Church to confer sainthood on people killed by IS

May 4 , 2015 Both Christians and Muslims in Ethiopia have come together to mourn the deaths of 30 compatriots shot and beheaded by Islamic State militants in Libya.

Ethiopia’s Christians and Muslims have long been relatively peaceful and so the killings have shocked the entire nation.

In the capital Addis Ababa, Abune Matiyas, the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church led a memorial service where he hailed as saints the 30 christians who were killed by Islamic State militants.

Another priest Melakeselam G/Michael also talked about the church’s decision to honour the people who lost their lives

 “We consider our sons who lost their lives at the hands of men because of their faith just like our fathers St. George and St. Stephan and others. We consider them the same. The reason is that they also died for their religion just like our fore fathers,”