St. Catherine’s Monastery on Sinai refutes reports about attacks on it

October 2014

In its official statement the Monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai has denied the reports by the Egyptian Christian media about attacks on the monastery and called them “irresponsible and false”, reports Romfea.

Islamists did not attack the monastery and did not take the monks hostage, the message reads.

It should be noted that about ten days ago, a number of Egyptian media, referring to the well-known lawyer Dr. Iyhab Ramzy and the journalists’ inquiry by the Copts Today news website, claimed the opposite.

The monastery of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai is, according to UNESCO report, the oldest working monastery in the world. The monastery, along with several dependencies in the area, constitute the entire Orthodox Church of Mount Sinai, which is headed by an archbishop, who is also the abbot of the monastery. It is considered autocephalous in the Orthodox World, and is not a part of the Egyptian Coptic Church.

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