St Catherine's Monastery Land Nationalization

[Seraphim .]

Archbishop at the center of an Orthodox Church rift resigns

ISTANBUL (RNS) — The decision comes in the wake of a much-publicized revolt by his monastery’s monks over his handling of the situation.

religionnews.com

ISTANBUL (RNS) — Archbishop Damianos of St. Catherine’s Monastery announced his intention to step down on Thursday (Sept. 4), the latest development in a saga surrounding the ancient Orthodox Christian site at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt that has embroiled political authorities from Cairo and Athens and patriarchates of Jerusalem, Constantinople and beyond.

Founded in the sixth century by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian the Great, St. Catherine’s is considered the world’s oldest continually operated Christian monastery, a UNESCO world heritage site and home to a vast library of relics, icons and manuscripts dating back over a millennium.

However, in May, an Egyptian court issued a ruling that Orthodox leaders argued effectively nationalizes the monastery’s lands and endangers its monks’ way of life.

“The Egyptian courts decided that they would basically take away the property rights of the monastery, which is absolutely unprecedented. The Monastery in Sinai has existed under Muslim rule for — well, the entire history of muslim rule,” Samuel Noble, a scholar of Orthodox Christianity at Aga Khan University in London, told RNS.

“Now the Egyptian state steps in and decides that they own the property rights to it and the monks only have usufruct rights,” he continued. “That’s a catastrophe in a lot of ways. Both for the monastery itself and its ability to function as something other than a tourist site, but also for the question of property rights over its cultural heritage. It has the oldest manuscript collection that exists in the Western world. It has the oldest icon collection that wasn’t destroyed by Byzantine iconoclasm. There’s just an incredible artistic and cultural heritage which is there.”

Among the monastery’s treasures is the famous Ashtiname of Muhammad, a contract granting the monastery protection and privileges that is believed to bear the signature of the Islamic prophet himself.


Egypt has denied the claim that the new law is a threat, arguing it is acting as a protector of the monastery, not an attacker.

However, according to a recent report from the BBC, Egypt may have another reason for its interest in the monastery’s land. Since 2021, Egypt has advanced its “Great Transfiguration” project, which aims to drastically expand touristic infrastructure in the Sinai Peninsula, which includes the plain of El-Raha, below the monastery.

Some more background here on the latter claim:

Holy Moses! Sacred Mount Sinai site in Egypt getting lux hotels and shopping

Box and suite holders at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium will be able to attend five 2026 World Cup matches for free as per an agreement with FIFA

nypost.com

Some more background on the entire story:

Egypt's Land Grab Threatens the World's Oldest Christian Monastery

St. Catherine’s Monastery has been continuously inhabited for over 1,500 years. An Egyptian court ruling ended the monastery's longstanding separation from the government.

www.yahoo.com

† May God protect all Christians in the Middle East and in thy entire dominion.

 

[Dewi Sant]

strange place for a tourism resort, generally they're along the coast and connected by public transport (airplanes).
The hotels are over a mile from the monastery. If people are to visit, and the monks are able to manage visitors, this is a potentially wonderful witness of the faith.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Lord have mercy