Three Egyptian Coptic monks were tragically slain within a monastery in South Africa, as confirmed by the Church.
Father Takla Moussa, Father Minah ava Marcus, and Father Youstos ava Marcus were victims of the early Tuesday morning attack, as reported by the South African Archdiocese of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
A member of the Egyptian Church has been apprehended as a potential suspect in connection with the incident.
The news of the murders has reverberated through the Coptic Orthodox community, both in South Africa and beyond.
“The depth of our sorrow and grief is beyond words, yet we find solace in the belief that they now rest in paradise with our forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” expressed the Church in a statement.
Archbishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church in London mourned the loss, calling it “heartbreaking and deeply disturbing.”
“Our pain and sadness, no amount [of] words can express, but we know that they rejoice in paradise in the bosom of our Fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” the Church statement said..
Archbishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church in London described the murders as “saddening and shocking”.
They were killed at the Saint Mark and Saint Samuel the Confessor monastery located in Cullinan, a small town 30 km (18 miles) east of the capital, Pretoria.
A survivor told the police he was hit by an iron rod but managed to escape and hide.
The police are still trying to determine the motive for the killings, Col Nevhuhulwi said, adding that the attackers “reportedly left the scene without taking any valuable item(s)”.
Violent crime levels are high in South Africa and the country has one of the world’s highest murder rates.
Monks in the Coptic Orthodox Church, one of the world’s oldest churches, devote their lives to prayer and spiritual growth.
