Located at the base of what is traditionally believed by many to be Mount Sinai, Saint Catherine's monastery is one of the religious and archaeological jewels of Egypt. In 2002, it was named as one of seven UNESCO World Heritage sites in Egypt, with most of the others deriving from the Pharaonic period of Egyptian history. Although some of its key archaeological remains are older, the monastery was renovated and expanded by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (482-565 CE) and is believed to be the oldest functioning Christian monastery in the world. The monastery houses an impressive library of ancient and medieval manuscripts and it was there that the famed Codex Sinaiticus was identified in the 19th century, which includes the oldest complete copy of the New Testament dating to the middle of the 4th century. In Egypt, the monastery is further distinguished by its affiliation with the Greek Orthodox rather than the Coptic Orthodox tradition. Estimates suggest that some 20 Greek Orthodox monks live there at present. 

(A photo of the monastery from a recent visit by DAB editor, Luka Renić.) 

On May 28th, an appellate court in the district of Ismāʿīliyya in northern Egypt issued a controversial ruling related to the monastery and a number of plots of land surrounding it. There were immediate reactions from mainly Greek media sources which claimed that the monks would be expelled and the monastery turned into a museum.  A number of Western sources appeared eager to interpret the court’s ruling as an example of Muslims persecuting Christians in the Middle East. The crisis led to immediate meetings between the Greek and Egyptian foreign ministries and several statements from the office of Egyptian President ʿAbdel Fattāḥ al-Sīsī intended to reassure Greek authorities about the sacred status of the monastery. 

Sources differ on when the monastery and its properties first became the focus of a legal dispute. Credible reports suggest that the dispute started following the visit of Egyptian General Aḥmad Ragāʾī ʿAṭṭiya in 2012, in or around the time that the Islamist president Moḥammed Morsī took power in Egypt. The timing has led some to believe that sectarian dynamics have played a role in the controversy. It appears that in 2015 and 2021, the South Sinai governorate filed legal claims about the ownership of dozens of plots of land surrounding the monastery. The recent ruling came in response to these legal cases. According to Egyptian MP Ehāb Ramzī, who serves as the monastery’s legal representative, the court ruled that several historic land plots in the vicinity had been unlawfully acquired by the monastery. One of the central legal questions raised by the ruling is whether the monastery technically owns any of its properties or whether it is merely permitted to use them. Further legal analysis of the court documents would be required to clarify the way this relationship is framed. It is my understanding that the monastery and its legal representatives have already appealed the ruling.

In my view, Greek Orthodox Christians and indeed Christians around the world are rightly concerned about the ruling as it touches on an historic location of immense historical and spiritual significance. There can be no evading this fact. At the same time, observers should be cautious about hastily reading sectarian religious dynamics into a complex legal case about property ownership. Disputes over historic holy sites and property ownership are not that uncommon, as recent cases involving the Armenian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre demonstrate. In some respects, recent developments around St. Catherine’s are reminiscent of the 2008 tensions surrounding the Coptic Orthodox monastery of Abū Fānā in Upper Egypt which my predecessor Cornelis Hulsman worked so hard to clarify. My view is that the Egyptian government deeply values the significance of St. Catherine’s monastery and I believe developments in the coming months will reassure international observers about this.

I would like to thank Eleanor Bridge, an undergraduate in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Edinburgh, for authoring a helpful overview of recent developments. Additional useful analysis can be found here, here, and here.

Matthew Anderson

Director - Center for Arab-West Understanding

Executive Editor - Dialogue Across Borders (Brill)

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June 9, 2025