The Sinai question flared anew in the mid-19th century, with the election of Cyril
Byzantius (January 7, 1859) to the post of the Archbishop of Sinai. The Patriarch of Jeru-
salem, Cyril II, refused to ordain him, as he ought to have, having been instructed so by
his predecessor, the late Patriarch of Constantinople Constantios (1830-1834, 11859). The
fathers of Sinai sought the help of Constantios* successor Cyril VII (1855-1860), who, at
the intervention of Count N. Ignatiev (friend of Cyril) ordained him on November 25, 1854.
The move was interpreted as an unauthorized intervention of the Patriarch of Constanti-
nople into the affairs of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The fathers in Sinai were now allied,
in a sense, to the Patriarch of Constantinople, as far as their argument with the Patriarch
of Jerusalem was concerned. This led to a new series of problems of Canon law of a more
general nature, with wider political ramifications, involving the Russian church and its effort
to play a more active role in the region. Finally, the matter was brought before the Permanent
Synod of Constantinople (1859), who called on the Patriarch of Jerusalem to end his irregular
refusal to ordain Cyril Byzantius. The Ecumenical Patriarch Cyril himself was the one who
finally ordained the Archbishop of Sinai in the Monastery’s dependency of the Holy Cross
in Constantinople. Cyril’s authoritative manners and nepotism, his abuses and collaboration
with the Turks and Count Ignatiev ultimately led the fathers of Sinai to ask for the interven-
tion of Cyril, Patriarch of Jerusalem and others. The fathers at Sinai elected Cyril Rokidis
in the post of father supreme and. On August 24, 1867, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, in the
presence of the exarchs of the Congregation of Sinai, dethroned Cyril. The dethronement
was carried out over the objections of the Ecumenical Patriarch Grigorius VI, a friend and
supporter of Cyril’s, who claimed that the matter had to be decided together with the Church
Seat. Cyril Rokidis (later named Kallistratos) worked hard during 1867-1868 for an accep-
table solution on the Sinai Question and in order to restore the normal rotations between
the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Monastery. Kallistratos Rokidis had to overcome, at
the same time, other difficulties, such as the anti-Greek policy of Ignatiev, the theft of the
famous Code of Sinai by Tischendorf and the abuses of father Serafim in one of the
Monastery’s dependencies, all issues that deeply divided the fraternity. By August 1873,
most of the issues had been resolved and relations between the Monastery and the Patriar-
chate of Jerusalem became normal again. However, the Monastery of Sinai entered a period
of rapid decline, for reasons attributed both to a Panslavic propaganda and the uprising of
the Arab-speaking populations of Egypt and the Middle East. Porfirios (1885-1904), who
succeeded Kallistratos, tried to put a hold on this decline. He administrated the financial
affairs of the Monastery with great care, thereby managing to repay all debts, found a School
in Rethos, establish dependencies and generally build up momentum for the Monastery;
this, despite the obstacles raised by the Patriarch of Alexandria, who objected to the re-
establishment of the Monastery’s dependency in Cairo and disagreed over the Ambctios
School, the Greek Orthodox Community School in Cairo. Porfirios kept his title as President
of the Ambctios School and reaffirmed its Greek character by appointing likclyminded
teachers and professors.
