Cairo - The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, chaired by Pope Tawadros II, decided on Friday to make 15 February "an annual commemoration of all contemporary martyrs.", state-run MENA news agency reported. Following their annual assembly, the synod published a statement explaining they chose the date to honour the memory of the Libya martyrs, a reference to the killing of 20 Egyptian Christian hostages on 15 February 2015 by Daesh in Libya. Terrorist group ISIS (Daesh in Arabic) militants have carried out a number of deadly attacks against Egyptian Christians in the last six months, leaving more than 100 dead and dozens injured. The synod also decided to create a special department within the General Bishopric of Social Services "to care for the families of martyrs and confessors, and also to create comprehensive historical documentation for all those incidents, to commemorate our martyrs and injured," a statement published on the official Facebook page of the church's spokesperson said.
