Athens - Cairo: Europe and the Arabs
An Egyptian court has issued a decision transferring ownership of the historic Saint Catherine's Monastery and all its properties to the state, a development that reopens a long-running legal dispute. Greece expressed concern over the decision and affirmed its commitment to a joint understanding with Egypt regarding the preservation of the Orthodox character of the monastery. According to the Brussels-based Euronews website, Athens is awaiting developments in the case of Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai, after an Egyptian court issued a ruling specifying the transfer of ownership of the monastery and its properties in full to the Egyptian state.
Greek Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Lana Zohiou stated that the two governments have worked continuously over the past period to reach an agreement that preserves the sacred Orthodox character of the region. She noted that the Egyptian judicial ruling was issued yesterday, and that the two sides are still studying the details related to it.
Zohiou confirmed that the Greek Foreign Minister immediately contacted his Egyptian counterpart, stressing the rejection of any action that deviates from the common understanding between the two countries, which was embodied by the leaders of Athens and Cairo during the recent meeting of the Supreme Council for Cooperation in Greece.
For his part, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece described the decision as a "historic abolition" of any concept of law, noting that the Egyptian government has decided to seize and confiscate the property of Saint Catherine's Monastery, despite the commitments made by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos. Mitsotakis during his recent visit to Athens.
Bishop Ieronymos said the decision aims to "erase the very existence of the monastery and end its religious, spiritual, and cultural role."
The decision comes after a long legal dispute between the monastery's monks and the Egyptian state, which began when Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood came to power in Egypt, according to orthodoxia.info. Under the terms of the decision, ownership of the monastery and all its assets will be transferred to the Egyptian state, and the monks will be required to leave some of the property. They will only be allowed to remain inside the monastery to perform religious rites with permission from the owner.
The Greek Prime Minister had referred to the Sinai Monastery during joint statements with the Egyptian President during his visit to Athens.