Sun, 5 Mar 2017 | Cover | Page 08

They Died for Him:

Let Us Never Forget

By Tess Mullins

Christians throughout the Islamic world are under attack. In churches throughout the Middle East, Christians are trying to be Christian, peacefully worshiping God and seeking to live their lives in peace.

Yet modern Muslim governments try to prevent that; Muslim mobs attack them, and Muslim jihads massacre them, while the rest of world practically ignores them.

This is an all-out persecution, but media coverage is a confusion of social factors, downplayed agendas, and piecey footage.

What should have been the biggest story of 2015 was effectively buried by the Western media: February 12, 2017, was the second anniversary of the stirring martyrdoms of twenty-one Coptic Christians at the hand of the Islamic State for their refusal to deny Jesus Christ as their Lord and God. ISIS gunmen chose these men from among other workers in Libya because they were Copts (Egyptians). They were not chosen at random. ISIS harbors deep hostility toward Middle Eastern Christians, and the Coptic set are the oldest, most persecuted denomination in the world. The goal of the Islamic State is, quite simply, the eradication of their existence.

The martyrs’ faces were grave, resigned, even peaceful, as they were pressured first to kneel, then to lie on the sand to be butchered while cameras rolled; a "message signed in blood to the people of the cross."

Each one was systematically beheaded, and the video clearly shows many of the men praying "Lord Jesus Christ" in their final moments. According to reports, only 20 Christians were to be slaughtered that day. However, moments before the final scene played out, the Muslim extremists pulled aside a prisoner from Chad and demanded that he follow Islam. This Chadian, Matthew Ayairga, turned them down. He had observed the "immense faith" of the Coptic believers who expressed unflinching willingness to die for Christ, and converted on the spot.

On camera, one of the terrorists asked Matthew, "Do you reject Christ?"

"Their God is my God," he responded, and he became the twenty-first of the men who sacrificed their lives that day to witness their faith.

I’m not sure it’s necessary, given these circumstances, for me to know if these men are exactly martyrs in the full, Roman Catholic sense of the word.

It would seem they were more than murdered, however, since they were given an ultimatum: apostatize or die, and they chose to give up their lives rather than betray the only creed they knew to be true and salvific. But I am a lay person, and while it is not my job to place those souls in heaven or hell, I can certainly acknowledge their sacrifice and hope for their salvation; hope even to emulate their conviction, if one day faced with that same ultimatum.

The line between Catholic and Christian Copts can be difficult for Westerners to distinguish. "Coptic" means "Egyptian," and Coptic Catholics are in full communion with the Roman Church, much like Byzantine Catholics, but use the Coptic Rite rather than the Latin Rite. Christians living in Egypt identify as Coptic Christians, and are by far the larger sect. As a denomination, they originated in the city of Alexandria, one of the oldest, most faithful, respected, and fruitful cities during the Apostolic Period. Coptic Christians proudly acknowledge Mark the Evangelist as their founder and first bishop circa A.D. 42-62. The Coptic Church was involved in the very first major split in the Church, long before there was such a thing as "Roman" Catholicism, and it was also well before the East/West schism.

Coptic Christians were separated from the "Great Church" by the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451. The council met to discuss the Incarnation of Christ and declared that Christ was "one hypostasis in two natures" (one Person who shares two distinct Natures). This became dogma for Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics. The Coptic understanding is that Christ is one nature from two natures: "the Logos Incarnate." In this understanding, Christ is from, not in, two natures: full humanity and full divinity creating a Composite Word.

Despite being turned out over this discrepancy, Christianity in Egypt is fortified by deeply religious traditions. It was Egypt where the Holy Family sought refuge. Copts hold that they spent three and a half years there. Across the country there are places, on which churches are now built, that the Holy Family passed by and blessed. No other land apart from Israel can claim such a physical link.

It is also in Egypt that Christianity first thrived. It was Egyptians such as St.

Athanasius and St. Cyril who bolstered the early Church as they fought heretics.

It was in Egypt that monasticism was born at the hands of St. Anthony the Great; Coptic ascetic monasticism paved the way for such legendary figures as St. Simeon Stylites, who stood on top of a pillar for the final 37 years of his life, permitting men (never women) to approach with a ladder and climb up to ask his advice. The Copts preserve such stories as living memories and testimonials that are passed from one generation to the next. Their faith is central to their identity.

Copts observe the seven canonical sacraments, as do Catholics. The Copts’ seasons of fasting are matched by no other Christian community, and adopted with vigor by the Coptic Orthodox (which in many ways is indistinguishable from Coptic Christianity). Out of the 365 days of the year, Copts fast for over 210 days.

During fasting, no animal products (meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs, butter, etc.) are allowed.

There are three main Liturgies in the Coptic Church: The Liturgy according to Saint Basil, Bishop of Caesarea; The Liturgy according to Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, Bishop of Constantinople; and The Liturgy according to Saint Cyril I, the 24th Pope of the Coptic Church.

The bulk of Saint Cyril’s Liturgy is from the one that Saint Mark used (in Greek) in the first century. It was memorized by the Bishops and priests of the church until it was translated into the Coptic Language by Saint Cyril. Today, these three Liturgies, with some added sections (e.g. the intercessions), are still in use; the Liturgy of Saint Basil is most commonly used in the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Today, there is a small population of Coptic Christians remaining in Alexandria, but most are located elsewhere. Estimates of the current population of the Coptic Church range from 10 million to 60 million members worldwide. Theologically, Coptic Christianity is very similar to Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

They profess to be genuine followers of Jesus Christ and a part of His worldwide Church. These Christians side with Catholicism in emphasizing meritorious works of salvation and principle, along with liturgical ritual, rather than identifying with those Christian denominations which stress salvation through a "personal relationship with Jesus".

The last words from the mouths of the 21 Copts that day were "Jesus Christ." We often read stories about early martyrs of the Church. Our imaginations fall short of the real-life scene of men dying for their faith in Our Lord and His mercy.

They were men who lived normal lives, poor men who traveled to Libya for work to feed their families. Yet at the critical moment, they did not deny their Savior.

Though forced to their knees, they were raised far above their murderers. Their attitude in the face of death was one of peace and resignation. They sent their own message to the "people of the cross" that day; that God the Son is worth dying for. This message speaks louder and resonates far deeper than the shrieks of deranged ISIS assassins.

Catholic Copts endure similar persecutions every day, as the Islamic State draws little distinction between Christian sects. Catholics, Christians, and Orthodox in the Middle East are united in suffering at the hands of one enemy; and the West blunders on, dismissing as irrational haters those who would prevent that enemy from establishing a new reign of terror within its borders.

Let’s pray for the souls of the steadfast "people of the cross", and for the strength to die, if called upon, for the God and the Church we love. ■

Sources:

gotquestions.org/Coptic-Christianity.html coptic.net/EncyclopediaCoptica/ nationalreview.com/article/414252/martyredcopts- witnessed-their-faith-and-courageinterview newsweek.com/sites/www.newsweek.com/ files/2015/03/25/mideast-christians-map.png wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_Catholic_Church independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/ egypts-coptic-christians-who-are-isiss-latestvictims- and-why-are-they-persecuted-10048328. html bombayorthodoxdiocese.org/what-made-a-nonbeliever- chadian-citizen-die-for-christ-alongwith- his-20-coptic-christian-friends/

[image]