H.H. Pope Tawadros II referred to the incident that occurred yesterday in our Coptic monastery in Johannesburg, the capital of South Africa. This came before the start of his sermon at the Wednesday meeting this evening, which was held in Saint George’s Church, Heliopolis.

Regarding the incident, His Holiness said: “It is with great pride that we bid farewell to our sons who were martyred in Johannesburg, South Africa. We have a monastery named after Saint Mark the Apostle and Saint Samuel the Confessor in Johannesburg. It is the only monastery of ours that bears the name of Saint Mark. It was established in 2007 by His Eminence Metropolitan Antonious-Markos, metropolitan of South Africa. It was recognized in 2013 and its development began. We sent monks there, including Father Takla El-Samuely, who was martyred with his brothers the monks, Father Yostos Ava Marcos and Father Mina Ava Marcos.”

He added: “The South African authorities are carrying out their role regarding the criminal incident. There are many rumors, but so far the truth of the situation has not become apparent. Therefore do not listen to any information said from any source. When we are certain, we will issue an official statement with the full details.”

He continued: “I thank the Egyptian Islamic and Christian institutions that offered condolences and condemned the incident. I also thank the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its continuous follow-up of the incident, as well as the Egyptian Embassy in South Africa and the Egyptian ambassador there, Ahmed Al-Fadali, who was present at the monastery immediately upon his knowledge of the incident.”

Regarding the upcoming arrangements, His Holiness said: “Until now, the date of the funeral has not been determined. They will most likely be buried in one of the monasteries in Egypt because a monk must be buried in his monastery. We console their families, we console the Church there, and we console ourselves. When a monk is ordained, the funeral prayers are prayed over him. He wears a black tunic, symbolizing the color of the ground in which a person is buried. God permitted for them to be martyred so they obtain the crown of martyrdom alongside the crown of monasticism.”

He added: “May God console us all. There is no doubt that it is a painful incident. We are accustomed to thank God in every condition and for every condition.
We are following the situation moment by moment, and there is a delegation of bishops that will travel to South Africa. We have assigned one of our priests who previously served in Africa to travel ahead of the delegation and prepare arrangements. We will announce all the details once things become clear.”

He concluded: “Pray for the martyred fathers and for the stability and peace of the service in South Africa, for their brothers in the service, and for their families here in Egypt.”

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