“I owe my life to the Egyptian army ,” said Anba Damianos, Abbot of St Catherine’s Monastery and Archbishop of Sinai. Speaking after a recent celebration of the St George’s Day at Mar-Girgis (St George) Monastery in Old Cairo, Anba Damianos was alluding to an accident that occurred some two months ago when he fell into an elevator shaft at the monastery. The Egyptian government immediately sent a military helicopter to carry him to al-Galaa’ military hospital in Cairo where he was treated at the expense of the State. Anba Damianos said that General Sidqy Sobhy, Egypt’s Defence Minister, visited him twice while he was in the hospital, and President Sisi regularly followed up his condition.
Anba Damianos thanked the Egyptian government for providing technical and logistical support for the restoration works of mosaics, manuscripts and rare items at the St Catherine’s. He also praised the efforts of the Ministry of Antiquities and UNESCO in restoration works there, especially noting that the monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Anba Damainos, who has both Greek and Egyptian citizenships, said that he feels safe in Sinai, even safer than when he goes to Greece. “This monastery has been and still is under the protection of the Egyptian army and the Sinai Bedouin.”
Watani International
29 April 2018