The oldest constantly functioning monastery on this planet could also be closed and was a museum, following an Egyptian court ruling.
St Catherine’s monastery was inbuilt the mid-sixth century and has a special connection to each the Old and New Testaments.
Not only is it the oldest operating monastery dedicated to Christ, it also happens to be positioned on the foot of Mt Sinai, the mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God within the book of Exodus.
Although monks and monasteries aren’t mentioned within the Bible, the vocation is believed to have developed and gained popularity shortly after the Roman Empire accepted Christianity as its state religion.
The influx of recent believers led many “old guard” Christians to lament the drop in standards expected of those that followed Christ. Many went out into the wilderness in an try and uphold the old standards, eventually forming communities that will allow them each to direct their concentrate on God and to serve wider society.
St Catherine’s currently houses around 20 monks, but a Cairo court has decreed that ownership of the land the monastery is built on be transferred to the Egyptian government. Egyptian press reports suggest there are plans to show the monastery right into a museum.
The ruling comes regardless of Egyptian guarantees to keep up “the unique and sacred religious status of Saint Catherine’s Monastery and stopping its violation”. The Egyptian president recently gave public assurances to the Greek government that the monastery wouldn’t be closed.
The monastery was built through the time of the Byzantine (broadly Greek speaking) Empire and is thought for its excellent Byzantine period art.
The court ruling has prompted concern from Christians. In an announcement, Ierenemos II, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, said, “Following yesterday’s scandalous ruling, a violent infringement of human rights and, more specifically, of religious freedoms by Egypt’s judicial authorities, the world’s oldest Orthodox Christian monument, the Monastery of Mount Sinai, is entering a period of great trial – one which evokes memories of darker times in history.
“I unequivocally condemn any try and alter the longstanding status that has prevailed on this region for fifteen centuries. I call upon the responsible Greek government – and personally upon prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis [of Greece] – to take immediate and appropriate motion to revive lawful order and make sure that the holy monastery is just not effectively abolished.”
The Egyptian government has said it’ll work with Greece to make sure continued “close and fraternal relations”.
 The oldest constantly functioning monastery on this planet could also be closed and was a museum, following an Egyptian...){kind=link}