The Orthodox Christian bishop who was stabbed in the chest while conducting a livestream service in Western Sydney said he forgave the attacker and urged his followers to refrain from retaliation.
In his first public comments since the attack, Mar Mari Emmanuel, the Assyrian bishop of Christ the Good Shepherd Church in the suburb of Wakeley, said he was “doing fine” and “recovering very quickly.”
“We thank the Lord Jesus, so there is no need to be worried or concerned,” he said.
According to footage captured on a live stream on April 16, Mr. Emmanuel was giving a sermon at the altar of the church when a male dressed in black approached him, pulled out a knife, and repeatedly struck the bishop in the upper body.
The churchgoers were seen screaming as the male attacked another priest, Father Isaac Royal.
The 16-year-old attacker, who the police suspected to have recently converted to Islam, suffered injuries including losing a finger during the assault. He has been arrested by the police.
“The Lord Jesus never taught us to fight. The Lord Jesus never taught us to retaliate. The Lord Jesus never said to us an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. The Lord Jesus said, never return evil with evil but return evil with good,” he said.
Mr. Emmanuel, who was receiving treatment at Liverpool Hospital, said he forgave “whoever has done this act.”
“I say to him, you’re my son. I love you. And I will always pray for you and whoever sent you to do this, I forgive them as well,” he said.
“Whatever has happened to me personally, I thank the Lord Jesus, that’s a huge blessing for me.”
The bishop added that he had “nothing in my heart but love for everyone.”
“Whether that person is a Christian or not, that’s totally beside the point. The Lord Jesus always taught us to love one another … Love your neighbour like yourself.”
Bishop Calls For Calm As First Rioter Arrested
Following the stabbing, a riot of nearly 3,000 people erupted outside the church, with angry rioters assaulting the police and vandalising police vehicles and the church building.Mr. Emmanuel called on his followers to be “always a law-abiding citizen” and cooperate with the police, whether it be at a state or federal level.
“The Lord Jesus never said go out and fight in the street, never said to retaliate, but to pray, and this is what I’m asking everyone to do,” he said.
Meanwhile, police have arrested the first man involved in the unrest, following through on their promise to prosecute the rioters.
Officers conducted a search warrant at a western Sydney home at about 5:40 p.m. on April 17 and arrested the 19-year-old man.
“That is unacceptable and those that were involved in that riot can expect a knock at the door,” NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said. “It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but we’ll find you and we’ll come and arrest you.”
But the police commissioner also said she believed that “people not associated with the church have turned up as an excuse and become a riot that involved police.”
Ms. Webb declared the incident a “terrorist act,” noting the teenage attacker was known to police but was not on a terror watch list.
Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir said the boy’s father was distraught and he saw no warning signs in the lead-up to the stabbing.
“[The father] was distraught ... he would not go home, he was too scared to go home,” Mr. Kheir said.
“Did he see the signs? He said no.
“All he saw was a troublesome teenager who wasn’t listening to his father.”
The teenager’s family have moved out of their home due to the harassment.
