A CALL TO PRAYER:
On Sunday morning, December 11, at about 9:50 am, a bomb containing about 12 kg of the explosive TNT had detonated in St Peter and St Paul Coptic Orthodox church which was built in 1900 adjoining St. Mark’s Cathedral in Abbasiya district of Cairo city.
The blast took place during the Sunday morning mass in the church while it was about to end, amid the rear pews on the right side of the church.
The bomb blast resulted in killing 25 individuals and injuring more than 60, The number of deaths is expected to rise, however, since many among the injured lie in the hospital in critical condition and may not survive, plus incurring extensive damage to the church as part of its ceiling caved in, the glass of its windows was shattered, the iron-frame window nearest the explosion was wrenched out its place and blown outside, the iconostasis and several icons were destroyed, as were the wooden pews.
Most of the victims are women and children as women and children sit on the right side of the church; on the left side are the men and the bomb detonated in this right side of the church.
On Monday morning, November 12, the funeral prayer of the Coptic victims was held in The Virgin Mary and St. Athanasius Coptic Orthodox church in the eastern Cairo suburb of Nasr City. Pope Tawadros II, the pope of Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt, and top government and military officials attended the funeral. The coffins of the victims had been laid in front of the church altar with the names of each victim displayed on the side facing the congregation and were wrapped in Egyptian flags.
Only relatives of the victims were allowed to attend the service at the church . Some screamed out in grief or shouted out victims’ names, while the rest sat in silence or quietly wept.
President Al-Sisi spoke after the funeral of the victims and said that a suicide bomber caused the blast and and identified him as 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa. Church members have accused the security guards of allowing the suicide bomber in during the service. Four persons, including a female, have been arrested in connection with the attack.
The victims of the church bombing aren’t dead, says a priest in Cairo.
“The victims of the church bombing are our Church Martyrs. They aren’t dead but have been saved by God in Heaven . They have entered into glory and there are in a better place than all of us . They’ve got their crowns in heaven and they are with Jesus now, no more pain for them, only joy and peace ” Fr. Abraam Fahmy, a priest in Cairo told CFI ” Their souls rest in peace. We pray for their families to be strengthened by the power of The Holy Spirit and the peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, May God comfort all of them”
– CFI Field Staff, Egypt