It is with great sadness I write you today about the heinous murder of 21 Egyptian Christians at the hand of the so-called lslamic State branch in Libya. These men from the Upper Egyptian city of Samalout are no different from thousands of other Muslim and Christian Egyptians in Libya, seeking employment to support their families back home.
Except that these 21 were specifically chosen for their Christian faith. The video of their beheading expressed the lslamic State’s intention to increasingly target the Copts of Egypt. This morning the Egyptian government launched airstrikes on lslamic State positions. lt has declared a week of mourning, banned further travel to Libya, and will work to facilitate the return of all Egyptian citizens. The foreign minister has been dispatched to the United Nations to discuss the necessary international response.
The Anglican Church in Egypt and the world expresses its deep condolences to the families of these men, and also to his Holiness Pope Tawadros ll, patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Please join me in praying for peace in Libya, Egypt, and the entire Middle East. Please pray the international community will act in wisdom, correctly and efficiently, and support Egypt in its war on terror. Please pray the churches of Egypt will comfort their sons and daughters, encouraging them to resist fear and hatred. And please pray for the perpetrators of this terrible crime, that God would be merciful to them and change their hearts.
Jesus tells us in John 16:33, “ln the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Such cheer may seem impossible, but it is God’s promise. Please pray for us, that we may live lives worthy of his name, and hold to the testimony exhibited by the brave Egyptians in Libya.
–The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Anis is Archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa
Prayers ascending.
May God preserve the Christians in Egypt, and may God protect Egypt and its president.
I was moved to tears by reading a report in which an Egyptian speaks of watching the video in which his brother was beheaded. He said the men were calling on Jesus Christ as they died.
This is terrible. The blood of the martyrs is still being spilled, as was foretold.
“Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.”
Another admirable statement, and heart-rending plea, from +Mouneer Anis, a noble successor of the the apostles indeed. As we begin Lent tomorrow, let us heed his earnest plea for urgent and persistent prayer for our endangered brothers and sisters in Christ in the Mid-East, and elsewhere, who face horrors and pressures that we can scarcely imagine. Unfortunately, this sort of unspeakable atrocity is likely to spur even more Egyptian Christians to flee their ancient homeland, if they possibly can, to seek more safety elsewhere. We can only wonder how many Christians of any sort will be left in the troubled Middle East and other Muslim lands if this sort of insane cruelty keeps happening.
FWIW, I’ve decided to give up blogging for Lent. So this is my last post until Easteride. Instead, I’ll spend the time praying that I would’ve spent reading and responding to the news here.
David Handy+
Praying. So thankful for ++Mouneer. May the Lord help him lead with courageous boldness and joy even in the face of such a tragedy.
Ramez Attallah, head of the Bible Society of Egypt, has an important article out which talks about the reaction in Egypt to the killing of the 21 Coptic Christians. He also provides some prayer points.
[url=http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=017b6b7c5bf6d7468fcc6aedc&id=ea8fa5435c]The World was not Worthy of Them[/url]
Thank you, Karen B., for that link.
I am grateful also for +Mouneer’s call to “pray for the perpetrators of this terrible crime, that God would be merciful to them and change their hearts.” May God send visions and dreams to these extremist Muslims and open their hearts to Him.