A legal ruling by Egypt’s Ismailia Administrative Appeal Court on 28 May ignited tensions between the state and the Greek Orthodox Church, after judges affirmed government ownership of land beneath the centuries-old Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai while upholding the monks’ right to use it for religious purposes. The decision was seen by many within the Church as a threat to the monastery’s longstanding autonomy, and a potential step toward increased state interference or even closure. Some observers have feared that the ruling is part of Egypt’s expansive “Great Transfiguration” initiative, a development plan made in 2021 to transform the St. Catherine region into a prominent tourist hub, which could potentially impact the area’s revered monastic identity. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople both issued urgent statements, warning that the ruling “calls into question the longstanding ownership status of the historic Holy Monastery of Sinai” and could “disrupt its sacred mission”. Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens condemned the verdict as a “grave violation of human, and specifically religious, freedoms,” and called on international bodies to intervene. The dispute prompted a meeting on 4 June…
Detailed: Egypt and the Greek Orthodox Church’s Dispute Over Saint Catherine’s Monastery
July 5, 2025
By Nadine Tag
Journalist
