Archbishop Symeon of Sinai said on Saturday he would sign an agreement with the Egyptian state over St. Catherine’s Monastery, in a move aimed at ending a years-long legal battle that had threatened the monastery’s existence.
In a statement, Symeon said the deal would be signed in the near future “as soon as my health permits,” with a date to be set together with the monks and the Egyptian government. He has been receiving medical treatment in Greece.
He said the patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria and Jerusalem, along with the Churches of Greece and Cyprus, had sent letters backing the signing of the agreement. He thanked the Egyptian government and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for granting the monastery more than a year to study the proposal and submit counterproposals.
Symeon said he was confident that, following the announcement, there was no longer any reason for Egypt’s Court of Cassation to issue its ruling, which was due to be published on Saturday after four postponements. He added that the monastery remained, by the grace of God, “in its place” and open to pilgrims and visitors.
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The announcement came amid reported divisions within the monastic brotherhood over the terms of the deal. Former Archbishop Damianos had urged the Church of Greece to prevent the monastery from signing what he called a “shameful agreement.”
The dispute dates to 2015, when Egypt launched legal proceedings over dozens of land parcels around the monastery. A May 2025 appeals court ruling in Ismailia sparked a diplomatic crisis between Athens and Cairo. One compromise under discussion would recognise Egyptian state ownership while granting the monastery permanent religious use of the properties.
St. Catherine’s, dating from the 6th century, is considered the oldest continuously operating Christian monastery.