Coptic Orthodox Church Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria led the funeral service in the St Mark Cathedral in Cairo on the morning of March 19 for the three monks murdered in a monastery near Cullinan last week.
The bodies of 65-year-old Father Takla El-Samueli (also known as Father Takla Moussa) who was a diocesan vicar or arch-priest (hegumen), the monk Mina Ava-Markos (40), and the monk Youstos Ava-Markos (43) were transported to Egypt and taken to the Coptic Orthodox cathedral in the Abbasiya district of Cairo for the incarnation prayer.
The monks were attacked and killed in the Coptic monastery of St Mark and St Bishop Samuel the Confessor in De Tweedespruit, about 18km from Cullinan during the early hours of March 12.
Police spokesman in Gauteng, Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, said at the time that a fourth monk was allegedly attacked with an iron rod before fleeing and hiding.
The attack was allegedly not from assailants outside the church. Another monk, Father Samuel Ava-Markos (47) a South African citizen, and Brother Saeed Basanda (37) an Egyptian monk in training, were arrested for the murders the next day.
The gallery of the Cullinan Magistrate’s Court was packed on March 14 with clergy from the Coptic Orthodox Church’s Archdiocese of South Africa, as the suspects appeared in court for the first time.
According to the information on the charge sheet, a knife and axe were used in the attacks. The case was postponed to March 27 for an Arabic translator and bail application.
The two suspects are still in police custody. In an official statement, the church said the attack resulted in the martyrdom of the three Egyptian nationals.
Father Takla (65) was born Ayoub Attia Masoud. He was a veterinarian before entering the monastery in 1987. He attained priesthood in 2001.
Mina Ava-Markos was born Shaukat Nasri Murid. He held a diploma of industry and entered the monastery in 2020.
Monk Youstos Ava-Markos was born Alaa Mufid Tawfiq. He achieved a Bachelor of Science. He worked in Johannesburg for 12 years and frequented the monastery in Cullinan before becoming a monk.
Pope Tawadros said in his address the prayers of the departed are prayed over a monk when he is ordained, considering that he died to the world, and his heart’s desire became to be with Christ, for whom he left his family, friends and work.
“Despite the painful incident, what is consoling is that these three monks received the crowns of virginity, monasticism and martyrdom,” said Pope Tawadros.
Funeral service prayers for three slain monks were also held in the Saint Mark and Saint Mary Cathedral in Parkview, Johannesburg, on March 17.
