Greece and Egypt have agreed to protect the status of one of the world’s oldest Christian worship places, foreign ministers from both nations announced, following an Egyptian court verdict last week that placed doubt on its survival.
The St Catherine’s Monastery, at the foot of Egypt’s Mount Sinai, was founded in the sixth century and is the oldest Christian monastery still in use for its original purpose, according to UNESCO, which has designated the region as a World Heritage site.
Revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews, the monastery is at the site where by Biblical tradition Moses received the Ten Commandments.
But last week, an Egyptian court ruling ordered Orthodox monks to vacate several plots of land that the monks have used for years, including vineyards and gardens adjacent to the monastery compound, on the grounds that they were illegally sequestered, prompting a diplomatic flurry between Cairo and Athens over the site’s status.
“We agreed in the immediate future to work towards safeguarding the rights of the monastery, as well as its legal status,” Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said after meeting his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty in Cairo.
According to a foreign ministry statement, Abdelatty stated that the verdict preserves the monastery’s significant spiritual significance and religious status, and that the monks would continue to have access to and use the monastery and its religious and historical sites.
Greece and Egypt have a long history of diplomatic ties, and their cooperation has grown in recent years.
St Catherine’s is a huge complex that, according to legend, was built around a burning bush where God is claimed to have spoken to Moses, as related in Exodus. Its library is one of the world’s largest, including some of the earliest Christian manuscripts.
