St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai elects new Archbishop

Archimandrite Symeon Papadopoulos has been elected the caller Abbot and Archbishop of the historical Monastery of St. Catherine successful Sinai, pursuing a vote by the members of the Sinai Brotherhood successful Egypt.

He received 19 of 20 votes, with his ain ballot near blank successful accordance with past tradition.

The Brotherhood united down his candidacy, with nary challenges to the process. Observers spot this wide effect arsenic a affirmative step toward fostering unity and harmony within the monastery, which had precocious experienced tensions betwixt erstwhile Archbishop Damianos and a radical of monks accusing him of mismanagement.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking precocious astatine the Thessaloniki International Fair, noted that Greece and Egypt are adjacent to signing an statement that will necessitate the signature of the caller abbot to guarantee the Greek Orthodox quality of the monastery. He besides said there has been a de-escalation of tensions, to which the erstwhile archbishop contributed.

Just implicit a week ago, Damianos announced the process to prime his successor, aft signals from Athens and the Ecumenical Patriarchate indicated that their support for him was not unconditional.

Relations betwixt Greece and Egypt had been strained pursuing an Egyptian tribunal ruling past May that the 6th-century monastery sits connected state land. The tribunal stated that the monastery is entitled lone to use the onshore and surrounding archaeological and spiritual sites, alternatively than owning it outright.