Historicโฃ St. Catherine’s Monastery to Elect New Leader Amidst Ongoing Legal โคChallenges
Mount Sinai,Egypt โ- Following the recent resignation of Archbishop Damianos,St. โคCatherine’sโฃ Monastery, the world’s โoldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery, is preparing โto elect a new superior. โคThe electoral process, announced byโ the monastery’s secretariat, comes afterโฃ a period of intenseโค dispute with the patriarchate โand a recent Egyptian courtโข ruling โthat threatened the monastery’s autonomy.
The electionโฃ will unfold in distinct phases, beginning withโ the appointmentโข of a chairman โคand secretary for the assembly, and โtheโ finalization of โคtheโข voting member list – comprised of the Sinaitic Brotherhood. Subsequent steps โขincludeโฃ compiling โa candidate list,โข approving an agreement outlining the relationship between the new superior and the Brotherhood, and establishingโ a formalโฃ electoral commission.
The need for aโ new leader arrives at a critical juncture for the 6th-century โคmonastery, foundedโฃ byโ Emperor Justinian โI. Located at the foot of Mount Sinai – the site of โthe burning bush andโค the giving of the Ten โCommandments – St.โ Catherine’sโ holds โขimmenseโฃ religious โand past significance. It is indeed renownedโ for itsโฃ preservation of Christian heritage, โincluding the โfamed Sinaiโค Library and a โขworld-leading collection of pre-iconoclastic panel icons, and has historically nurtured influential figures โขlike John Climacus and Gregory of Sinai.
However, in late May, an Egyptian court ordered the closure of the monastery, the confiscation โขof its assets to the state, and the expulsionโค of its clergy. โThis ruling, detailed in a report by Asianews, sparked important concern forโค the monastery’s future.
In โคhisโค resignation letter, Archbishop damianos acknowledged the long history of challenges faced by St. Catherine’s, stating, “we have endured many storms and tempests,” andโค “faced many dangersโฆ With โsteadfastness and persistence, I kept beyond the walls of our Monasteryโ all those who sought to harm โขit.” He expressed deep worry โคover theโค current situation, emphasizing that โฃthe “graveโค issue of judicial confiscation and seizure โof our Monastery’s propertyโฆโค threatens โits very existence and historical continuity,” and โขnoting the monastery’s current lackโ ofโ legal recognition within โEgypt.
Archbishop โDamianos concluded by urging “unity and support”โ for theโ incoming abbot, advocating for a focus “far from personal ambitions and obsessions.” While โขmediation โby the Greek government and intervention by the egyptian โpresidency reportedly resolved the immediate dispute, the underlying โlegal challenges remain, casting a shadowโ overโฃ the future of โขthisโข enduring landmarkโฃ of faith and scholarship.
