St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. / Credit: Joonas Plaan via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
ACI MENA, May 30, 2025 / 12:02 pm (CNA).
An appeals court in the Egyptian city of Ismailia has ruled that the monks of St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula have the right to use the monastery and surrounding religious heritage sites. However, the court also reaffirmed that these sites remain the property of the state as part of Egypt’s public domain.
The ruling has sparked grave concern within the Greek Orthodox Church, which denounced what it described as “an attempt to alter a system that has been in place for 15 centuries.”
In contrast, the Egyptian state issued reassurances regarding the monastery’s status.
His Beatitude Ieronymos II, archbishop of Athens and All Greece, condemned the verdict as a grave violation of human — especially religious — freedoms, stating that the monastery is “undergoing a great trial reminiscent of darker times in history.”
Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece. Credit: Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East
In an official statement, the archbishop warned: “The monastery’s properties are being seized and confiscated. This spiritual beacon of Orthodoxy and Hellenism is now facing a genuine threat to its existence. With deep sorrow and indignation, I call upon the Greek government and international bodies to recognize the magnitude of this danger and to take urgent action to safeguard fundamental religious freedoms at the sacred monastery of Sinai.”
In response, Egypt’s presidential office reaffirmed the country’s full commitment to preserving the unique religious and sacred status of St. Catherine’s Monastery, stressing that this ruling only reinforces its importance. The statement also referenced recent assurances given by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during his visit to Athens earlier this month.
A spokesperson for Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied allegations that the monastery or its surrounding lands had been confiscated. Speaking to the Middle East News Agency, the spokesperson clarified that the ruling merely formalizes the legal status of the monastery.
“According to the court’s decision,” he said, “and in recognition of the monastery’s spiritual and historic significance, the monks will retain full use of the monastery and nearby religious and archaeological sites. Remote and uninhabited natural reserve areas without proven ownership documents will remain under state jurisdiction.”
St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. Credit: Harmony Video Production/Shutterstock
On May 30 the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem expressed deep concern regarding what it referred to as the “seizure of lands surrounding the monastery.” In a public statement, the patriarchate reaffirmed its full ecclesiastical authority and protection over the site. It also praised the official communications from Egyptian authorities, which emphasized respect for the sanctity and safety of the monastery and rejected any notion of encroachment.
St. Catherine’s Monastery is considered one of the most important Christian landmarks in Egypt, not only for its ancient heritage and biblical significance but also for its global spiritual and cultural symbolism. Founded over 1,500 years ago, the monastery remains active to this day and is home to a priceless collection of Byzantine icons and a library of rare and ancient manuscripts.
This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated for and adapted by CNA.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
ACI Africa, Jun 27, 2023 / 10:30 am (CNA).
The Diocese of Kasese in Uganda observed a five-day prayer for the souls of the victims of the recent attack on Lubiriha Secondary School located in its territory in th… […]
A photo of Deborah Emmanuel’s photo on her Facebook page. Emmanuel, a Christian student in Nigeria, was killed by an Islamic mob on her college campus on May 12, 2022. / CNA
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 23, 2022 / 14:01 pm (CNA).
Deborah Emmanuel, the Nigerian Christian student who was murdered by a Muslim mob last month, spent her final hours with a close friend who has shared exclusive details of the brutal killing with CNA.
CNA is using the pseudonym “Mary” for the woman’s protection. A Christian herself, she nearly was killed by the same mob.
Significantly, Mary’s account contradicts the claim of authorities that they attempted to rescue Emmanuel from the mob but were “overwhelmed.”
On the contrary, the police “could have stopped the murder if they had really tried,” Mary told CNA.
Emmanuel’s so-called “blasphemy murder” took place on May 12 on the campus of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, Sokoto State, a major city located in the northwest corner of Nigeria. The city is home to the Muslim Sultan who serves as the top religious authority for Nigeria’s 100 million Muslim believers.
Prior to the attack, Emmanuel, a home economics major who attended Evangelical Church Winning All, was bullied by fanatical Muslim students at the teacher’s college for audio statements she made on WhatsApp, a messaging platform. She credited Jesus Christ for her success on a recent exam, and when threatened and told to apologize she refused, invoking the Holy Spirit, saying “Holy Ghost fire! Nothing will happen to me,” according to WhatsApp messages reviewed by CNA.
In the aftermath of these heated exchanges, a Muslim mob attacked Emmanuel on the college’s campus. After an hours’ long siege, the mob beat and stoned her to death, then set her body on fire with burning tires, according to graphic video footage posted online. The rioters also rampaged in a Catholic Church compound in Sokoto, according to reports. The riots spread to other Christian-owned properties over two days.
A relative of Emmanuel’s, who said he was standing approximately 60 feet from the mob, also told CNA he believes the police could have saved her. He, too, asked that his identity be withheld for his safety.
Unarmed campus security personnel made a futile attempt to rescue Emmanuel, according to a campus security report shared with CNA. But Emmanuel’s relative said there were dozens of armed police officers on the scene who didn’t fire their weapons.
The commissioner of police in the state also said officers did not fire their weapons. However, he maintained that only 15 of his officers were at the scene, according to a report in The Epoch Times.
Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Diocese of Sokoto has strongly condemned the attack and called on Emmanuel’s killers to be brought to justice..
“This matter must be treated as a criminal act,” he said. You can read his full statement here.
A plea for help
On the day of Emmanuel’s death, Mary received a frantic phone call from her around 9 a.m, asking for help. By that time, women who lived in her dormitory had begun slapping Emmanuel, Mary told CNA.
Mary arrived at the campus to see her friend surrounded by a mob and being led by a campus staffer to a gatehouse building for her protection. The Muslim students had bloodied her face and head with blows from rods and were joined by male students who believed their duty was to execute a blasphemer on the spot, Mary said.
“Allahu Akbar!” meaning “God is Great” was bellowed for hours, she said.
Mary initially stayed outside the building and tried to intercede for her friend, but she said it wasn’t long before the mob turned on her, too. Within moments Mary was trying to ward off punches and blows from sticks as she backed away from the gatehouse and toward the gate of the college 40 feet away.
Mary said a college lecturer rescued her and brought her to join Emmanuel inside the gatehouse by 10 a.m.
At 10:25 a.m., the relative said, six officers of the Department of State Security (DSS) — the equivalent to the FBI in the U.S. — arrived, firing their rifles in the air but with no effect. Five minutes later, he said, a group of Sokoto police came on the scene and fired tear gas, temporarily scattering the mob.
The above map is based on eyewitness accounts of the murder of Nigerian Christian student Deborah Emmanuel on her college’s campus on May 12, 2022. Graphic by Alexander Hunter
For about 10 minutes police had an opportunity to disperse the mob and force their way to the gatehouse to extract Mary and Emmanuel, Emmanuel’s relative believes. But that did not happen.
By 11 a.m., the mob had returned to the building, holding cloths against their faces to ward off the tear gas. The mob tried hurling stones at Mary through the windows of the locked gatehouse, but Mary barricaded herself behind a table.
The mob then threw gasoline on the women through the front windows and attempted to burn them alive, Mary said.
“Deborah was soaked with gasoline, but when lighted plastic was pitched in through the windows, I quickly stamped the flames out,” Mary said.
No escape
All of this transpired as police and DSS officers watched from a safe distance, according to Emmanuel’s relative.
The traumatized women said little to each other, but Emmanuel was still hoping to do her examination that day, Mary said. At one point, she recalled, Emmanuel asked, “What time is it? I have an examination at noon.” Mary said she looked at her cell phone and told her it was 1 p.m.
After another excruciating hour of siege, the mob pushed down a single Sokoto policeman guarding the door, broke the padlock on the door, and rushed in to find Mary and Emmanuel hiding behind furniture, Mary and the relative related. Two rioters placed a chain around Mary’s neck and pulled it hard, trying to strangle her, she recounted.
“Let this girl go! She is not an offender,” Mary recalled one of the rioters shouting. But as they released her, a young man in the mob grabbed Emmanuel and took her to the front steps of the gatehouse. There she was bludgeoned with steel pipes and wooden rods and stoned, the relative said.
Two DSS officers attempted to rescue Emmanuel but were hit by stones and pushed aside, the relative said. The police officers remained in position and did not come to her aid, he alleged.
Mary collapsed inside the gatehouse gasping from the strangulation. Approximately 40 minutes later, she said, she was roused by one of the mob to leave the building, which was on fire.
As she walked through the smoke, Mary saw the gatehouse burning and Emmanuel’s lifeless body in flames.
The face of Christian persecution
In the aftermath of Emmanuel’s murder, human rights advocates and others have leveled sharp criticism at Nigeria’s government leaders for not doing enough to stem the rising tide of violence directed at Christians and other non-Muslims.
Relatives of Deborah Emmanuel at her burial in Niger State, Nigeria. Courtesy of the Emmanuel family
Anti-Christian hatred was evident in days of rioting in Sokoto following the arrest of two suspects in Emmanuel’s murder. The rioters reportedly were incensed that there were any arrests at all.
“Deborah Emmanuel, like kidnapping victim Leah Sharibu (who was enslaved by Boko Haram insurgents in 2019), has become the face of Christian persecution in Nigeria,” said Kyle Abts, executive director of the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON). “There has not been an official report from the security forces on the lynching of Ms. Emmanuel. Her killing and subsequent riots show clear government complicity and coverup.”
Tina Ramirez, founder of the international nonprofit Hardwired Global, also believes the Nigerian government has been unwilling to take a strong stand against blasphemy killings.
“The recent attacks on students are reminiscent of the attacks at Nigerian colleges two decades ago that were the precursor to the growth of extremist groups across Nigeria’s North and Middle Belt,” Ramirez wrote in a text to CNA.
Erbil, Iraq, Mar 8, 2021 / 01:37 pm (CNA).- A statue of the Virgin Mary that had been desecrated by the Islamic State was present at Pope Francis’ Mass in Erbil on Sunday.
The statue was decapitated, and its hands cut off, in Karemlesh, a largely Christian town 18 miles east of Mosul, during the Islamic State’s occupation of the villages in the Nineveh Plains from 2014 to 2017. It belonged to St. Adday church.
The statue has been partially restored; its head has been replaced, though its hands have not.
Speaking March 7 to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language news partner, Fr. Thabet Habeb, the pastor of St. Adday, recalled that when he first saw the image of the beheaded Virgin he experienced “a very sad feeling, because I saw my church like this, along with everything else. We prayed before this Virgin for many years and it was destroyed. It was something very important for the parish, for our church.”
Fr. Habeb said the statue “will return to Karemlesh and will be in our church upon our return.”
The priest hopes that a fruit of the Holy Father’s visit to Iraq will be that the government and the world would look at “this martyr Church, which must be aided so it can continue to bring the Gospel.”
The Islamic State swept through large swathes of Syria and Iraq in 2014, giving families of Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities an ultimatum – convert to Islam, die, or leave.
In 2017 the Nineveh Plain the area was liberated from the rule of the Islamic State.
Leave a Reply