let us all seize this opportunity, especially the Hellenic Parliament, to rectify this longstanding injustice, which has enormous national and religious significance for our country and the world.
Remember that you are not only protecting the 5th-century Monastery, built during the time of Justinian, but also the lives of the monks who live there and the invaluable treasures housed within. These treasures are entrusted to the care of the Monastery’s fathers and brothers,” the Archbishop emphasized, adding:
“In Cairo, we must go before the highest ecclesiastical court and make an effort to reclaim our rights.
I am convinced that this is necessary and beneficial not only for our monastery in Egypt but also for our homeland, which honors the contributions of our monastery and its dependencies within Greek territory.”
“I have served the monastery for 61 years. I hope that Egypt, our friendly nation, will recognize the legal personality of our monastery – not for our dependencies in Greece this time, but for our central monastery itself,” concluded Archbishop Damianos.
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
