Historic Sinai Agreement Remains Unsigned, Leaving Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Limbo

A long-awaited agreement to resolve a decade-long property dispute over Egypt’s Saint Catherine’s Monastery, a historic Orthodox Christian site, remains unsigned, casting uncertainty over its future.

Finalized in December, the draft settlement between South Sinai Governor Major General Dr Khaled Moubarak Hussein Bakri and Archbishop Damianos, the monastery’s legal representative under Presidential Decree 306 of 1974, aimed to end lawsuits challenging the monastery’s ownership of 71 disputed plots. A Ministry of Justice-appointed expert committee defined the contested lands’ boundaries, with the agreement affirming the monastery’s property rights, including its buildings, plots, and churches, as part of its UNESCO World Heritage status granted in 2002.

The proposed terms ensured the monastery’s autonomy in managing its religious, administrative, and internal affairs under the abbot’s oversight, with cooperation from Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities for building conservation. Provisions also protected the site’s environmental heritage, including ancient trees, and committed both parties to ending the legal dispute.

Despite these efforts, the agreement remains unsigned. An unfavorable court ruling last Wednesday, following merged appeals and postponed cases, has complicated matters. Sources within the Sinaitic community suggest the delay may have been deliberate, potentially undermining the monastery, home to one of the world’s oldest continuously operating libraries and priceless religious manuscripts. The issue was raised during Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s recent visit to Athens, highlighting its ongoing significance.