Greece remains firmly committed to upholding the centuries-old established status of the Holy Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai and will pursue the implementation of the agreement reached with the Egyptian side, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said on Monday during a press briefing with political editors.
“Greece supports the long-standing and established status of the Monastery. It will work towards the implementation of the agreement with the Egyptian side, exactly as discussed and announced during the Supreme Council of Cooperation between the two countries, with the goal of safeguarding the character and identity of the Monastery,” Marinakis emphasized.
He added that the Greek government has already received the Egyptian Court of Appeals’ ruling: “We have had the decision from the Court of Appeals in our hands since Friday. It’s 160 pages long and contains many complex legal issues.”
The government spokesman clarified that the ruling is still under thorough review by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “It is still being processed because it includes not only titles and explanatory opinions, but also extremely complex legal reasoning in the Arabic language — and I say this to avoid misunderstandings.”
Highlighting the significance of the issue, Marinakis concluded: “This is not just a technical matter — it is of great importance. We will dedicate ourselves entirely to this cause, because it is directly linked to our faith, to the values of Orthodoxy, and it reflects the sentiments of the Greek people and of Orthodox Christians around the world.”
Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
