Home
 
 Representative Vatican City Stamps Honoring Christian Martyrs: The Stoning of Saint Stephen, Scott 1244 (2003) Saint Peter, 1900th Anniversary of Martyrdom, Scott 448 (1967) Saint Paul, 1900th Anniversary of Martyrdom, Scott 449 (1967) Crypt of Saint Cecilia in Catacombs of St. Calixtus, Scott 55 (1938) Ugandan Martyrs, Scott 404 (1965) When we think of the martyrs who have given their lives in the name of their Christian faith, we tend to think back to those who lived hundreds, and even thousands of years ago. It is a sad truth that even in contemporary times, people of faith are being murdered for their faith, and a recent example is that of the twenty-one Coptic Christians slaughtered on a beach in Libya in 2015. The first recognized martyr of the Christian Church is generally agreed to be Saint Stephen, who was killed in 34 AD. Saint Peter, the first pope of the Catholic Church, and Saint Paul the Apostle were martyred during the persecutions of Nero around 68 AD in Rome. Innumerable martyrs are buried in the Catacombs of Rome, representing the many who gave their lives for their faith during the Roman persecutions of Christians during the first four centuries following the death of Christ. The list is too lengthy to recall every martyr in this Daily Email. In 1965, Vatican City issued a set of stamps to commemorate the martyrs of Uganda, who died in the 1880’s at the hands of King Mwanga. This example of martyrdom in Africa leads us to the recent tragedy in Libya. On February 9, 2015, the Islamic State released the photos of twenty-one (21) migrant construction workers that had been apprehended in Libya. The men came from different villages in Egypt. On February 15, 2015, a gruesome video was released showing their murders by decapitation. When looking at the victims of the Libyan massacre, all but one was a member of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt. Reportedly, the one non-Coptic worker was named Matthew Ayariga, who was from Ghana. Matthew may or may not have been Christian (based on conflicting reports). However, as he saw the others beheaded, he was prodded by the terrorists to reject Jesus. He refused and reportedly said: "Their God is my God". He was subsequently murdered. One week following the massacre, the twenty-one workers were formally declared saints and martyrs by the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Tawadros II. In an unusual (but not unprecedented) move, in May of 2023, Pope Francis announced that these non-Catholic men would also be commemorated by the Catholic Church and listed within the Roman Martyrology. It was also announced their feast day would be February 15, sharing the feast date with that of the Coptic Orthodox Church. In addition to this acknowledgement of the Libyan martyrs, Pope Francis has also called on the faithful to remember all current-day martyrs by designating his special prayer intention for March be directed "for the martyrs of our day". A documentary film has been produced about the Coptic martyrs, entitled The 21: The Power of Faith. Look for the Daily Email coming later this month which looks at the Ugandan Martyrs, the converts to Christianity who were executed between 1885 and 1887. REFERENCES: |
