The Voice of the suffering in Middle East

The Sirte Martyrs will be celebrated on February 15, the date of their deaths, on both calendars, making them the first saints to be honored by both Churches since they split following the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD.

Bishop Kyrillos oversaw the largest Coptic Catholic diocese in Egypt for 31 years, and during that period he became renowned for his efforts to strengthen the spirit of cooperation between all Egyptians.

In 2019, most Lebanese dioceses saw their money in the banking system vanish overnight, making it difficult for them to afford to pay for the tuition and formation of their seminarians.

They were travelling together April 22, 2013, when their vehicle was stopped by suspected islamist militants. Their driver, a Syriac Orthodox deacon, was shot and killed on the spot, but the two hierarchs were taken and have not been heard from since.

“Over the past year, some of our churches, funeral processions, and places of public gathering have become targets of attack; some of our holy sites and cemeteries have been desecrated; and some of our ancient liturgies, such as the Palm Sunday Procession and the Holy Fire Ceremony, have been closed off to thousands of worshipers."

"We don't ask for anything special as Christians, we want to be treated just as Iraqi citizens, equal to anybody else, no more, no less. We want our human dignity to be respected as all other Iraqi people.”