Overview

• On May 28, an Egyptian appeals court ruled that the monastery’s land is state-owned and affirmed monks’ right to inhabit and use the site.
• Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis traveled to Cairo on June 4 to secure guarantees for the monastery’s Greek Orthodox identity and legal status.
• Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reassured his Greek counterpart that the ruling preserves the monastery’s land access and spiritual standing.
• UNESCO has demanded that Egypt stop further development and conduct an impact evaluation after a megaproject raised ecosystem and heritage concerns.
• The sixth-century monastery remains under the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem’s jurisdiction and sits alongside the Jabaliya tribe, which seeks infrastructure improvements.