The new abbot of the Monastery of Sinai, Mr. Symeon, apologizes to the faithful and to public opinion through “To Vima.”
One week after his election, he invokes Saint John of the Ladder, who likened spiritual life to “a ladder stretching from earth to heaven, where Christ awaits.”
Many monks and others begin to climb it. To the right and left, demons symbolically shoot arrows. Some climb unhindered. Others are struck and fall—the higher they are, the greater their fall. This shows that the Orthodox Church recognizes human reality and struggle. The Church knows that its members are subject to passions stemming from their mortal nature and that those striving for holiness are not infallible.
He also comments on reports of the region’s commercialization as a tourist site, as well as the dialogue with Orthodox, heterodox, and non-Christians.
A few weeks before his formal election as bishop by the Synod of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, his ordination in the Church of the Resurrection, and his enthronement in the Archdiocese of Sinai, he discusses relations with the Greek state.
It appears the Greek state has been closely following developments; two ministers, Mr. G. Gerapetritis (Foreign Affairs) and Ms. Mar. Zacharaki (Education), Deputy Minister Ms. Alex. Papadopoulou (Secretary-General for Religious Affairs), Mr. G. Kalantzis, Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias (representing the Church of Greece), and Professor Theod. Giangos of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (and advisor to the Patriarch of Jerusalem) seems to have successfully resolved a problem that threatened to spark a civil war within the Orthodox Church. Through ongoing meetings, visits, and discussions, they persuaded Mr. Damianos to resign and the monks to elect a new abbot unanimously.
The interview follows:
What are your initial thoughts following your election? How do you feel?
“First of all, Mrs. Antoniadou, I thank you very much for this interview, which allows me to ask for public forgiveness, from the depths of my heart, if we have scandalized public opinion and the ecclesiastical community, willingly or unwillingly. As you can understand, after the recent painful ordeal, our primary concern is self-evident.
With God’s help and the intercessions of Saint Catherine, we must restore canonical order to the monastery and the brotherhood. We must bring about the much-desired reconciliation and reestablish harmony, which is already evident in my unanimous election as abbot.
We hope this reflects a deep need to overcome obstacles arising from various causes that hinder human relationships. As an experienced ecclesiastical journalist, you know that some members of the Church occasionally succumb to human passions, creating a negative and off-putting image.
However, the Church is a place of healing, offering peace and reconciliation. Therefore, our first duties are sincere love and fervent prayer so that, with the grace of Christ the Prince of Peace, the united monastery may return to proper order.
What is your main priority right now?
“First, I must resolve many small internal issues. Then, I will visit Greece so that preparations may be made for my elevation in Jerusalem. These steps are essential for the following institutional reasons: The abbot of the Holy Monastery of Sinai is consecrated bishop by the Patriarch of Jerusalem after being elected by the fathers of the brotherhood.
Meanwhile, His Beatitude will have received the relevant documents and convened a synod to formally elect the Archbishop of Sinai.
We are now at the preparation stage for the ordination in Jerusalem. If conditions in Israel permit, brothers from the monastery and friends from Greece wish to attend, including those from Kastoria, where my ecclesiastical journey began under the spiritual guidance of my late elder, Metropolitan Gregory III of Kastoria (Papoutsopoulos in the world), whom I knew from childhood when he served in my birthplace of Piraeus. Others will come from the various places where the monastery has dependencies in Greece, Egypt, Cyprus, and elsewhere, including those places where I have served. God willing, the ordination will take place on a Sunday in October.”
Do you have any concerns about tourism development on Mount Sinai?
“They are always a concern. As a monk, I cannot help but be concerned. I have been here since the 1980s. The changes are vast when you compare then to now. We are all concerned, but we have hope in both situations.
Following the example of the early Church, the Monastery of Sinai has always coexisted in dialogue with the prevailing political conditions of the time without resorting to disorder. However, when faith is endangered, we must undoubtedly obey God rather than men. Throughout history, the Orthodox Church has followed the principle of synallagia (coexistence through dialogue). The monastery has done the same—not just for 1,500 years since its construction, but for at least 1,750 years, since the end of the second century when it first appeared here.
The monastery has the historical experience to engage in dialogue, endure, show forbearance, and respect the diversity of the people with whom it must coexist, such as the Bedouins, for centuries.
Returning to your question about tourism development, it is understandable that conditions everywhere have changed. Consider, for example, the Aegean islands in the past. I remember when my parents took us to one for a month-long holiday as a child. I remember how it was then and how it is now. Today, people have the means to travel constantly to discover foreign lands, enjoy themselves, rest, and make pilgrimages. In the past, such things were neither easy nor accessible to many due to limited means.
We understand that even this holy place cannot remain unaffected, and we must not be extreme. There is what we wish for and pray for, and there is reality. Beyond that, we hope for cooperation and dialogue with the local state. The Greek nation has had a long friendship with the local state, dating back to the time of the Pharaohs and continuing into the present despite difficulties.
Likewise, we seek cooperation with the Greek state because the monastery is Greek Orthodox and its brothers were born in Greece or Egypt to Greek parents.
Encouragingly, cooperation between the two states is friendly, as far as we know. This gives us hope that, if not resolved by legal means, many issues may be resolved through political means, God willing.
What is your relationship with the Greek government?
“Let me confess the paradox. In recent years, especially during the pandemic in 2021, I served as Dikaios, an administrator here at the monastery. However, I had to leave suddenly due to a severe respiratory allergic condition.
I suffered greatly at first. Now, I am much better because I am undergoing effective long-term treatment. This required me to stay at the Sinai dependency in Megara, which was donated to the monastery because of me, and which I restored.
During those three and a half years, I closely followed the situation here. However, I did not have much contact with ecclesiastical or political circles due to the values I was raised with.
Recently, however, I did not seek anyone out, but rather, respected individuals from various circles—mainly the monastery fathers—sought me out. Thus, I developed a very warm relationship with ecclesiastical and political figures. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for their interest, not in me personally, but in stabilizing the monastery.
We hope that these initiatives are taken with good intentions. As for what lies ahead, we do not expect dramatic upheavals. Of course, miracles do happen. One such miracle, through the intercession of Saint Catherine, was the restoration of peace, unity, and proper order in the Sinai brotherhood.
So you call that a miracle?
“Yes, of course!
This newfound support from all these figures, especially the monastery fathers, has only been around for the last 25 days or so.
So yes, I admit that it is a miracle. I, too, had to enter into the ‘good yoke of the Lord.’ This synergy is a miracle indeed. I hope—and this sustains me, along with God’s grace and the intercessions of the saint—that the greater miracle will be for the brotherhood to continue bearing witness to the Orthodox faith and the mission of monastic life in the world.
As Saint John of Sinai said, ‘Light for monks are the angels, and light for laypeople are the monks.’ This means that monks must unite the world and help find solutions to its major problems.
Given that the monastery is emblematic of all Christendom, not just the Orthodox, what message would you like to send to Christians?
“Know and let your readers know that the Gerontikon of Sinai states that, among the deserts of Egypt that produced great monks and ascetics—such as Thebaid and Nitria—the desert of Sinai has certainly had the most demons in every age.
Perhaps when something is very good, there is also a fierce reaction from the opposite side. Many saints arose here, watering this place with tears and blood, which is why the spiritual battle is so intense. In the monastery’s treasury, the icon of the great ascetic Saint John Climacus, author of The Ladder of Divine Ascent, holds a prominent place.
In that work, he likens spiritual life to a ladder from earth to heaven, where Christ awaits. Many monks and others begin to climb. To the right and left, demons symbolically shoot arrows. Some climb unhindered, while others are struck and fall—the higher they are, the greater their fall. This shows that the Orthodox Church acknowledges the reality of human struggle. The Church acknowledges that its members are subject to passions due to their mortal nature and that those striving for holiness are not infallible.
In every case, the call is to repentance and to seek the mercy of the loving Christ.
Along with this message, I ask forgiveness from everyone again for any possible scandal that can be interpreted through the image of the ladder.
The arrows of the evil one, expressed through various forms of temptation and circumstances, have always targeted monks in solitude. They have never been absent. There have been other difficult times in the monastery’s history. In the 19th century, during the 1860s and 1870s, Sinai experienced something quite similar. But it was overcome.
We ask forgiveness and pray that the spirits of those who were shaken may be “restored,” if I may put it that way. We beg them not to be disheartened by recent behaviors but to pray for us all.
Let them be certain that Saint Catherine will not abandon her place but will continue to be a beacon of the Orthodox faith while offering consolation to all—the Orthodox, the heterodox, and the non-Christians. Her doors are open to all, whether they are pilgrims to this God-trodden mountain or admirers of its historic treasures.
Let us not forget that Christians have lived for two thousand years under great empires and various political systems—experiencing both persecution and oppression and periods of fruitful coexistence.
Source: tovima.gr
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
