Egypt Closes St. Catherine’s Monastery: Confiscates Its Property and Evicts the Monks

Egypt is closing St. Catherine’s Monastery, confiscating its property, and evicting its monks.

According to orthodoxia.info, the oldest functioning Christian monastery in the world, St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, along with all its properties in Egypt, is being transferred to the Egyptian state.

Nearly fifteen centuries after its founding by Byzantine Emperor Justinian, and having survived remarkable historical challenges, the world-renowned and respected St. Catherine’s Monastery is on the verge of being converted into a museum.

Despite promises made by Egyptian President Sisi to Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, Egypt is confiscating the monastery’s property and effectively evicting the monks, with the aim of transforming the now-vacant buildings into a tourist attraction akin to the Pyramids.

Suspicious Court Ruling

A decision issued yesterday by an Egyptian court has put an end, in the worst possible way, to the years-long legal assault faced by the monks of St. Catherine’s from the Egyptian state. This assault, which began during the era of the Muslim Brotherhood, has been carried out through judicial pressures and attacks aimed at closing the world’s oldest monastery.

As a result, ownership of the monastery and all its assets is now transferred to the Egyptian state. The monks are required to vacate specific properties, where they are no longer permitted access, and are allowed to remain in the monastery to fulfill their religious duties only for as long as the new owner—the Egyptian state—permits.

The Greek government has provided significant support to the monks’ struggle, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis raising the issue at the highest level, repeatedly urging President Sisi to intervene on behalf of the monks.

During the Egyptian President’s official visit to Athens in early May, the issue was discussed by the two delegations, resulting in an agreement to halt the unjust judicial attacks on the monastery to ensure its continued operation without interference. In their joint statements, Mitsotakis and Sisi explicitly emphasized the need to preserve the monastery’s character.

However, despite indications that Egypt, a friendly and allied nation, would rectify the injustice—as publicly pledged by its president—the recent court ruling has upended these expectations, raising legitimate questions about the true intentions of the Egyptian authorities, which seem to follow in the footsteps of the extremist Muslim Brotherhood.

False Claims

As fear grips the monastery regarding what lies ahead, Egyptian archaeologists, such as Dr. Abdel Rahim Rihan, an archaeology expert and member of the Supreme Council of Culture’s History and Antiquities Committee, have claimed that the properties confiscated by the Egyptian state fall under antiquity laws. He insisted that the decision benefits the monastery.

“We consider this decision historic, in favor of global heritage and the monks of St. Catherine’s Monastery, as it secures their right to benefit from the monastery and the religious and archaeological sites in the area,” he stated to a local outlet.

However, the monks, who do not see this as beneficial in any way and view the decision’s historical significance as an attack on their rights, are already preparing a global mobilization. They plan to inform all Christian churches and other monotheistic religions, as they believe this action by the Egyptian state is the worst event in the monastery’s 15 centuries of existence, effectively abolishing it.

So far, the Greek government has not issued an official response.