On Palm Sunday two Egyptian churches were bombed, and close to 50 people lost their lives. ISIS has take credit for the killings, and vowed to continue to persecute those who follow "The Cross." Even so, the terror group has not diminished the faith of Coptic Christians. In spite of the vicious attacks, the faithful will continue their tradition of Easter Sunday services.

Minya will not have the usual festivities

It was announced on April 12th that the Coptic orthodox archdiocese in Minya will continue with their traditional Easter Sunday services.

There will be one small difference. They will not have the usual festive manifestations. The nation is mourning the deaths of the 40 plus Christians who died as a result of bombings by the Islamic State on Palm Sunday, which was April 9th. If the terrorists had hoped to curtail Resurrection Sunday observances, they were wrong.

Coptic Christians forge ahead

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi declared a 3 month state of emergency immediately after the bombings. Coptic Christians in Egypt are not being deterred but are forging ahead. Coptic believers are those who speak the Coptic language that was used in Egypt and surrounding areas during the time of the Roman empire. Christians in modern-day Egypt are continually being persecuted.

The Huffington Post ran an article on April 10th entitled,"Who are Egypt's Coptic Christians and what do they believe?" The article indicates that Coptic Christians separated from mainstream church-goers in 451 AD. Coptic's believe that the Apostle Mark brought Christianity to Egypt during the first century. There are about 9 million Coptic believers in Egypt, making them the largest denomination in that nation, but only 9 percent of the Egyptian population..

The fate of the faithful

It is commendable that in spite of recent events, the Coptic believers in Christ are not backing down from their faith. They are determined to observe Easter, even though they know they might be martyred. The Islamic State has indicated that they are going to carry out more brutal attacks against those whose faith is different.

Coptic Christians have been persecuted for years. Their homes have been raided or set on fire by Muslims, and there have been other bombings.

When they report the incidents to the police they say nothing is done. Perhaps the world spotlight on these two recent terrorist acts will change things.