It is too early to learn the names of these newest martyrs. It is also too early to know what churches they came from. (The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has more than 30 million members, but there are also members of many other churches in this country, including at least 15 million Protestant Christians.) Personal details about the men who have died may emerge. For now we can note the most important things to be said about these victims.

Last fall, faced with a protest by eight distinguished members of the faculty who formed a union, and despite racist, misogynistic and homophobic remarks allegedly made by the dean, the administration announced that it had “accepted the resignations” of the faculty and terminated their contracts. See “Seeking Dean’s Ouster, Seminary Professors End Up Jobless,” The New York Times, October 1, 2014.

Human trafficking, as defined by the Texas Department of Public Safety, “involves the recruitment, harboring, transporting or procurement of a person for labor or services for the purpose of involuntary servitude, slavery or forced commercial sex acts.”

Any parallel structure would exist to support Anglican clergy and congregations that are opposed to women's ordination on the basis of St Paul's assertion that the man is the head of the woman. The alternative Anglican church would also take a conservative stance on the gay issue and oppose gay marriage.