It is a special day for the Coptic community of Minya province, Upper Egypt, as\u00a0a new church was inaugurated this morning in Al-Our village\u00a0in remembrance of 20 Egyptian Copts and one Ghanaian Christian beheaded by the so-called Islamic State on the Libyan coast three years ago on Thursday.<\/p>\n
In the early morning, a mass was held at the new Church of the Martyrs of Faith and Homeland by Bishop Bevnotious. The church was packed with Christians who travelled to Al-Our from various parts of Minya \u2013\u00a0where the murdered Copts came from. Although the inauguration was not an official event \u2013 the governor of Minya did not attend \u2013 it still received extensive media coverage, partially because the construction of the church was funded by the Egyptian government. Security forces were present throughout the event.<\/p>\n
Boushra Fawzy\u2019s son Kiryollos was one of those killed. He was 22.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very happy that we have this wonderful big church named after our\u00a0martyrs. It is honoring them,\u201d the father told World Watch Monitor.\u00a0\u201cWe were happy today that a Mass for the third anniversary of their martyrdom was held in their church and we felt a great joy during the service, because that was a dream for us.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
You can watch a video preview of the church below:<\/p>\n