Tension is high again at the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St Catherine on Mount Sinai. It is under siege by dissident monks who were expelled on Tuesday, after they allegedly assaulted the bishop
The Archbishop of Sinai and Monastery abbot Damianos has appealed to the Egyptian and Greek governments to “protect him from any potential danger,” saying his life is under threat, according to a video message released Tuesday.
The appeal comes as tensions remain high at Saint Catherine’s Monastery, where dissident monks expelled on Tuesday continue to linger outside the gates, attempting to re-enter.
According to the archbishop’s associates, Damianos is inside the monastery while the insurgent monks try to force their way in, issuing threats against his life and signaling potential legal action.
Egyptian police officials, who have not responded to repeated calls for assistance in recent hours, are stationed near the monastery but have so far not intervened to stop the dissidents. According to kathimerini, sources said there have even been suggestions that the rebels be allowed back inside.
The monks who turned against 91-year-old Damianos have remained outside the monastery since Tuesday afternoon. The archbishop himself visited the monastery on Tuesday, where he once again faced intransigence from the dissidents.
Other monks have managed to keep the rebels at bay, but unrest at the monastery continues.
On their part, the dissident monks launched a website in which they present their own truth thus uploading a video of their action on Tuesday.
Video:
They claimed that they were forceful removed from their cells. Further that “the deposed” Archbishop Damianos appeared at the Monastery after a very long time accompanying by body guards and that they hardly saw him how much more that they assaulted him.
The Church of Sinai is an autonomous (given that the Archbishop, and abbot of the monastery, is elected by the assembly of the monks (Brotherhood of Sinai) but is ordained by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.
end of July, the dissident monks attempted to depose Damianos accusing him of trying to change the status of the monastery. More HERE on KTG.
