Greece, July 14, 2026i
Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
Former abbot of St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mt. Sinaia, His Eminence Archbishop Damianos, has broken a prolonged public silence to warn that a pending agreement between the Egyptian state and the monastery could permanently strip the ancient institution of its property rights, calling on the monastic brotherhood to resist any such arrangement “to the last.”
In an open letter addressed to the new abbot, His Eminence Archbishop Symeon, and the monks currently residing at the monastery, Abp. Damianos—who served as abbot for decades before his resignation in September—said that reports of the forthcoming deal, if accurate, would effectively reduce the monastery to a tenant on its own land, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.
The letter was prompted in part by a July 4 article in the Greek publication Proto Thema reporting that the anticipated agreement would recognize Egyptian state ownership of all monastery lands and structures, while granting the monks use and possession of those properties in perpetuity without financial compensation. Abp. Damianos argues that under property law, possession without ownership offers no real security, and that any future Egyptian government of a more extreme orientation could overturn such an arrangement overnight.
“If this is the content of the agreement being promoted, then this is not a success—it’s a deeply offensive and dangerous degradation of the historical, spiritual, and functional autonomy of our monastery,” he writes, describing the deal as an effort to transform St. Catherine’s into a museum and the monks into employees.
Abp. Damianos outlines four conditions he considers essential to any legitimate agreement: full recognition of the monastery’s ownership rights, recognition of its distinct legal personality under Egyptian and international law as defined by UNESCO, Egyptian citizenship for the sitting Archbishop, and long-term residency permits for the monks. He argues that only these four elements can guarantee the monastery’s permanent presence at Mt. Sinai.
The former Archbishop also reveals that on May 29, 2025, Egypt unilaterally withdrew from an earlier out-of-court settlement that had recognized the monastery’s full ownership of its properties, a move he says was met with silent acquiescence from the Greek government.
He criticizes Greek Foreign Minister Georgios Gerapetritis and his Egyptian counterpart for negotiating a new agreement—still secret—without informing the full brotherhood, and says his written requests to meet with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during the negotiations went unanswered.
Addressing the monks directly, Abp. Damianos calls for all members of the brotherhood—including those currently living in Greece—to be fully informed and for a general assembly to be convened before any agreement is concluded. He stresses that a group of nine monks residing at the monastery has no authority to make binding decisions on behalf of the entire community.
“Today, more than ever, we’re called to stand as worthy guardians of a place that history, Orthodoxy, and God have entrusted to us,” he writes.
Noting that he is 92 years old, Abp. Damianos offers to place himself at the monastery’s disposal as “a simple soldier” in the struggle ahead.
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