A group of dissenting monks at the historic Saint Catherine's Monastery is demanding the removal of their 91-year-old abbot, Archbishop Damianos, accusing him of financial mismanagement, administrative abuses, and neglecting his duties at the ancient site.
In a formal memorandum, the monks allege that the archbishop, who has led the monastery since 1974, has been largely absent, spending only a few months a year in Sinai.
They also charge that only a fraction of the monastery's 2024 income of over €530,000 was directed to the institution itself.
Further accusations include giving a foreign university unauthorized rights to digitize ancient manuscripts, a move that reportedly drew the attention of Egyptian authorities.
The dissenters also claim an outside party was allowed undue influence over the monastery's governance.
The dispute marks a significant challenge for one of the world's oldest continuously operating Christian monasteries, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The conflict over the leadership of Archbishop Damianos has raised concerns about the governance of the revered institution, drawing attention from both the Greek and Egyptian governments