FROM STORM TO PEACE: Speaking with the New Archbishop of Sinai Symeon
By Vassilis A. Poularikas
"You are welcome at St. Catherine's. We look forward to seeing you whenever you wish to come." Hanging up the phone and listening to the serene voice of His Eminence Abbot Symeon, the newly elected Archbishop of Sinai Faran and Rairo, I felt the pleasant feeling that something has finally changed in the energy of the last few months.
Without a second thought and after a thirteen-hour journey from Cairo, I find myself in the Monastery's Guest House, at eight o'clock in the morning of Tuesday, September 16, first of all the surprise in the eyes of all the fathers for the immediate response to their invitation, but also experiencing another close, warm welcome.
The main purpose of my trip to St. Catherine this time was to feel up close, after the storm of the last few days, the subtle vibrations in the hearts of the fathers and to listen with my own heart and intellect that all these morbid incidents experienced by the fathers of the Monastery, are weighed in the unfalse scales of their feelings. …
These tragic moments, which we all watched live on our television sets, as well as the deliberate distortion of the truth, in the first days of the events by various journalistic media, were deeply engraved in the heart of every Christian everywhere in the world, leaving an incurable wound.
But monasticism, as the fathers explained to me during the days I stayed with them, is a revolutionary view of things, which contains, as the seed of any blossoming of the soul, the very state of the Fall.
"Read The Ladder, and you will understand everything. Since the 6th century, St. John [Climacus] of Sinai has been telling us this," a monk said to me with a smile when I interrupted him with the "whys" and "buts" of my own thinking.
I stayed with them for three days, inside the monastery. I experienced the mysticism of the Services in the Holy Temple of the Transfiguration of the Savior, with the highlight being the joint service in memory of the Prophet Moses, while also recording life in the Monastery through the colorful mosaic of daily routine.
I was particularly surprised every day when, following the flow of visitors again and again, I admired the unique holy relics in the world, but also the exemplary way they are exhibited, in a museum that fully meets the strictest standards for the impeccable preservation, but also for the elegant presentation of the valuable exhibits.
I experienced the baking of bread, the meals at the Monastery, the atmosphere of the treats after the Services, the hundreds of pilgrims who were brought by faith from the ends of the world to this God- trodden place to feel, firsthand, the miracle of the Burning Bush by touching its leaves and to pray, kneeling reverently, before the Holy Icon and Relics of Saint Catherine.
Touching for all of us was also the moment when the elderly leader of the Jabaliya Tribe Sheikh Mohammed visited the Monastery with his entourage and shook the hands of Abbot Symeon with obvious affection, congratulating him from the bottom of his heart for his election, with His Eminence looking deep into his eyes and assuring him that: "Here, no one lives without the other."
On the last day of my stay, I had scheduled the interview with His Grace Abbot Symeon. So that we can all get to know him better and so that he himself can set the tone for the next day for the oldest functioning monastic community in the world. …
FROM THE INTERVIEW:
Q - Recently, painful events have occurred that have saddened believers around the world, creating a deep wound in the soul of every Christian. We would like you to open your heart and talk to us about these difficult times for the Monastery of Sinai.
A - This is a delicate and painful subject. It is often not good to pick at old wounds. In general, I would like to say that it is not unusual for such issues to arise in human relationships and in the course of human history, and theologically in the historical part of the Church.
However, we must interpret what is meant by "the historical part of the Church." The Church of Christ is an organization, although this word does not do justice to its theological depth and truth.
So, there is a divine part to the Church, because its head and founder is God Himself. The Holy Fathers say that the first Church exists in the persons of the three persons of the Holy Trinity. What does the Church mean? Assembly.
The God of Christians and Orthodox Christians is neither One nor Three. He is both One and Three. It takes days to understand this interpretation, and it is a model for people's lives.
Many are quick to classify the Christian faith as a monotheistic religion. I know how true this is. This is done in contrast to idolatry, which is a strange form of polytheism.
God as an essence is One, but has Three Persons. This means that One Person communicates and cooperates with the Other Person. And the salvation of man is the cooperation of these Three Persons. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the first Church.
On the day of Pentecost, we have the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and we have the strange mixture of the Holy Spirit, Who is a Person of the Holy Trinity, with the Apostles, who are human beings. In the course of the Church, we have two elements: the Divine and the human. This is called the historical dimension of the Church.
The other is the Divine, about which we have no doubt as to Its infallibility. As for the human part, however, they are persons of the fallen world, and we refer to the fall of the first man.
Adam and Eve, which hides great depth. What does fall mean? Separation from God and from man, a situation that we have all experienced throughout the ages.
Our communion with God is always disturbed, and the relationships between us are also disturbed. The holier a person is, the better their relationships are; the lower they fall, the more their relationships deteriorate. This, the so-called original sin, because that is what it is, continues throughout the ages and is not removed even from the saints.
Holy does not mean infallible, as the Pope of Rome made sure to think he is. No person is infallible. No person is infallible. Only the Divine part of the Church as a whole is infallible.
The human part suffers, but it is within the hope of salvation. Because this human, fallen part, which makes mistakes with repentance each time, with the fall and the rise and with the effort, is led to salvation. This is the natural and realistic situation.
So anyone who thinks that the Church is idealistic, that it is perfect, is out of place and out of time. As long as we live on this earth, we are called the militant Church. What does that mean? War!
Not between people, although in the end that happens too. War with evil, war with the enemy, war with ourselves. The bad thing is that often the war is between us.
And even in the holiest of cases, we have such examples. I am referring to the two great Saints of the Church, the two great Patriarchs Photius and Ignatius, who caused the unified Roman Empire to split in two.
These people are saints of the Church today. At some point, even though they had nothing substantial to divide them, they quickly realized their mistake, found each other, repented for each other, and embraced.
Therefore, it is not surprising that issues often arise even among prominent figures.
However, in our times, we must not forget that there is an additional factor. This is publicity, to which you also belong as a clergyman.
This publicity, however, works for many different reasons. So every event is presented, expanded, and distorted for specific reasons by each side.
So an event that could be resolved more easily becomes even more difficult.
In this climate, you will also include what happened in the human and historical part of the spiritual history of the Monastery of Sinai, something that did not happen for the first time. …
A monk who lives here in Sinai and struggles gains some credit, and "the fall" can benefit him, since it leads him to humility. …
And a last wish for Christians around the world
For the Christians of the whole world, let us apologize to them for their scandal and the wish is that the grace of this holy place, which, even if sad events have occurred, has not disappeared and is possible.
[Wishing you] the Intercessions of the Virgin Mary who was prefigured with the Holy Burning Bush, the Triune God who was heard through the Holy Bush, saying to Moses "I am the One I Am", the intercessions of the Prophet Moses that we celebrated yesterday, who saw and experienced God in this place, and the intercessions of the sweetest Saint Catherine that God brought them after her martyrdom in Alexandria to be present here and through her body, to cover the whole world, to give strength and health of soul and body, to your readers, but also to the whole world.
I wish all the best to everyone, with the willingness to quickly overcome our difficulties and easily forgive any mistakes.
September 22nd, 2025
From https://www.romfea.gr/sinenteyxeis/72030-apo-ti-fourtoyna-stin-galini-milontas-me-ton-neo-arxiepiskopo-sina-symeon
