Three Coptic monks murdered in monastery in Johannesburg, South Africa

The Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church announced through a website statement on Tuesday, 12 March that three Egyptian monks had been murdered inside a Coptic monastery in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Church identified the victims as Yostos Ava Markos, Mina Ava Markos, and Hegumen Takla El-Samuely. Hegumen Takla El-Samuely served as the deputy of the Coptic Diocese of South Africa.

In its statement, the Church expressed profound grief over the incident, offered sincere condolences to the families of the monks, and prayed for comfort and truth to be revealed amid the tragedy, a prayer for the consolation grieving families seek (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). In a Facebook post, the Coptic Orthodox Church in South Africa said: “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.”

South African police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi told Reuters in a statement that “All three victims were found with stab wounds while a fourth who survived alleged that he was hit by an iron rod before fleeing and hiding.” Nevhuhulwi said that “The motive (for the) murders is unknown at this stage” and that the culprit “left the scene without taking any valuable item(s).”

The Egyptian ambassador in Johannesburg, Ahmed Elfadly, also went to the monastery to follow up on the investigation.

According to the Church’s statement, Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church, is closely following the incident and is awaiting further information on its causes.

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