Egypt confirms St. Catherine Monastery’s sovereignty won't be undermined

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(4 Jun 2025) RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Cairo, Egypt - 4 June 2025 1. Various photo-op of Egypt Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis 2. Various photo-op of Abdelatty and Gerapetritis in expanded discussion session with delegates present ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVE: Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai – 20 December 2018 3. Various of exterior of Saint Catherine Monastery 4. Various of monastery church 5. Mid of visitors lighting candles inside the monastery church 6. Close of candles 7. Close of visitor saying prayers 8. Wide of visitors inside church 9. Wide pan right of church interior 10. Various of mosaic that covers 46 square metres (yards) 11. Various of crucifix above altar 12. Pan of ceiling 13. Wide of church STORYLINE: Egypt confirmed Wednesday that a recent court ruling will not infringe on the sovereignty of Saint Catherine Monastery, one of the world’s oldest monasteries visited by pilgrims for a thousand years. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelaaty told his Greek counterpart George Gerapetritis that the spiritual and religious value of the monastery and its surrounding archaeological sites would be preserved, according to an Egyptian foreign ministry statement. His remarks followed a ruling by Egypt’s Ismailia Administrative Appeal Court late last month concerning disputed land plots in South Sinai. The court declared then that the state owns the land on which the Greek Orthodox monastery stands but affirmed the monks’ right to use the site and its surrounding religious and archaeological areas, according to local media reports. The ruling raised concerns in Athens and within the Greek Orthodox Church community. On Friday, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem issued a statement expressing it was “deeply troubled to hear of efforts by the Egyptian court to seize lands surrounding our Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai.” “The Patriarchate of Jerusalem asserts our ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Monastery, as it firmly falls under our protection. It is our sacred obligation to ensure that Christian worship continues on this holy ground, as it has done for 17 centuries. We condemn any infringement on the physical or jurisdictional status of our places of worship,” the statement read, however acknowledging Egypt’s assurances that there will be no infringement. The Egyptian presidency said last week that the recent court ruling consolidates the state’s commitment to preserve the religious status of the monastery. During Wednesday’s meeting, Abdelaaty assured his Greek counterpart that the court ruling upholds the monks’ right to use the monastery and its surrounding religious areas, contrary to what he described as “false media reports,” referring to unverified claims circulating on social media suggesting that the monks would be asked to evacuate the monastery. “It also enables the monastery to continue performing its religious and spiritual functions without any change to the status quo,” the foreign ministry statement read. =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected]. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/5028a6e6fd7546f5ba0bfe8372f34f0a