Greece to offer legal status to Mt Sinai Monastery

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A new bill introduced in the Greek Parliament aims to grant legal status in Greece to St Catherine’s Monastery on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The legal entity in Greece will be called the “Greek Orthodox Holy Basilica Autonomous Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and Theobadist Mount Sinai.”

The monastery’s status has been a frequent topic in recent discussions between Greek and Egyptian leaders, including a recent meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday.

Mount Sinai Monastery, also known as Saint Catherine's Monastery, is one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world, located at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

It houses an extraordinary collection of ancient manuscripts, icons, and early Christian art, second only to the Vatican.  Today, Saint Catherine's Monastery is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Source: https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/07/27/greece-mt-sinai-monastery-legal-status/?app=true

[Bobina 3,324]

Is there a moral reason for them not to? I'm not familiar with this. 

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27 minutes ago, Bobina said:

Is there a moral reason for them not to? I'm not familiar with this. 

There were rumors Egypt wanted to close the monastery, but Egypt denies it and claims said court rulling was mistranslated. Either way, this made Greece and Cyprus uneasy, and are now looking for ways to protect the monastery in light of its emotional and cultural value, while keeping the territory legally part of Egyptian territory.

Greece wants Egypt to follow suit and give a legal status to the monastery tool, but Egypt may not do so arguing it owns the monastery's territory.

[bionic 50,111]

IMO they should demolish it and replace it with a McDonalds

[dit 46,738]

??? what do they mean by offering it legal status? It is on sovereign Egyptian territory and ANYONE who thinks Egypt would have ever harmed this church is dumb AF. Egypt bends over backwards to protect its christian minority. This church is also very important to Muslims as it houses a letter of peace that the muslim Prophet had if I remember correctly. There is also a mosque on that territory. Not to mention this church compund brings LOTS of tourism to Egypt and Egypt's Sinani penninsula is sparsly populated or built so there's no way they'd demolish this church since there is PLENTY of empty space in the Sinai...RIDICULOUS. 

[Delulu Rogers 7,678]

Hagia Sophia in Turkey was converted into a Mosque despite the importance of the building to the Christian Orthodox community and despite being “protected” by Turkish law and being a world heritage site. 
 

Anything is possible so Greece should do everything they can to ensure the site remains unchanged. 

[VasilisVas 5,213]

4 minutes ago, Delulu Rogers said:

Hagia Sophia in Turkey was converted into a Mosque despite the importance of the building to the Christian Orthodox community and despite being “protected” by Turkish law and being a world heritage site. 
 

Anything is possible so Greece should do everything they can to ensure the site remains unchanged. 

As a Greek I 100% support this and love your response.  What happened to Hagia Sophia was very tragic for Greece and for so many other Orthodox Christians. 

[Delulu Rogers 7,678]

4 minutes ago, VasilisVas said:

As a Greek I 100% support this and love your response.  What happened to Hagia Sophia was very tragic for Greece and for so many other Orthodox Christians. 

From one Greek to another I share your pain ❤️