[Prime Minister’s Office via InTime News]
Greece and Egypt have worked to preserve in perpetuity the spiritual and religious character of Saint Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai, as well as its rights and the protection of the monks who serve there, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said.
Speaking at the enthronement ceremony of the new abbot and archbishop of Sinai, Symeon, Mitsotakis said his presence signified that “Greece will continue to stand by you at every step and support you at every level.”
He praised the monks for showing “patience, spiritual wisdom, and unwavering faith” during the recent controversy over the monastery’s legal status, saying they had “emerged unscathed from the ordeal, renewing the spirit of unity.”
The ceremony was also attended by Jerusalem Patriarch Theophilos III as well as representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria and the Churches of Greece and Cyprus.
Following the enthronement, Mitsotakis met with Patriarch Theophilos, Archbishop Symeon and US Deputy Secretary of State Michael Rigas.
On Saturday, he will attend the inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum, before traveling to Cyprus on Sunday for a memorial service for former president Glafkos Clerides.