By Parapolitika.gr –
Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria discusses St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, the growing appeal of Orthodoxy among young people, the coordinating role of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the need for consensus among the Orthodox Churches.
In an interview with Parapolitika, Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria delivers clear messages about the role of Orthodoxy in the modern world while expressing deep concern over developments affecting St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai.
He describes the challenge to the historic Monastery’s rights as “a clear injustice” and warns that its possible transformation into a tourist attraction would be disastrous.
He also discusses the growing number of young people turning toward Orthodoxy, particularly in Western societies, emphasizing the importance of religious belief in a world marked by crises and uncertainty. He pays particular attention to the role of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, stressing the importance of unity, unanimity, and consensus among the Orthodox Churches.
When asked if he was concerned about what is happening at St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai? He responded:
Violations of the rights of the sacred sites of our Orthodox Church have always led to harmful consequences.
What shocks us in this particular case is that the Sinai Monastery has existed for more than a thousand years—long before the modern Egyptian state and long before Egypt’s present judicial system.
And suddenly, by what reasoning and under what laws, does a court decide to strip the Monastery’s brotherhood, and the Monastery itself, of rights over property it has possessed for centuries?
This is a clear injustice, an unmistakable attempt to violate the rights of such an important sacred site of the Orthodox Church. No one can remain indifferent to this.
To commercialize the site and turn it into a tourist attraction—as may well happen—would be disastrous for the Monastery itself and for its preservation as one of the Orthodox Church’s major sacred sites.
Asked about his recent visit to King Abdullah of Jordan and Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem in the Holy Land, he said:
For every Orthodox Christian, visiting the Holy Land—the places sanctified by the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, the Holy Apostles, and so many saints who have lived from the foundation of the Church until today—leaves an indelible impression.
Respect for each of the ethnic and religious communities living in the Holy Land also means respect for their respective sacred sites.
This is precisely the mission of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem: to preserve the sacred sites of the Holy Land and maintain the monastic and ecclesiastical traditions associated with them.
King Abdullah and the Jordanian authorities continue this tradition of maintaining balance and peaceful coexistence among the various religious communities, so that through our joint efforts we may preserve these important sacred sites.
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