21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya | |
|---|---|
 Icon of the 21 Martyrs of Libya | |
| Martyrs | |
| Born | Various 20 fromEgypt, one fromGhana |
| Died | 15 February 2015[1] SouthernMediterranean Sea Coast,Sirte,Libya (murdered by theIslamic State)[2] |
| Cause of death | Decapitation |
| Resting place | Village of Al-Our,Samalut,Minya, Egypt |
| Venerated in | Oriental Orthodoxy Catholic Church |
| Canonized | 21 February 2015, Village of Al-Our,Samalut,Minya Governorate, Egypt byPope Tawadros II |
| Majorshrine | Church of the Martyrs of the Faith and Homeland,Samalut, Egypt |
| Feast | 15 February (Gregorian calendar)[3] 8Meshir (Coptic calendar) |
| Attributes | |
| Patronage | |
| Part of a series of articles on the |
| Modern persecution ofCoptic Christians |
|---|
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| Overview |
| Terrorist attacks |
| Figures |
On 12 February 2015, theIslamic State (ISIL) released a video online showing photos of 21Christian construction workers—twenty from Egypt and one from Ghana—that they had kidnapped in the city ofSirte, Libya, and who they reported had been killed.[1] The men, who came from different villages in Egypt, 13 of them from Al-Our,Minya Governorate,[4] were kidnapped in Sirte on 27 December 2014, and in January 2015.[5] On February 15, 2015, the Islamic State's media wing published a video online titled "A message signed with blood to the nation of the cross," in which the 21 captives were paraded on a beach before being beheaded. ISIL claimed that the executions were in retaliation for the alleged abduction ofKamilia Shehata.[6]This was not the first time thatCoptic Egyptians in Libya had been the subject of abuse for political reasons, a pattern that goes back to the 1950s.[7] In 2014, a militia group in eastern Libya declared its affiliation with IS and thentook over parts of Derna in late 2014. People allied to the group claimed responsibility for attacks across the country, including theCorinthia Hotel attack in January 2015.[8][9] On 19 April 2015, IS released another video, which showed themurder of about 30 Ethiopian Christians.[10]
The victims, all but one members of theCoptic Orthodox Church, were formally declared martyrs and saints in February 2015 byPope Tawadros II of Alexandria. In 2023,Pope Francis announced that the 21 Christian men murdered by IS would also be commemorated by theCatholic Church and listed within theRoman Martyrology in what was described as a major ecumenical decision.[11] The martyrs are commemorated on 15 February (civil calendar) in bothChristian denominations. A film titledThe 21 was released in 2024 to commemorate them.[12]
On 15 February 2015, a five-minute video was published byAl-Hayat, an IS multi-language media wing, showing the beheading of the captives on a beach along the southernMediterranean coast. A caption in the video called the captives the "People of the cross, followers of the hostile Egyptian Church".[5] In the video, the leader was dressed in camouflage, while the other terrorists were dressed in black. The victims were all dressed inorange jumpsuits, as in many previous IS videos. The group of killers identified itself in the video as the Tripoli Province of IS. The leader declared in English:
All praises due to Allah, the strong and mighty, and may blessings and peace be upon the one sent by the sword, as a mercy to all the worlds [Muhammad]. Oh people, recently you've seen us on the hills of Al-Sham [Greater Syria] and onDabiq's Plain,chopping off the heads that had been carrying the cross delusion for a long time, filled with spite against Islam and Muslims, and today we're on the south of Rome, on the land of Islam, Libya, sending another message: Oh crusaders, safety for you will be only wishes. Especially when you're fighting us all together, therefore, we will fight you all together, until the war lays down its burdens andJesus, peace be upon him, will descend, breaking the cross, killing the swine, and abolishing Jizya, and the sea you've hidden SheikhOsama bin Laden's body in, we swear to Allah, we will mix it with your blood.[13]
In the moments before the beheadings (3'25" to 3'32" of the video) an edited audio clip records a number of them crying out "Ya Rabb Yesua!"[a] and the caption reads: (Arabic:يذكرون معبودهم ويموتون على شركهم,lit. 'They supplicate what they worship and die upon their paganism'),[13][14] suggesting that they had been given a chance to convert to Islam but refused it: For this reason, the Coptic Church proclaimed them martyrs. During the beheading of the captives (3'32" to 3'40" of the video),a part of an IS a cappella chant, "Qariba..Qariba"[b] was playing in the background of the video, with an edited audio clip of the captives yelling in agony. After beheading the captives (3'40" to 4'15" of the video), the a cappella chant continued to play and a message appears on the screen: (Arabic:هذه الدماء النجسة بعض ما ينتظركم، ثأرا ل (كاميليا) وأخواتها,lit. 'This filthy blood is just some of what awaits you, in revenge for Camelia and her sisters.')[13][14] This was referencingCamelia Shehata, a Coptic Egyptian woman and wife of a Coptic priest, whoIslamists believe had converted to Islam and was detained by the Coptic Church because of it; she later denied the claim. In the final part of the video (4'15" to 5'01" of the video), the speaker declares; "and we will conquer Rome, by Allah's permission, the promise of our Prophet, peace be upon him," pointing his knife toward the sea, while the captives' blood pooled into the Mediterranean coast.[9]
The Coptic Church, the Egyptian government, and the Libyan parliament[15] confirmed the deaths.
Following the release of the video, several experts argued that it had been digitally manipulated and that the actual murders were likely filmed in front of agreen screen and then superimposed onto the footage of the beach. The videos were manipulated to show the militants as being seven feet tall in order to propagate fear. Although there were manipulations done to the video, experts confirm that the 21 Christians were killed.[16]
Later, when one of the perpetrators of the operation was arrested, he admitted in the investigation that the slaughter had taken place at the beach opposite Al Mahary Hotel inSirte.[2][17][18][19][20]
The president of EgyptAbdel Fattah el-Sisi announced a seven-day period of national mourning and called for an urgent meeting with the country's top security body.[21] In a televised address, el-Sisi declared his country reserved the right to retaliate.[9] He also reiterated an offer to facilitate Egyptians' evacuation from Libya and imposed a travel ban on citizens to Libya.[9] Officials fromAl-Azhar, a prominentmosque and learning center in Egypt, also condemned the incident.[22] The killings were also addressed particularly by theUnited Nations Security Council, French PresidentFrançois Hollande and U.S. Secretary of StateJohn Kerry.[23][24]Pope Francis telephonedPope Tawadros II to offer his condolences. At an ecumenical meeting with theModerator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Pope Francis stated "They only said 'Jesus help me ...' The blood of our Christian brothers is testimony that cries out. Be they Catholic,Orthodox,Copts,Lutherans, it doesn't matter: They're Christian!"[25] TheMinistry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary provided €500 of financial support for each of the victims' families.Péter Szijjártó said "Hungary cannot be a bystander of the continuous attacks against Christian communities in the Middle East."[26] The Obama administration was criticized for referring to the victims simply asEgyptian citizens rather than Christians, the express reason for their murder.[27]
At dawn on 16 February, the Egyptian militaryconducted airstrikes on IS facilities in Libya.[5] The airstrikes targeted IS training locations and weapons stockpiles.[28] All military aircraft returned safely to base.[28] TheLibyan Air Force also conducted strikes inDerna, occupied by an IS affiliate since 2014.[28] No militants were killed and 7 civilians were reportedly killed.[28][29]
The lives of the martyrs have been detailed in a book byMartin Mosebach calledThe 21 – A Journey into the Land of Coptic Martyrs.[30] An independent short film,The 21, has been produced by a team of more than 70 artists from 24+ countries to honor the 21 martyrs and will debut for a global audience on February 15, 2025 - the 10th anniversary of their death.[31]The 21, the Power of Faith: the Village of Martyrs,[32] a French documentary by Samuel Armnius was broadcast onKTO and screened at the Vatican Film Library on 15 February 2024.
On 21 February 2015, seven days after their death,Pope Tawadros II of Alexandriacanonized the 21 Coptic martyrs as saints.[33] On 11 May 2023, Pope Francis met with Pope Tawadros II during general audiences to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Coptic Orthodox-Catholic agreement atSaint Peter's Basilica inRome. In his speech, Francis announced that he intends to add the 21 martyrs to theRoman Martyrology. He said "these martyrs were baptized not only in water and the Spirit, but also in blood, with a blood that is a seed of unity for all followers of Christ. I am pleased to announce today that, with Your Holiness' consent, these 21 martyrs will be included in the Roman Martyrology as a sign of the spiritual communion uniting our two Churches".[11]
During the audience, Tawadros II gave Francisrelics with a small statue of the 21 martyrs and an egg-shapedCoptic icon of theHoly Family. Upon receiving the relics, Francis said "I will try to make an altar in one of our basilicas in honor of the martyrs."[34]
On 15 February 2024, an ecumenical prayer service[35] was held at the Choir Chapel of Saint Peter's Basilica to celebrate the first commemoration of the 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya in the Catholic Church.[36]CardinalKurt Koch, prefect of theDicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, presided at the service and preached the homily.[37] The relics of the martyrs, given to Pope Francis by Pope Tawdros II, were placed on the altar for veneration. Afterwards, the documentary,The 21: The Power of Faith, was screened at the Vatican Film Library.[38][39]
They arevenerated assaints andmartyrs both in theOriental Orthodox Church and theCatholic Church,[40] and their feast day is celebrated every year on 15 February of theGregorian calendar. The commemoration falls on the feast of thePresentation of Jesus at the Temple which is 8Amshir of theCoptic calendar; however, during a leap year, 8 Amshir corresponds with 16 February.
After the beheadings, the Coptic Church released the martyrs' names, but there were only 20 names. In the video, the 21st victim was ofBlack African descent, in contrast to the others, who were ethnicCopts. It was later learned that the 21st victim was named Matthew Ayariga and that he was fromGhana.[41] It is most likely that he was already a Christian, because sources reported that he said "I am a Christian and I am like them".[42] In October 2020, Christian News Now reported that "Ayariga was a Christian migrant worker from Ghana".[43] In the bookThe 21: A Journey into the Land of Coptic Martyrs, Martin Mosebach, who traveled to Egypt to meet the families of the martyrs, also states that Ayariga said "I am a Christian".[44] However, according to some unnamed sources, he was not originally a Christian, but saw the immense faith of the others, and when the terrorists asked him if he rejected Jesus he reportedly said, "Their God is my God", knowing that he would be killed for saying this.[45][46] Ayariga's conversion has been compared to the conversion of Saint Aglaius, one of the40 Martyrs of Sebaste.[47]
When the remains of the 21 bodies were found, the bodies of the 20 Egyptians were returned into Egypt.[48] On September 29, 2020, Ayariga's remains were received in Egypt by the new church in Al Our,[43][49] the Church of the Martyrs of Faith and Homeland, a shrine built in honor of the martyrs.[50] The family members of the other martyrs "expressed their joy at the return of the remains of the martyr [Matthew Ayariga]", saying "Our joy is complete."[43] Majid Shehata, a daughter of one of the martyrs, said, "It was a surprise to all of us that we see the remains of the martyr Matthew inside the Church of the Martyrs, and this is a long-awaited news and all the families are in great joy and we thank God for having responded to us in the return of the martyr."[43]
After the expulsion of the IS fighters from Sirte, government authorities announced they had found the place where the bodies of the martyrs were buried. This was done after the government authorities and the Libyan army arrested one of the terrorists who was present during the slaughter.[51][52][53] The Libyan Attorney General ordered cooperation with the Egyptian authorities to sendDNA samples from the families of the martyrs to be compared with DNA samples from the remains.[54][55][56]
Later, it was ascertained that the remains belonged to the martyrs after comparing the families' DNA samples sent by the Egyptian Forensic Medicine Authority with the DNA samples taken from the remains by the Libyan Forensic Medicine Commission.[57][58]
On 15 May 2018, the remains of the 20 Egyptians were returned to the Church of Martyrs of the Faith and Homeland, which was built for and named after them in Martyrs' Village (formerly Al-Aour, Al-Awar, or Al-Our;Egyptian Arabic:قرية العور),Minya governorate.[59] A special shrine was built in which the remains were laid so that people can visit them. Churches and monasteries' bells were rung all over Egypt when the remains arrived atCairo International Airport fromMisrata Airport in Libya;[citation needed] celebrations of the return of the remains to their homeland. They were received by Pope Tawadros II, a large number of priests, Ambassador Nabila Makram, the Egyptian minister of immigration and Egyptians affairs abroad, and other state officials at the airport.[60][61][62] AMass was held, presided over by Bishop of Samalut Anba Baphnotius.[63]
One year later, on 25 July 2019, the Coptic Church officially requested the Libyan Embassy in Cairo ship Ayariga's body to Egypt. Anba Pavnotios dispatched an official delegation to meetChargé d'affaires of the Libyan Embassy, Fawzy al-Mabrouk Tantoush.
The delegation included the priests of the Cathedral of the Martyrs of the Faith and Homeland in Al-Our, Friars Marcos Atef and Epiphanius Yunan, Nevine Ragy, General Manager of Schools and Projects of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Samalut, and Nader Shukry, Member of the board on the Church of the Martyrs of the Faith and Homeland, and coordinator of crisis management for the martyrs' families. The Libyan Embassy's socialattaché Hussein Al-Bashir Shafsha also attended the meeting.
The Egyptian delegation handed Tantoush a letter from Anba Pavnotios requesting that the body of Ayariga be brought to Egypt "to be joined with his Coptic brothers in their final resting place". TheMetropolitan said the Church would give all the necessary legal pledges and guarantees to honour the rights of all parties should his country ask to have him back.[64]
In 2019, the Libyan government agreed to transfer Ayariga's body to Egypt.[50] His remains were transferred to Egypt and laid to rest with the other martyrs at the end of September 2020.[65]
Source:[68]
Daniel Philpott, a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, says, 'When ISIS is no longer said to have religious motivations nor the minorities it attacks to have religious identities, the Obama administration's caution about religion becomes excessive.'
