WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Jonathan Roumie, the actor known for portraying Jesus Christ in the hit series “The Chosen,” is calling attention this Lent to the 21 Christian martyrs who died in Libya for their faith in Jesus 11 years ago.
“Their story helps strengthen our own resolve, especially when we are weak in areas of our life, in moments of our life where we need stronger faith,” Roumie told OSV News at an event honoring the martyrs held in Washington Feb. 22. “We can look to them and say, ‘They died for Jesus. What am I doing to live for him today?'”
Roumie, a Catholic, spoke during a press conference at the sold-out event, “21 Martyrs: Knelt but Not Broken,” held at the Museum of the Bible. Organized by Coptic Orphans, a nonprofit serving vulnerable children in Egypt, and the museum, the event remembered the martyrs, all but one of whom were Coptic Orthodox men from Egypt. The other, St. Matthew Ayariga, was a migrant laborer from Ghana, and when questioned about his faith, he declared, “Their God is my God.” Their brutal beheading on a Libyan beach, captured on camera, came at the hands of Islamic State militants in 2015.
Throughout the evening, speakers recognized the martyrs — canonized by the Coptic Orthodox Church and so honored in the Catholic Church — as ordinary men of extraordinary faith.
The event opened with a walk-through exhibit exploring the history of the Coptic people, the story of the 21 martyrs, and the work of Coptic Orphans. The evening also featured remarks from political and religious leaders, a screening of “The 21” (an animated film about the martyrs executive produced by Roumie), a musical performance, and an address from the brother of one of the martyrs.
Adel Soliman remembered his brother, St. Maged Soliman, while speaking in words translated to English on the screen behind him. He described his brother as a man who expressed his faith quietly and strength humbly. They were raised, he said, “to believe that our lives are in God’s hands.”
Adel Soliman, who is related to several of the martyrs, saw the video of the beheading on the news. Their priest walked with his community in their pain, he said.
“Every home was heaving with grief until our priest visited the families of the martyrs, one by one, and asked one question: ‘Were St. George and St. Mina not slaughtered for their faith?'” Soliman said.
“He asked, ‘And why do we ask for their intercessions?’ We said, ‘Because they are martyrs,'” Soliman remembered. The priest replied: “Then your brothers are also martyrs. You saw them with your own eyes dying for their faith, just like St. George and St. Mina.”
At that point, silence fell over the village, Soliman said.
“We understood something very important: We did not lose our brothers,” he said. “Instead, we gained martyrs and intercessors in heaven.”‘
“Today, when you remember the 21 martyrs, don’t think only of the sea stained with their blood,” he encouraged those gathered. “Remember that the martyrs did not leave this world. They simply went ahead of us to heaven — and their faith became a living message inside of us, not just a story we tell about them.”
In addition to Soliman, Bishop Peter of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky, delivered remarks. Other speakers included Catholic human rights advocate Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.; Chahinda Emadeldin, deputy chief of mission for the Embassy of Egypt; Carlos Campo, president and CEO of the Museum of the Bible; and Nermien Riad, founder and executive director of Coptic Orphans.
Riad, who serves the children of the martyrs through her nonprofit, shared her greatest hope for the event: That these 21 ordinary men unite Christianity.
“My greatest hope is that all Christians come together and agree on one thing,” she told OSV News at the press conference. “It’s already started for Pope Francis to recognize them as saints in the Catholic Church, and they are saints in the Orthodox Church.”
In 2023, Pope Francis announced that the 21 martyrs would be included in the Roman Martyrology, which lists the feast days of saints and blesseds observed by the Church. Both the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church celebrate their feast day Feb. 15.
Following the screening of “The 21,” Roumie and Mandi Hart, president of MORE Productions and producer of the film, spoke. Roumie, a Catholic whose Coptic Orthodox father was born and raised in Egypt, recalled traveling to the country with Coptic Orphans in 2025 and meeting with the martyrs’ families. He spoke about how the forgiveness they showed struck him.
“How do you forgive somebody that brutally murdered one of your loved ones?” he told OSV News later, reflecting on the experience. “I don’t know how easy that would be for me.”
During the press conference, Roumie shared his struggle with forgiving those who bullied him as a kid.
“With something like that, trauma leaves a lasting impact on people sometimes for their entire lives,” he said. “I would easily say for a couple of decades, I just had no forgiveness in my heart for those kids that did what they did to me.”
As he delved deeper into his faith, he found a way, he said.
“I ultimately … was confronted with Christ’s mercy on me and what he’s allowed me to do in my life,” he said. “To see what he’s afforded me, and knowing that it’s because of his mercy, well, I have to reciprocate that in my own life.”
“It takes discernment, and it takes looking into your life,” he added. “Every Lent is an opportunity to do that as we sort of venture into the desert of our own spiritual lives and reconcile ourselves to God the Father.”
At another point, Roumie called the martyrs a reminder to people of faith.
“Theirs was the ultimate sacrifice,” he said, adding that God does not call everyone to martyrdom. “It is for certain people to be able to provide us reminders of what it means to live for Christ as well as to die for him.”
Katie Yoder is an OSV News correspondent based in Maryland.
