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Egypt could close world’s oldest Christian monastery
- On May 28, 2025, an Egyptian court ruled to nationalize Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai, transferring its lands to the state and evicting the monks to create a museum.
- This ruling reflects a prolonged legal offensive by Egyptian authorities to assert state control over the monastery's property, whose ownership had lacked clear modern legal status.
- Saint Catherine's, founded by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century, is the world's oldest continuously operating Christian monastery and holds invaluable manuscripts and icons.
- Greek Orthodox leaders condemned the ruling as a severe violation of religious rights and heritage, with Archbishop Ieronymos II urging Greece to intervene to prevent effective abolition.
- Egyptian officials deny plans to close the monastery or evict monks and affirm commitment to preserving its religious status, while Greece plans diplomatic engagement to uphold previous agreements.
26 Articles
26 Articles
Christians worldwide outraged over ruling giving Egypt ownership of ancient monastery
A ruling by an Egyptian court transferring ownership of one of the world's oldest monasteries to the state has provoked global condemnation from Christian leaders and advocacy groups urging foreign governments to get involved. #Egypt #SaintCatherineMonastery #Christians
Egypt nationalizes ancient monastery's grounds, fraying ties between Athens and Cairo
ISTANBUL (RNS) — As news filtered out of Egypt on Thursday (May 29) that a court ruling had called for nationalizing an ancient Orthodox Christian Monastery in the Sinai Desert and the eviction of its monks to make way for a museum, disbelief turned to outrage, from the Middle East to Greece, where politicians blasted the decision. St. Catherine’s Monastery, which is inhabited by Greek Orthodox monks in Egypt, is considered to be the world’s old…
Egypt: St. Catherine's Monastery in Sinai Passes Into the Hands of the Egyptian State - Concern and Reactions Grow
After fifteen centuries of autonomy, the Orthodox Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai has passed into the hands of the Egyptian State, according to a ruling issued by the Ismailia court. The measure has generated strong reactions and deep concern in the ecclesiastical and international spheres for the future of the monastery and its monastic community.
Egyptian court ruling on St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai sparks outcry
St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. / Credit: Joonas Plaan via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) ACI MENA, May 30, 2025 / 12:02 pm (CNA). An appeals court in the Egyptian city of Ismailia has ruled that the monks of St. Catheri... [...]
An Egyptian court has given a blow to the religious freedom of the Middle East by allowing the closure, expulsion of the monks and expropriation of the oldest monastery in the world in uninterrupted service for 15 centuries ordered by the government of this country. The intention of the authorities is to make the building a museum. Read more]]>
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