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A centuries-old monastery caught between Egyptian state rulings, diplomatic stalemates, and a brewing internal rebellion

For centuries, the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai has stood at the crossroads of religions and empires, a monument to spiritual continuity in the heart of an ever-changing geography. In recent months, the oldest operating Christian monastery in the world has been experiencing one of the most turbulent periods in its modern history.

While the issues that arose are well known, they came back into the spotlight with a local court ruling in Egypt at the end of May 2025, which decided that dozens of the monastery’s properties belong to the Egyptian government. The ruling, which was interpreted as confiscation of the monastery’s property and its transfer to the Archaeological Service, provoked a storm of reactions from the Greek government, the Orthodox Church, and however, the crisis did not stop there. On the contrary, in the midst of political and diplomatic negotiations for the signing of a Greece-Egypt agreement, which remains pending, the monastery was shaken from within. At the end of July, a group of monks attempted to depose Archbishop Damianos of Sinai, revealing a dangerous internal rift at the heart of the brotherhood.

The judicial rift and the background

At the end of May, by decision of the Egyptian Court of Appeals, the property of the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai passed into the ownership of the Egyptian state. The historic monastery, which has been in continuous operation for 1,500 years, now faces a legal transformation that threatens not only its property but also its very existence. Archimandrite Porphyrios Fragakos, representative of the monastery, described the development as a “condemnation” that transforms the monks from owners to guests in their own space; a transition from an active religious center to a “quasi-museum.” In the same context, lawsuits had been filed by the Muslim Brotherhood for 71 alleged land encroachments. Although an out-of-court settlement had initially been agreed between the Greek and Egyptian governments in December 2024, court postponements followed one after another. On May 28, 2025, the Egyptian court ruled in absentia, granting management of the monastery to the Egyptian Antiquities Authority.

Diplomacy between "allies"

Cairo officially assured that the “sacred religious character” of the monastery would not be affected, while the Greek side insisted on the term “Greek Orthodox pilgrimage status,” which traditionally implies administrative autonomy and protection of monastic traditions. In contrast, the Egyptian Presidency refers to “sacred religious status,” terminology that may create loopholes in terms of commitment to a Greek Orthodox administration and the preservation of the monastery as an active monastery.

After some initial silence due to the upset on the Greek side with a country they see as a friend and ally, Kyriakos Mitsotakis contacted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi by telephone, referring to an agreement to continue the “recorded understanding” between the two countries. What remains unanswered is whether the monastery will return to its previous administrative status or whether the Egyptian court’s ruling will become de facto final.

Some analysts see this not as a simple legal action, but as a bargaining chip. Professor Sotiris Roussos (expert on Middle East politics and the Mediterranean and Islamic world) interprets it as “blackmail bargaining” for a fortune worth hundreds of millions, with Cairo playing the “justice card” as a bargaining chip, essentially saying that the presence of Greeks in the monastery is not taken for granted, nor is it legally protected. It is worth noting that the current crisis is part of a long tradition of claims by the Egyptian state on the properties held by the Greek communities and the Patriarchate of Alexandria.

Egypt’s stance is not linear; it sometimes weakens and sometimes intensifies, depending on the internal situation in Egypt and the nature of the leadership at the time. Today, Egypt faces one of the deepest economic crises of the last fifty years. The need for liquidity and a stable exchange rate, investment capital, and tourism development in Sinai sets the stage for the property of St. Catherine’s Monastery to be transformed from a historical bastion of faith into an asset to be exploited. The court ruling comes at precisely this juncture, legitimising a development vision that does not necessarily include the monks.

On the other hand, for Cairo, Athens does not pose a diplomatic threat. Factors such as Turkish assertiveness and migration flows from Libya are pressures that Athens takes into account, along with the need for a stable ally in the region—ultimately not risking a diplomatic crisis with Egypt.

Two months after the initial moves, in an effort to strengthen the institutional protection of the Monastery of Saint Mary, the Greek Parliament voted to establish a Legal Entity under Public Law for the Monastery, officially recognizing it in the Greek legal system. The move, which received broad cross-party support, is seen as diplomatic leverage on Cairo to recognize the administrative and religious rights of the Sinai community in Egypt.

Division within the walls

Despite diplomatic efforts to reduce the confrontation, a new front has emerged within the Sinai Monastery this time. Archbishop Damianos denounced an attempt to defrock him by a group of 15 monks, describing the action as irregular and destructive to the unity of the Brotherhood. In dramatic tones, he likened the situation to “Babylonian captivity.”

On the political front, former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with Archbishop Damianos, who expressed “deep concern” about the actions of the Egyptian side and accused the Greek government of diplomatic inaction. He stressed the need for international mobilization in support of Christian communities in the Middle East and called on Athens to act more decisively. The picture that emerges is that of a monastery being tested on many fronts at once, while at the same time, Cairo watches silently, knowing that every rift within the monastery is another lever of pressure in the negotiations for its future in this legal and geopolitical tug-of-war.

From the coup d’état by monks to diplomatic machinations

The crisis at the Monastery of Sinai has escalated further and more dramatically in recent weeks, with unprecedented scenes of tension and intrigue in one of the most emblematic religious institutions of Orthodoxy, with the Patriarchate of Jerusalem intervening by forming a three-member committee and issuing a statement on the future of the monastery. This stance caused intense dissatisfaction in Athens, as it was perceived as an attempt by Patriarch Theophilos to establish himself as a “central interlocutor” in the settlement of the case, despite the fact that the Monastery is historically autocephalous and independent—indicative of the broader political and diplomatic stakes involved.

The conflict reached new heights on August 26, when Archbishop Damianos of Sinai visited the monastery and confronted the monks who had turned against him, claiming that “the coup-plotting monks attacked and beat me up,” and making statements about the alteration of the monastery’s rules in his absence. On the same day, a General Assembly was convened, where, in the absence of the punished monks, a new Synod was elected, headed by the monks Porphyrios Kanavakis and Akakios Spanos, as well as the monk Ephraim Provatas. At the end of the assembly, Damianos spoke of a “return to legality and normality” and apologized to the faithful for the scandal caused by the dispute.

The next day, August 27, the tension did not subside. Eleven monks who had turned against the Archbishop were permanently expelled from Sinai, but the rebels remained outside the walls, attempting to re-enter and openly threatening Damianos. The crisis took on security implications for Damianos, with the Archbishop requesting the intervention of the Egyptian police to remove the rebels from the monastery gate. Reports indicate that police forces were nearby but did not intervene immediately. On the contrary, there was pressure to readmit the dissident monks. Damianos himself communicated the issue to Athens, where he personally informed the Greek government about the situation and the health of the monks, thanking them for their concern. At the same time, he made a public appeal to Athens and Cairo to protect him, stressing that his life was in danger.

 

The very fact that Archbishop Damianos was forced to request the intervention of the Egyptian police initially highlights how fragile his position is, with his return causing new turmoil and with the Monastery of Sinai, although independent, operating under the “auspices” of the Egyptian state, Egypt has the final say on the security and survival of the monastic community. The fact that the security forces appeared hesitant indicates the existence of internal balances and possible pressures, possibly even from actors who wish to exploit the crisis to increase their own influence.

Simultaneously, Athens’ official communication with Damianos clearly indicates that Greece views the Monastery of Sinai not only as a religious monument, but also as an element of its cultural diplomacy. Support for the Archbishop and public references to the protection of the monastic brotherhood are part of a strategy to maintain strong ties with Egypt, but also to promote Greece as the protector of Orthodoxy. Today, the monument is in danger of becoming a bargaining chip in a complex game of interests, while the internal rebellion of the monks and the questioning of Archbishop Damianos show that the crisis is not only external; it has now taken root within the walls of the monastery itself. If Sinai manages to withstand this test, it will continue to be a symbol of spiritual endurance. If not, it will be added as yet another chapter in the long list of religious institutions that have succumbed to geopolitical pressures.

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