St Catherine’s Monastery and Egypt settle land dispute
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Egypt Independent
The archbishop of St Catherine’s Monastery has agreed to sign an agreement with Egypt defining the legal status of the site and its surrounding lands. The signing is to take place on a date agreed by both parties, after more than a decade of a land dispute, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, as cited by RT.
The archbishop of St Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula has agreed to sign an agreement with Egypt regulating the legal status of the monastery and the surrounding lands. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty received a letter from Archbishop Symeon confirming the agreement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday, according to RT, as cited by Egypt Independent.
The signing ceremony will be held on a date yet to be set by the two parties. The agreement is intended to govern the implementation of a court ruling while guaranteeing the continuity of monastic life and the rights of the Egyptian state.
The dispute concerns dozens of plots covered by proceedings initiated by the Egyptian authorities in 2015. In May 2025, the Ismailia Court of Appeal upheld the state’s ownership of the disputed land, while distinguishing religious and archaeological sites from the other plots, according to Egypt Independent.
The dispute had raised concerns in Greece about preserving the monastery’s Greek Orthodox character. The monastery is more than 1,600 years old. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry reaffirmed that the monks would be able to continue holding religious rites there and that the site would retain its spiritual and historical status.
