Greek delegation arrives in Cairo to discuss St. Catherine’s Monastery issue

Photo: St. Catherine’s Monastery. Source: tripsinegypt

On June 2, 2025, a Greek delegation arrived in Cairo to address the situation concerning the legal status of St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai. The delegation includes representatives from the Greek Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Education, Culture, Sports, and Religious Affairs. The visit aims to discuss the monastery’s status with Egyptian authorities, reports Orthodoxia News Agency.

The emergency consultations were prompted by an Egyptian court ruling that questioned the monastery’s ownership rights over its land.

Sources within the Greek delegation emphasized that the ownership status of the monastery is not a matter for local authorities but a national strategic issue.

According to these sources, former regional officials linked to the Muslim Brotherhood had attempted to challenge the monastery’s property rights. This group is known for its hardline stance on religious freedom and the role of Christianity in Muslim-majority countries.

“Let us not forget that it was precisely the now-dismissed officials affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood who were behind the legal pressure on the monastery,” said Archimandrite Porphyrios Frakakos, representative of St. Catherine’s Monastery in Greece.

The main round of talks with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty is scheduled for Wednesday, June 4. Greece hopes the monastery will retain its internationally recognized status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and continue to be one of the most important Christian shrines in the East.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Patriarchate of Jerusalem had called on Egypt to safeguard the Sinai monastery.

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