Mount Sinai Monastery

Deeply embedded in Egypt's spiritual and cultural heritage, the monastery reflects the country’s enduring commitment to religious freedom and the protection of sacred sites.

In this episode, we speak with Archimandrite Fr. Porphyrios Frangakis, the venerable Sinai Monastery’s spokesman in Greece, as well as Dr. Ronald Meinardus, a journalist, political analyst and commentator with extensive experience in both Egypt and Greece, where he’s lived and worked for many years. The abrupt emergence of an existential threat to the continued […]

What transpired before a shocking decision by an Egyptian appeals court to invalidate the status, ownership of historic St. Catherine's Monastery of Mount Sinai; Greek, Egyptian leaderships now eye delicate negotiations

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Sunday, during a week review, again called referred to the issue that abruptly emerged last week with an Egyptian court decision threatening the St. Catherine Monastery of Mt. Sinai

For the matter to be included in the June plenary agenda, support from other political groups within the European Parliament is required during negotiations set to take place next week.

Until May 28, relations between Greece and Egypt appeared as solid as the granite cliffs surrounding the ancient Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai. Just three weeks earlier, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi had traveled to Athens – his fifth visit since assuming power in 2014. The summit was lauded as a diplomatic triumph. Both […]

The MEP condemned Egypt's decision as a violation of religious freedom, warning that the recently approved €4 billion package depends on upholding democracy, the rule of law, and human rights.

Greek FM Gerapetritis visits Cairo to address tensions over Saint Catherine’s Monastery ownership following an Egyptian court ruling challenging its status.

“Here, I felt, a higher human consciousness prevails... Here, man’s virtue triumphs over the desert,” Kazantzakis wrote,

What the decision of Egypt's judiciary over the operation of St. Catherine's Monastery in Sinai means and how Greece and Egypt are responding.

A high-level Greek delegation, led by Foreign Minister Gerapetritis, will visit Cairo on Wednesday, with the hope of finalizing the monastery's legal status

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople called on the Egyptian government and President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to “find the appropriate manner to maintain the ownership status quo” of Saint Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai, in a statement issued on Friday. The reaction came a day after the uproar caused by an Egyptian court’s ruling on May […]

As part of the ongoing dialogue a Greek delegation will travel to Egypt on Monday, June 2

The statement seeks to reassure Greece, the Orthodox community, and the public following a court ruling that raised concerns about the operation of Mt. Sinai monastery.

Earlier this month, Egyptian President Abdel el-Sisi, speaking during an official visit to Athens, went out of his way to dispel what he called “rumors” of state attempts to confiscate the Sinai Monastery and its properties

The move by the Egyptian judiciary also entails the prospect of seriously upsetting Greek-Egyptian relations, as it completely contradicts the expressed personal assurances by Egyptian President el-Sisi in Athens earlier this month.