St. Catherine archbishop agrees to sign deal with Egypt, faces internal opposition
On Saturday, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty welcomed a letter from Archbishop Symeon, head of the Monastery of St. Catherine and Archbishop of Sinai, confirming his agreement to sign a deal with the government on the legal status of the monastery and surrounding land.
The agreement aims to settle a legal dispute between the monastery and the Egyptian government that has also strained relations between Cairo and Athens over the monastery’s rights and property.
While the Greek government has described the deal as a historic development that safeguards the monastery’s religious character and church property, former Archbishop Damianos has rejected the settlement as “shameful and unacceptable,” accusing the Greek government of pressuring monks to accept it.
In a statement on Saturday, Symeon announced his intention to proceed with an agreement to end ongoing legal proceedings and disputes with the Egyptian government over the status of St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai. The monastery is ecclesiastically affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
No signing date has been set. Symeon said the agreement would be signed in coordination between the monastic brotherhood and the Egyptian government, after his health improves.
The full text of the agreement has not been published, leaving questions about the settlement’s details and its legal implications for the disputed land. Symeon said the agreement was expected to help resolve outstanding issues while protecting the monastery’s historical and legal rights.
On May 25, 2025, the Ismailiya Court of Appeal ruled that the monks of St. Catherine’s Monastery had the right to use the land they occupy, while affirming that the land remained state-owned public property.
The ruling raised concerns that authorities intended to seize the monastery’s historic lands, particularly as the area is being developed under a government plan to expand religious tourism.
According to Symeon, the monastery received a draft agreement from the Egyptian government a year ago to resolve the dispute. The proposal aimed to clarify other aspects of the court ruling and how it would be implemented in line with practices followed for centuries, ensuring the continuation of monastic life and clarifying the monastery’s status and operations within Egypt’s modern legal system.
He said the proposal had undergone a “careful” review by Eastern Orthodox churches, all of which expressed support for it, hoping it would “contribute to resolving outstanding issues safely and protecting the monastery’s historical and legal rights.” He also thanked the Egyptian government for giving the monastery time to study the agreement.
In its statement, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry affirmed the country’s commitment to protecting St. Catherine’s Monastery and preserving its spiritual, religious and historical standing as one of the world’s oldest religious and heritage sites.
The Greek government also welcomed the developments. Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis described the announcement as a “historic day,” saying the agreement “permanently guarantees the monastery’s established religious character and its church property, as well as the monastery’s continuity by granting the monks long-term residence permits.”
But the official welcome has not ended divisions within the monastery. Damianos continues to oppose the agreement, questioning Symeon’s authority to sign it unilaterally and objecting to the failure to publish its full terms.
In a statement issued after Symeon announced his approval, Damianos, who has stepped down as head of the monastery, rejected the proposed settlement and accused Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his foreign minister of exerting “unbearable pressure” on the monastic brotherhood to push it into signing an agreement with the Egyptian state.
Damianos said the campaign against him was intended to weaken his opposition to the settlement, which he believes threatens the monastery’s historical rights. He also criticized the failure to disclose the agreement’s contents, saying he had not received a draft.
The dispute reflects wider divisions within the monastic brotherhood that have deepened over the past year as monks disagreed over how to respond to the court ruling and negotiations with the Egyptian government.
Greek media reports have described emerging factions within the brotherhood, with some supporting the settlement, others opposing it, and still others questioning the reasons for rushing to sign.