Vatican shows new film on Coptic martyrs killed by ISIS in 2015

"We are called the nation of the cross," explains Samuel Armnius, the Coptic-born filmmaker at the beginning of his new documentary. Like all children of the Egyptian Coptic Church, he learned in catechism about the martyrs who died for their faith -- Saint Menas, Saint Moses the Ethiopian, and many others. The legacy of these and other martyrs was handed down by the Desert Fathers from Egypt, the very first monks and hermits in the history of the Church.

Now the much more recent story of the martyrs of ISIS has been added to this somewhat distant historical list. It was nine years ago -- February 15, 2015 -- that 20 Coptic Orthodox Christians, mostly from Egypt, and one Ghanaian Catholic, were beheaded by members of ISIS on a beach in Libya.

"The 21: the Power of Faith, The Village of the Martyrs" is the title of Armnius' new documentary on their story, based on the testimonies of the martyrs' families. The film, which was first broadcast on Ash Wednesday on the French-language Catholic television network KTO, was screened the next day at the Vatican Film Library.

It was shown just after of an ecumenical prayer service in St. Peter's Basilica to mark the Catholic Church's first-ever Feast of the Coptic Martyrs. The liturgy -- which was led Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity -- was the result of a meeting that Pope Francis held last May at the Vatican with the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch, Pope Tawadros II. During that encounter Francis officially inscribed the names of the 21 Christians who were killed in Tunisia in the Roman Martyrology.

Focusing on testimonies

The new documentary opens with excerpts from the execution video taken by ISIS. The images are chilling, especially knowing that they were broadcast live and seen by the victims' own families. These men were mostly from the village of Al-Our, located 250 km south of Cairo, and had migrated to Libya in the province of Sirte to find work. Seven of them were captured by terrorists on December 29, 2014, while trying to return to Egypt, and five days later, the other 13 were abducted from their homes. None of them wanted to renounce their Christian faith.

Quickly revisiting the context of the Arab Spring in Egypt, the film's director recalls the two bloody years for Christians, in 2013 and 2014, until the rise to power of Marshal Sissi. The Egyptian president even helped build a basilica in memory of the 21 martyrs at Al-Our, as requested by the local Coptic Orthodox bishop, Anba Pafnotios.

The documentary prominently features testimonies from relatives, and through their stories, viewers relive the events. The wife of one of the martyrs, Ezzat Boshra,notes that her husband was aware of the danger from the very start but was not afraid to die for his faith.

During the forty-five days of captivity, the families experienced a long period of anxious waiting.

"The ecumenism of blood"

"When they became martyrs in the name of Christ, it became a joy for us," says the mother of two of the victims, Bishoy and Samuel. "Martyrdom is hard," she adds, her face marked by pain nonetheless.

The most moving lesson these families offer is forgiveness. When the father of Luka Nagaty is asked how he would react if he were to meet the man who killed his son, he says, "I would take his hand, the one that held the knife, and I would kiss it and thank him, saying 'You have led my son to heaven'."

The father of martyr Gaber Munir recalls the Gospel's command to love one's enemies.

"For the man of faith, it's not difficult," he says.

The last scene of the documentary shows the two popes -- Francis and Tawadros II -- in St. Peter's Square.

"Blood brings us closer to one another," says the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch, citing what the Catholic pope has come to call "the ecumenism of blood".