On this day, the 15th February or the 8th Meshir, eleven years ago, a vile video released on the internet struck the international Christian community but especially struck the Coptic Christian world.
Twenty-one construction workers who had migrated to Libya for work had been kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) in Libya. Twenty of the men had been Coptic Orthodox Christians and one from Ghana. In the video, the 21 captives are seen on the beach before being beheaded. Rather than denounce their faith and their Saviour, they remained firm.
May the Lord give us a fraction of the faith they had.
To learn more about their lives, you can watch the film, The 21 (2024).
They have been recognised as Sainst by both Popes of the Coptic Orthodox and Catholic Church, and the names of the martyrs are:
Abanoub Ayad Attia
Bishoy Adel Khalaf
Bishoy Stéphanos Kamel
Essam Badr Samir
Ezzat Bushra Nassif
Girgis Melad Sniout
Hany Abdel-Masih Salib
Jaber Mounir Adly
Kirillos Shukry Fawzy
Luke Ngati
Majed Suleiman Shehata
Malak Faraj Abram
Malak Ibrahim Siniot
Matthew Ayariga
Melad Mackeen Zaki
Mena Fayez Aziz
Sameh Salah Farouk
Samuel Alhoam Wilson
Samuel Stéphanos Kamel
Tawadros Youssef Tawadros
Yousef Shokry Younan
They left behind families and communities that felt their loss deeply, parents, siblings, and some were married, some had young children. Yet the testimony of their faith has lived and left a tremendous impact.
