Abp. Damianos of Sinai: 'Uncanonical Actions Undermine the Unity of the Brotherhood'

Photo: Open source

ATHENS — Archbishop Damianos of Sinai has issued a statement regarding the latest developments concerning the Holy Monastery, as well as the matter of his suspension from the duties of Abbot.

In his statement, which was reported on by UOJ's Greek branch, Archbishop Damianos describes the beginning of the crisis in 2012, when local Egyptian authorities challenged the time-honored status of the Monastery, despite its recognition by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

He emphasizes the systematic effort over the years to preserve the Monastery’s legal and spiritual standing, with positive developments including the passage of a bill in Greece and the support of all political parties. He expresses gratitude to friendly Egypt and looks with hope to the forthcoming visit of the Egyptian Foreign Minister to Athens.

He stresses, however, that at the very moment a way out of the external “Golgotha” appears, an internal crisis is arising from the alleged uncanonical actions of certain monks, which threaten the unity of the Brotherhood and - albeit unintentionally - serve the interests of those seeking to weaken the Monastery.

The Archbishop expresses deep pain and sorrow, declaring that, as their spiritual father, he is obliged to intervene according to the Holy Canons - not to punish, but to protect the future of the Monastery and to call for repentance.

The Statement of Archbishop Damianos of Sinai

“In 2012, following an appeal to the Egyptian judiciary by the then Mayor of Saint Catherine City and the then Governor of South Sinai, the Golgotha of the Holy Monastery of Sinai began.

This incomprehensible and utterly unjustified challenge to the age-old status (status quo) of the Holy Monastery - which was also recognized when UNESCO, in 2002, declared the Monastery a World Heritage Site - now threatens, after the decision of the Ismailia Court of Appeals on 28 May 2025, the very existence of the Holy Monastery of Sinai.

From that day, a titanic effort began to save the Monastery and secure its future. After much labor, these efforts began to bear fruit. The submission of the bill granting the Monastery’s Greek representation legal personality, and the unanimous support of all parties, marked the moment when hope returned, for the Holy Monastery of Sinai became a point of unity for Hellenism and Orthodoxy.

Hellenism worldwide extended its hand and heart to friendly Egypt, highlighting the need for cooperation and joint progress on lofty ideals such as religious freedom.

And the friendly nation responded, as the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt will visit Athens on August 6, when we rightfully expect the end of the Golgotha of the Holy Monastery.

And yet, at this very moment - when hope has returned, when efforts are beginning to yield results - the verse of Dionysios Solomos has once again proven true:

‘Discord, treacherous, bears a scepter. To each she smiles, “Take it, too,” she says.’

Certain fathers of the Holy Monastery of Sinai ‘moved, deliberated, and studied the tradition,’ not to uphold it, but to conspire how to trample the Divine and Holy Canons and the Fundamental Regulations of the Holy Monastery.

I closed my eyes and ears to their actions so that our attention would not be distracted from the greater goal of safeguarding the centuries-old status of the Monastery.

But now, their uncanonical actions scandalize the faithful people of God, undermine the unity of the Brotherhood, lead the Monastery into a 'Babylonian captivity,' and above all, offer the best service to those who wish the Golgotha of the Holy Monastery not to end.

‘Today Judas abandons the Teacher and takes up the devil. He is blinded by the passion of greedy ambition, and the darkened one falls from the light.’

What they do, without fear of God, without shame or understanding, constitutes a coup against the Church - one which we will not allow to bring ruinous consequences for the integrity and unity of Hellenism, as other coups have done.

As their spiritual father, I have the duty to make every effort to help them realize their error and to prevent them from becoming patricides.

After prayer, and with ineffable heartache - with a hand trembling not from the weight of 91 years of earthly life, but from the responsibility for the future of the Monastery - I am bound to act according to what the Divine and Holy Canons prescribe, whose corrective character they will now face. In this way, they will have the opportunity to repent, and together, united, free of vain and fleeting egotisms, we will save the Holy Monastery.

Let us all be inspired by the unity shown these days by the Hellenic Parliament, from one end to the other, for the salvation of the Holy Monastery of Sinai.

I bless you all and wish that the grace of Saint Catherine and of God-trodden Mount Sinai may shelter our homeland and each one of us individually.”

Previously, UOJ reported that an assembly of 15 monks was held, reportedly resulting in the decision to suspend Archbishop Damianos of Sinai, the Monastery’s Abbot.

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