In February 2015, 20 Coptic Christians and one man from Ghana were murdered by beheading on a beach by the Islamic State in Sirte, Libya. The men were construction workers from Egypt working in Libya and had been kidnapped and threatened with death unless they converted to Islam. They each refused, crying out “O Lord Jesus!” Each of them was subsequently beheaded, martyred for their refusal to reject Christ. There are discrepancies in the account of the 21st martyr, the African from Ghana. Some accounts assert that he was already a Christian, having told his executioners, “I am a Christian and I am like them.” Other accounts, however, claim that he was not a Christian but, moved by the faith of the others, declared, “Their God is my God.”

A week after their martyrdom, the men were canonized in the Coptic Orthodox Church by Pope Tawadros II. Their feast day is February 15. All 21 men are honored as martyrs of the faith and venerated in the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Just last week, Pope Francis announced that he was adding the names of the Coptic Orthodox martyrs to the Roman Martyrology, “as a sign of the spiritual communion that unites our two churches.” Pope Francis said of the martyrs, “[They] were baptized not only with water and the Spirit, but also in blood, in a blood that is the seed of unity for all followers of Christ.” For his part, Pope Tawadros II gifted Pope Francis with relics of the martyrs. This is not the first time that Orthodox Christians have been added to the canon of Catholic saints. In 2001, Pope St. John Paul II added several Orthodox saints to the list of those now also venerated in the Catholic Church.

There remains a long road ahead for Christian unity. That Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II recognize that we are united in the blood of Christ, especially by our martyrs, is to be celebrated. It is cause for rejoicing. These men who died for Christ represent all Christians who would rather pay the ultimate price than to renounce their Savior. They belong to all of us.

Here are the names of the 21 Coptic martyr saints:

• Bishoy Adel Khalaf
• Samuel Alhoam Wilson
• Hany Abdel-Masih Salib
• Melad Mackeen Zaki
• Abanoub Ayad Attia
• Ezzat Bushra Nassif
• Yousef Shokry Younan
• Kirillos Shukry Fawzy
• Majed Suleiman Shehata
• Samuel Stéphanos Kamel
• Malak Ibrahim Siniot
• Bishoy Stéphanos Kamel
• Mena Fayez Aziz
• Girgis Melad Sniout
• Tawadros Youssef Tawadros
• Essam Badr Samir
• Luke Ngati
• Jaber Mounir Adly
• Malak Faraj Abram
• Sameh Salah Farouk
• Matthew Ayariga

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_kidnapping_and_beheading_of_Copts_in_Libya

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.