Egyptian government denies plan to seize historic monastery
May 30, 2025
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CWN Editor's Note: After an Egyptian court decision triggered reports that the government was planning to seize the ancient monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, the government has issued a statement that the fears of Orthodox Church officials are “completely unfounded.”
St. Catherine’s is the world’s oldest Christian monastery, still inhabited by Orthodox monks. In the past, under the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian government had weighed plans to seize the property. So the ruling that the site should be considered a national treasure stirred concern of a new move to confiscate the monastery.
However the government statement assured that the new designation of St. Catherine’s would not alter the monks’ title to the use of the monastery, “with a clear affirmation of the preservation of its sacred standing.”
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