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"Europe should take a stand for the Sinai Monastery" demand MEPstranslated

August 19, 2026 · 1 min read

A new joint written question was submitted to the European Commission today, Wednesday (19/8), by the four PASOK MEPs, Yannis Maniatis, Nikos Papandreou, Sakis Arnautoglou and Nikolas Farandouris, regarding the developments at the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai. The parliamentary intervention of the four PASOK MEPs comes ahead of the imminent final adjudication of the case regarding the ownership status of the Monastery before the Egyptian Court of Cassation on August 23. The four PASOK MEPs raise serious concerns regarding the recognition of the legal personality of the Monastery, the refusal to date of state recognition of its duly elected Archbishop and Abbot by the Egyptian Authorities and hence the lack of effective legal representation and protection of the historical ownership status of the Monastery.

As they point out, these developments are taking place at a time when the European Union is deepening its strategic partnership with Egypt and has progressed to a positive assessment of the country in terms of the rule of law and human rights.

The four MEPs...

Source: Orthodoxia News Agency · Read the full story →

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Георгий Петров

It is not clear why the EU is so actively involved in this matter. The monastery in Sinai is an ancient Orthodox monastery, and not European property. Let the Egyptian court deal with it according to the law, without political pressure.

Максим Шевченко

Perhaps it is really better to let the Egyptian court sort out the law in peace. St. Catherine's Monastery is not a European property, but an ancient Orthodox shrine that has existed there for centuries. I wonder if any of our bishops have already spoken about this?

Полина Павлова

The Monastery of St. Catherine has been there since the 6th century, and it is truly an ancient Orthodox monastery, and not some kind of European asset. It is strange that MEPs from PASOK have now decided to put pressure on Egypt before the trial on August 23, when the EU is just strengthening ties with Cairo. Let the Egyptian court sort it out according to its own laws, without external noise.