In a letter addressed to His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem, a group of members of the brotherhood of the Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai announced their decision to remove Archbishop Damianos, who has served as Abbot of the Monastery for 52 years, from his duties.
The letter is dated July 30 (yesterday, Wednesday) and describes the convening of the general assembly of the brotherhood, which unanimously resolved to depose Archbishop Damianos.
Specifically, the letter addressed to Patriarch Theophilos states:
“During the General Assembly of the Sinai Brotherhood today, Wednesday, 17/30 July 2025, it was unanimously decided to depose Archbishop Damianos of Sinai, Pharan, and Raitho from his position as Abbot and Archbishop of the Holy Royal and Autonomous Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai, per Article 12 of the Fundamental Regulations of the Monastery.
Therefore, we send you this letter according to Article 35 of the aforementioned Fundamental Regulations of the Holy Monastery.
With due respect,
- Hieromonk Symeon (Pap.)
- Hieromonk Arsenios
- Hieromonk Michael
- Hieromonk Neilos
- Hieromonk Niphon
- Hieromonk Pamphilos
- Hieromonk Symeon (Patr.)
- Monk Daniel
- Monk Sophronios
- Monk Eustathios
- Monk Nektarios
- Monk Hesychios
- Monk Theophilos
- Monk Alexios
- Monk Moses
Archbishop Damianos, as the only member of the brotherhood holding Egyptian citizenship, serves as the primary liaison with the Egyptian authorities, a role that makes his presence critical both for the administration of the Monastery and for the delicate diplomatic balance connected to its unique international status.
Reaction of Archbishop Damianos of Sinai
Before this, Archbishop Damianos issued a statement regarding the serious developments threatening the historic and religious status of the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai.
Archbishop Damianos expressed deep concern over unlawful actions occurring within the Monastery itself, which he characterized as internal subversion exacerbating the crisis. In dramatic terms, he stressed that these actions violate ecclesiastical ethics and endanger the unity of the Brotherhood.
The Archbishop made clear his intention to act according to the Holy Canons, emphasizing the need for spiritual reflection and a return to unity.
In closing, he called for national and ecclesiastical solidarity to safeguard the historical continuity of the Holy Monastery of Sinai, a symbol of global cultural and religious heritage.
Find below the response of Archbishop Damianos of Sinai:
In 2012, the Golgotha of the Holy Monastery of Sinai began following legal action brought before the Egyptian judiciary by the then Mayor of Saint Catherine’s city and the then Governor of South Sinai. This incomprehensible and utterly unjustified challenge to the monastery’s age-old status quo – which had been formally recognized in UNESCO’s 2002 decision to declare it a World Heritage Site – has placed the monastery’s very existence at risk, as determined by the Ismailia Court of Appeal’s judgment on May 28, 2025.
From that moment on, a titanic effort began to save the monastery and secure its future.
After considerable toil, this effort began to bear fruit. The tabling of the bill granting legal personality in Greece to the monastery’s official representative, along with the unanimous support of all political parties, marked the moment when hope returned – for the Holy Monastery of Sinai had become a point of unity for Hellenism and Orthodoxy alike. The Hellenic diaspora extended its hand to the friendly nation of Egypt in a spirit of cooperation and shared pursuit of ideals such as religious freedom.
The friendly nation responded when the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt scheduled a visit to Athens for August 6. We are, therefore, rightfully expecting the end of the monastery’s long Golgotha.
Yet, at this very moment, when hope has returned and efforts are finally yielding results, the words of Dionysios Solomos prove true once again: “Discord, that wretched one, holds a scepter. She smiles upon each man and says, ‘Take it for yourself.'”
Some of the Fathers of the Holy Monastery of Sinai “moved, plotted, and contemplated tradition” not to uphold it, but to conspire against the Divine and Holy Canons and the Monastery’s fundamental regulations. I shut my eyes and ears to their actions so that we would not be distracted from our primary goal of preserving the Monastery’s centuries-old status. However, their continued uncanonical conduct now scandalizes the faithful, undermines the unity of the Brotherhood, and leads the monastery into a “Babylonian captivity.” Above all, it serves those who do not wish for this Golgotha to end.
“Today, Judas abandons the Master and takes up the devil. Blinded by passion for power, the darkened one falls from the light.”
Their actions, carried out without fear of God, shame, or awareness, constitute a coup against the Church. We shall not permit it to have catastrophic consequences for Hellenism’s unity and integrity as other coups have in the past.
As their spiritual father, I am duty-bound to help them recognize their error and avoid becoming traitors to their spiritual heritage. After much prayer and with unspeakable anguish of heart – with a trembling hand, not from the burden of ninety-one years of earthly life, but from the weight of responsibility for the monastery’s future – I must act as prescribed by the divine and holy canons. These individuals shall be placed under the corrective discipline of the Church so they may repent. Then, united and free from fleeting and futile egos, we may yet preserve the Holy Monastery.
Let us draw inspiration from the unity shown by the Hellenic Parliament these days – from one end of the political spectrum to the other – in its effort to save the Holy Monastery of Sinai.
I extend my blessings to all, and I pray that the grace of Saint Catherine and the God-Trodden Mount Sinai shelter our homeland and each one of us.”
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
