We are in prayer for our brothers and sisters of the Coptic Orthodox Christian Church in Egypt as they are persecuted for their faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As Egypt has gone through its latest wave of uprisings and instability, and even as the political scene there has stabilized, the country’s Coptic Christian minority has been uniquely vulnerable to targeted violence and terrorism. Many Copts suffer from ongoing harassment and there are sporadic violent outbreaks, as in this case, with Christians violently attacked while they were on their way to a monastery.
Copts make up roughly 10 percent of the Egyptian population. They have been the target of revenge attacks by Muslim mobs ever since Egypt’s first Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was overthrown in a military coup in 2013. Over 40 Christian churches all over Egypt were gutted by arson and looted – some over a thousand years old and full of priceless relics — in the months after Morsi was toppled. Copts have also been murdered in ongoing sectarian violence.
The Christians, of course, do not respond in kind. One of the Coptic Church’s senior leaders, Bishop Thomas, says revenge is not his religion’s way. “Forgiveness is a very important principle in the Christian life,” he says. “When you are able to present forgiveness, and love, you are able as well to ask for justice.”
“Egypt: Bus full of Coptic Christians attacked near site of 2017 Minya massacre,” by Joanne Stocker, Defense Post, November 2, 2018:
A bus carrying Coptic Christian passengers to a monastery was attacked in Egypt’s Minya governorate, according to reports on Friday, November 2.
The bus was carrying passengers from Sohag to the St. Samuel the Confessor monastery when unidentified gunmen opened fire, killing several people, a report from Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said.
Daily News Egypt reported that emergency crews were responding after gunshots were heard near the monastery.
There was no immediate confirmation of casualties, but Reuters reported the archbishop as saying that seven people were dead and 14 injured.
The attack occurred near the site of a similar assault in April 2017 that left more than two dozen people dead.
No group claimed responsibility for that attack but Islamic State’s Egypt affiliate earlier called for attacks on Christians and the group was blamed. Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s predominantly Sunni Muslim population….
