PRINTER'S NO. 1035
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
190
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY DUSH, BAKER, D. COSTA, FARINA, GODSHALL, GREINER,
HENNESSEY, KAUFFMAN, LONGIETTI, MILLARD, READSHAW, SACCONE,
SONNEY, THOMAS, WATSON, WHEELAND, YOUNGBLOOD, GABLER AND
ZIMMERMAN, MARCH 31, 2015
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
MARCH 31, 2015
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the Coptic Christians martyred as they stood for their
faith and eliciting solidarity in the wake of the killings.
WHEREAS, In Christianity, a person is considered a martyr if
killed for one's faith; and
WHEREAS, Egypt's Coptic Christians are among many recent
martyrs; and
WHEREAS, The Copts trace their history to Alexandria during
the apostolic age; and
WHEREAS, Over the centuries, they have held variable
political and economic power in the Middle East; and
WHEREAS, Now a religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians
constitute the largest single group of foreign workers in
neighboring Libya; and
WHEREAS, Extremists have targeted Copts in Libya solely
because of their faith; and
WHEREAS, In incidents leading to the Copts' captivity,
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militants separated the Christians from the Muslims living in a
housing compound in the central Libyan city of Sirte; and
WHEREAS, Islamic State released a video in February 2015,
showing mass killings of captive Egyptian Coptic Christians by
beheading; and
WHEREAS, In their last moments, the 21 Egyptian Coptic
Christians were forced to kneel on a Libyan beach; and
WHEREAS, Some of the men can be heard professing their
embrace of Christianity; and
WHEREAS, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi declared a
seven-day mourning period in his country; and
WHEREAS, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Church
has acclaimed the men as martyrs, having died for their faith;
and
WHEREAS, His Holiness Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic
Church has publicly referred to the men as martyrs, hailing
their confessed Christianity and denouncing their murder; and
WHEREAS, One week after their execution, the men were
recognized as the 21 Coptic martyrs of Libya when their names
were entered into the Coptic Synaxarium; and
WHEREAS, The martyrdom of these canonized men is thus
commemorated annually as part of the Coptic Orthodox Church
calendar; and
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania mourns and respects these 21 expatriate workers who
were persecuted and who died for their faith; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the Coptic
Christians martyred as they stood for their faith and elicit
solidarity in the wake of the killings; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to
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His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria, Patriarch of
the See of St. Mark, at St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral,
Abbassia District, Cairo, Egypt.
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