Jonathan Roumie honours 21 Christian martyrs at Museum of the Bible event

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.

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 in Washington.

Organised by Coptic Orphans, a nonprofit serving vulnerable children in Egypt, and the museum, the 22 February 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 recognised the martyrs – canonised by the Coptic Orthodox Church and honoured as saints in the Catholic Church – as ordinary men of extraordinary faith. Both churches celebrate their feast day 15 February.

“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. “We can look to them and say, ‘They died for Jesus. What am I doing to live for him today?'”