By the mid-6th century AD, the biblical Burning Bush had become sufficient cause for Justinian to order the construction of the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai.
The mid-fifth century also marked the period of the bloody and ultimately temporary recapture of Rome by the Second Rome, the imperial seat in Constantinople. A thousand years later, during the Ottoman occupation of the region, representatives of the Third Rome, Moscow, arrived at the monastery to convey the devotion of their Orthodox tsar.
Since then, Russian interest in the Holy Lands has never waned, either supporting or conflicting with the long-standing Greek Orthodox tradition. Beyond their presence in Jerusalem, the Russians have historically used Egypt as a bridgehead to expand their influence into Africa.
Unlike the Greek Orthodox Church in Africa, which relies primarily on the limited strength of its communities, the Russian Church has always operated according to a different, imperial-style logic. For this reason, the Russians have cultivated relations with the Copts, often at the expense of the Greek Orthodox Church’s influence. Although the Sinai Monastery has functioned somewhat autonomously, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem is considered the most “natural” ecclesiastical authority capable of safeguarding its status. However, Jerusalem is in another country, and the already pressured Patriarchate of Alexandria has impressively remained quiet on the matter. The Ecumenical Patriarchate’s strong reaction reveals the importance of the issue, as there is a full understanding of what is at stake in the arid Sinai soil.
Deep Egypt
Currently, Athens’ efforts to secure Greek Orthodox continuity in Sinai are being undermined by a faction of the Egyptian elite that views state relations with Greece as one issue and Egypt’s internal affairs as entirely different. This was demonstrated by the Ismailia court’s decision on May 28.
The more pessimistic view is that the Sinai case exemplifies Greece’s perennial inability to protect the scattered and quietly fading Greek Orthodox enclaves in the Eastern Mediterranean. These enclaves symbolize something far deeper and broader than mere statehood: the deep roots of Hellenism in the region.
Source: kathimerini.gr
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
