Egypt has welcomed the consent of the Archbishop of the St. Catherine’s Monastery to sign an agreement regulating the legal status of the monastery and its surrounding lands in the Sinai Peninsula.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty received a letter from Archbishop Symeon, confirming his agreement to sign the contract, RT reported on Saturday.
The formal signing ceremony will take place at a date to be determined through coordination between the two sides.
This development follows a years-long legal dispute concerning the status of the monastery and its surrounding territory.
The situation intensified in May 2025, when a ruling by the Ismailia Court of Appeals raised concerns regarding the monastery’s rights over certain lands and facilities essential to its monastic life.
Lawsuit dating over a decade
The case stems from a lawsuit filed by Egyptian government authorities in 2015 concerning dozens of plots of land—a dispute centered on state ownership versus the monastery’s rights to possess and utilize the property.
The ruling affirmed state ownership of the disputed land, while distinguishing between religious and archaeological sites and other types of land.
This raised concerns within Greek ecclesiastical circles regarding the future of the monastery and the rights of its monks.
The dispute has also impacted Egyptian-Greek relations, prompting Athens to seek a settlement that ensures the preservation of the monastery’s Greek Orthodox character and its continued religious role.
Cairo has emphasized that the ruling does not diminish the monastery’s spiritual and historical standing, and that the monks will be able to continue performing religious rites at the site.
Agreement drafted
As communications between the two sides continued, an agreement was drafted to clarify the legal status of the monastery and its associated lands, and to establish a framework for implementing the judicial ruling—ensuring the continuity of monastic life while upholding the rights of the Egyptian state.
Efforts to reach this agreement were supported by the Church of Greece, as well as various other Orthodox leaders and churches.
The Foreign Egyptian Ministry’s statement expressed the state’s high regard for the over 1,600 year-old monastery, and reaffirmed its commitment to preserving its religious standing and heritage, recognizing it as a symbol of tolerance and coexistence among religions and civilizations.
The signing of this agreement is set to pave the way for concluding the legal proceedings related to the dispute and mitigating any potential impact on Egyptian-Greek relations, all while safeguarding the monastery’s religious and historical status, in full compliance with Egyptian legislation and the state’s sovereignty over its territory.
