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The Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai has been shaken by an internal dispute that saw Abbot Archbishop Damianos expel a group of monks who attempted to challenge his leadership, according to statements from both the Abbot and the monks involved.
In a video statement, Archbishop Damianos, who also serves as Archbishop of Sinai, Pharan, and Raitho, described the situation as a direct threat to his safety. “My life is in danger. I appeal to the Greek and Egyptian governments to protect me,” he said, calling the unrest a “coordinated effort” to undermine his authority.
The conflict escalated Tuesday afternoon when Damianos, who resides alternately in Athens and Cairo, arrived at the monastery to address the assembly convened by fifteen monks seeking to amend the monastery’s governing regulations without his approval. The Abbot, now 91, said he aimed for dialogue and reconciliation but was met with resistance.
According to Damianos, the dissenting monks assaulted him while other monks loyal to him intervened to restore order. Following the confrontation, he and his supporters expelled the fifteen monks from the monastery. The expelled monks deny attacking the Abbot, stating on a new website, Friends of the Holy Monastery of the God-trodden Mount Sinai, that they never saw or approached him, and that he remained in his office as events unfolded.
After the expulsions, a general assembly of the remaining monks elected a new Synaxis to lead the monastery. The positions of Dikaios, Skeuophylax, and Oikonomos were filled by Hieromonk Porphyrios Kanavakis, Hieromonk Akakios Spanos, and Monk Ephraim Provatas, respectively. Damianos described this move as restoring “legality and normalcy” to the monastery.
The monastery, which operates under a unique self-governing status, akin to autocephaly, is canonically linked to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem but largely administratively independent. The dispute highlights long-standing tensions within the Brotherhood, which comprises 22 monks, 15 of whom sought to remove Damianos from his post and reported their decision to Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem.
Damianos, in turn, suspended the monks he termed “rebels,” stripping them of administrative duties. A three-member commission from the Patriarchate has since met with both the Abbot and the dissenting monks, first in Athens and later at the monastery, to assess the situation.
The Abbot’s message emphasized the monastery’s spiritual mission and called for humility and forgiveness in light of the conflict. “We owe a great apology to the faithful of the Church,” he said, “for the pettiness and ambitions of some have become a cause of scandal.”
With information from Orthodox Times and The National Herald.
