Out of a sense of responsibility and respect for the truth, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem offers clarifications regarding the matter concerning the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai that has arisen.
In a letter, Archbishop Damianos of Sinai requested the mediation of His Beatitude, Patriarch Theophilus of Jerusalem, to resolve the issue. The Patriarch promptly dispatched a three-member delegation of distinguished members of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre to Athens in response.
However, during these negotiations, the media circulated a fake letter supposedly written by the archbishop that contained information contradicting his original position. The Patriarchate condemns these malicious actions, which undermine the unity of the Church and the nation. The Patriarchate calls for peaceful dialogue to swiftly and fraternally resolve the matter.
Read below the statement of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem:
His Eminence Archbishop Damianos of Sinai sent a letter requesting the intervention of His Beatitude Patriarch Theofilos III of Jerusalem to resolve the issue of the Holy Monastery of St Katherine of Sinai, writing: “We trust your righteous judgement, you are our Father and Patriarch, whom, as a Bishop, I respect, honor and love.”
His Beatitude, responded immediately to the request of the Archbishop, following a telephone contact, sent a three member committee to Athens, consisting of prominent Hagiotafites, the Archbishop Constantini, Chief Secretary of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, His Eminence Aristarchos, the Exarch of the Holy Sepulchre in Greece, Archimandrite Ieronymos, and the Secretary of the Holy Synod, Archimandrite Christodoulos, and the accredited professor of canonical law, Mr. Theodoros Giagkou, that is the most appropriate persons to address the issue.
The members of the committee waited patiently for three days in order to be accepted by Archbishop Damianos, and the meeting was finally set for today, Thursday 7th of August 2025, at 19:00.
During the meeting, there was a rumor that a so called letter from the Archbishop, in contradiction with his former letter about the spiritual jurisdiction of the Patriarchate, was spread to the Press. Since this letter was never sent, the Patriarchate considers it as non existent.
The Patriarchate, faithful to the ecclesiastical moral, never comments any suspicious and malevolent press articles which are harmful for the sacred institutions, try without success to divide the Greek orthodox world and sometimes can, due to circumstances and the environment, mislead respected spiritual fathers, well known for their ecclesiastical sense. Such references and press releases are obvious proofs of lack of knowledge for the sacred rules and for the related rights of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem in its undeniable canonical jurisdiction.
The three member committee, ignoring all kinds of rumors and fake information, and working for a discussion in peace, tranquility, and love in Christ, talked with the present collaborators of Archbishop Damianos, as well as with Mr. Kanantzis, general secretary on religious matters and representative of the Greek government, and asked from the Archbishop, as a historical figure of the orthodox monastic life, to come to peaceful dialogue in order to resolve the issue and to preserve the unity of the church and the nation.
The Hagiotafite Brotherhood, as a whole, prays for his health and awaits with faith to the Lord, for the quick resolution of the matter, which can be resolved indeed through good will and fraternal spirit, having its hope to God, according to the word of Paul: “And hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us”. (Romans, 5,5)
