30/05/2025 Political Affairs and Democracy
“I express in the strongest possible terms my deep concern and unequivocal condemnation of the recent decision by an Egyptian court to suspend the operation of the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine, confiscate its property, and expel its monastic community. This act is a direct affront to centuries of cultural heritage, religious freedom, and the universal principles of human rights,” today said Dora Bakoyannis (Greece, EPP/CD), PACE Rapporteur on the situation in the Middle East.
“The Monastery of Saint Catherine, located at the foot of the historic Mount Sinai is a living symbol of Christian continuity, spirituality, and interfaith co-existence. Founded in the 6th century under the Emperor Justinian I, it has operated without interruption for nearly 1,500 years.
It is, undeniably, the oldest continuously functioning Christian monastery in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To expel its monks and transform this sacred site into a museum is to sever the vital, beating heart of a spiritual and cultural treasure. It is an act that betrays religious tolerance, disregards the sacred character of the monastery, and constitutes a grave violation of the right to religious expression and the protection of religious minorities. It undermines Egypt’s long-standing commitment to the protection of religious pluralism and threatens to destabilise the fragile fabric of peaceful co-existence in the region.
I call upon the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to respond with urgency and clarity. This is an issue that our Council can and must impact.
We must act to ensure that the Monastery's flame of faith and peace continues to burn, undisturbed, as it has for nearly a millennium and a half.”