Three Egyptian Coptic monks have beenmurdered in a monastery in South Africa. The Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church has denounced the “criminal attack” against religiouswhich occurred in the monastery of Saint Mark the Apostle and Saint Bishop Samuel the Confessor, in Johannesburg.

This was indicated on his official Facebook account, without giving more details about when the event occurred. The note ensures, however, that the “competent bodies” moved to the monastery and they began working to find out what happened. Both the Egyptian embassy in the African country and Pope Theodore II are following “at all times all the details” of this incident, waiting to learn its causes.

According to the statement, the three victims have been identified as the representative of the diocese from South Africa, Takla Samueli, and the monks Yustus Ava Marcos and Mina Ava Marcos. “The Church expresses its deep sadness for the tragic incident and expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the three monks,” the note reads.

For its part, a spokesperson for the South African police has indicated that the authorities are investigating the murder of the three religiouswhich were found with stab wounds, while a fourth who survived explained that he was beaten with an iron rod before fleeing and hiding. Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi adds in a statement that the motive behind the triple crime is currently unknown and that the suspects left the scene without taking valuables.

The Copts are the largest and most prominent Christian community in Egypt, where they represent about 10% of the country’s 105 million inhabitants. The Coptic Church is considered the heir of the ancient Church of Alexandria, its pope being the patriarch of Alexandria and successor of Mark the Evangelist, author of the second book of the Gospel, and maintains a prominent presence in several European and African countries.