Christian Pure

The 21 Martyrs of Libya: The Christians Killed at Sirte in 2015

Équipe Christian Pure

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Publié

Résumé

  • The 21 martyrs of Libya were migrant workers: twenty Coptic Orthodox Christians from Egypt, thirteen of them from the village of al-Our in Minya, and Matthew Ayariga, by most accounts from Ghana.
  • The Egyptians were seized in two raids in Sirte, on 31 December 2014 and 3 January 2015; the Islamic State group in Libya beheaded the men on the shore there and released a video on 15 February 2015.
  • The accounts, which rest on the killers’ video, agree that they died calling on Jesus; the Church of England records their last words as “O my Lord Jesus.”
  • Their families have spoken of forgiving the killers: two days after the video, Beshir Kamel prayed on live television that God would “open their eyes to be saved”, and Open Doors reported in 2025 that “every family has chosen to forgive the persecutors.”
  • The Coptic Orthodox Church entered them in its Synaxarium on 21 February 2015, with a feast on 8 Amshir, which is 15 February.
  • Pope Francis added them to the Roman Martyrology in 2023, and in July 2026 the Church of England added a Commemoration on 15 February to its calendar.
  • Their bodies were found in 2017; the twenty Egyptians were buried in the martyrs’ church at al-Our in 2018, and Matthew Ayariga joined them in 2020.

The 21 martyrs of Libya were Christian migrant workers killed for their faith. Twenty were Coptic Orthodox Christians from Egypt, thirteen of them from one village, al-Our; the twenty-first, Matthew Ayariga, came by most accounts from Ghana. The Islamic State group in Libya killed them on a beach at Sirte in February 2015. They died calling on Jesus. Who were the 21 martyrs of Libya? They were labourers who had gone to Libya for work. Pope Francis described them in…

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Bibliographie (cliquer pour afficher)
  • The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Luke 6:27–28, Luke 23:34, Hebrews 12:1), via BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/
  • Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California and Hawaii, “The New Martyrs of Libya added to the Coptic Synaxarium,” 21 February 2015. https://www.lacopts.org/news/the-new-martyrs-of-libya-added-to-the-coptic-synaxarium/
  • Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California and Hawaii, “Updated List of the Names of the New Martyrs of Libya,” 24 February 2015. https://www.lacopts.org/news/updated-list-of-the-names-of-the-new-martyrs-of-libya/
  • “Coptic Church recognizes martyrdom of 21 Coptic Christians,” Independent Catholic News, 22 February 2015 (an early list of names). https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/26799
  • Pope Francis, Address to the Moderator and Representatives of the Church of Scotland, 16 February 2015, vatican.va. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2015/february/documents/papa-francesco_20150216_moderatore-chiesa-scozia.html
  • Pope Francis, Video message in memory of the Coptic martyrs killed in Libya, 15 February 2021, vatican.va. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/pont-messages/2021/documents/papa-francesco_20210215_videomessaggio-martiri-copti.html
  • Pope Francis, Address at his meeting with His Holiness Tawadros II on the fiftieth anniversary of the meeting of Paul VI and Shenouda III, 11 May 2023, vatican.va. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2023/may/documents/20230511-patriarca-tawadrosii.html
  • “Pope Francis adds 21 Coptic Orthodox martyrs to Catholic list of saints,” Vatican News, 11 May 2023. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-05/pope-francis-tawadros-ii-coptic-orthodox-martyrs-egypt.html
  • “Coptic Church Recognizes Martyrdom of 21 Coptic Christians,” Vatican Radio, 21 February 2015. https://www.archivioradiovaticana.va/storico/2015/02/21/coptic_church_recognizes_martyrdom_of_21_coptic_christians_/en-1124824
  • Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, “First Commemoration of the 21 Coptic Martyrs in Libya,” 16 February 2024. https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/news/2024/2024-02-16-premiere-commemoration-21-martyrs-coptes-de-libye.html
  • “Vatican hosts veneration of relics of 21 Coptic martyrs of Libya on first feast day,” EWTN News, 15 February 2024. https://www.ewtnnews.com/vatican/vatican-hosts-veneration-of-relics-of-21-coptic-martyrs-of-libya-on-first-feast-day
  • The Church of England, “Church to mark modern day martyrs in annual commemoration,” 12 July 2026. https://www.churchofengland.org/media/news-and-press-releases/church-mark-modern-day-martyrs-annual-commemoration
  • General Synod Liturgical Commission, “Circular: The Festival of Creation in Christ and the Commemoration of the Twenty-One Martyrs of Libya,” 16 July 2026. https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2026-07/20260716-circular-creation-in-christ-21-martyrs.pdf
  • The Church of England, “Synod Roundup: Sunday July 12, 2026.” https://www.churchofengland.org/media/news-and-press-releases/synod-roundup-sunday-july-12-2026
  • Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, “A Closer Look at Egyptian Kidnappings in Libya,” 29 January 2015. https://timep.org/2015/01/29/a-closer-look-at-egyptian-kidnappings-in-libya/
  • SAT-7 UK, “Brother of Egyptian Christians murdered by Islamic State prays for killers live on SAT-7,” February 2015. https://www.sat7uk.org/brother-of-egyptian-christians-murdered-by-islamic-state-prays-for-killers-live-on-sat-7-2/
  • Open Doors UK, “21 Copts martyred in Libya remembered 10 years on,” February 2025. https://www.opendoorsuk.org/news/latest-news/coptic-martyrs-10-years/
  • Nader Shukry, “Last of Libya Martyrs comes ‘home’,” Watani, reprinted by Coptic Solidarity, 15 October 2020. https://www.copticsolidarity.org/2020/10/15/last-of-libya-martyrs-comes-home/
  • “The mortal remains of the ‘Coptic Martyrs of Libya’ return to Egypt,” Agenzia Fides, 15 May 2018. https://fides.org/en/news/64187-AFRICA_EGYPT_The_mortal_remains_of_the_Coptic_Martyrs_of_Libya_return_to_Egypt
  • “First parish dedicated to St Matthew Ayariga, the only Ghanaian among the 21 martyrs killed by ISIS in Libya, established in Texas,” Agenzia Fides, 3 September 2026. https://www.fides.org/en/news/78122-AFRICA_GHANA_First_parish_dedicated_to_St_Matthew_Ayariga_the_only_Ghanaian_among_the_21_martyrs_killed_by_ISIS_in_Libya_established_in_Texas
  • Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, “Saint Matthew Ayariga.” https://www.cbcew.org.uk/st-matthew-ayariga/
  • “Coptic Christians in Egypt fear martyrs are being forgotten,” Crux, 21 October 2019. https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-middle-east/2019/10/coptic-christians-in-egypt-fear-martyrs-are-being-forgotten

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