An ultra-conservative Orthodox Christian leader and several of his followers were stabbed at a church in Sydney’s west, which brought about a huge gathering outside the holy building as hundreds of enraged people clashed with police.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed along with some of his worshippers during a service at Christ The Good Shepherd Church, in Wakeley on Monday night, with the disturbing scene being captured on a livestream of the service, appearing to show the priest being stabbed six times.
More footage then emerged of the alleged assailant being caught inside the church, while an enraged crowd and a heavy police presence started to grow outside. Police were called and one man was arrested over the attack and is reportedly helping with police inquiries.
Four people were wounded in the attack, but police say no one suffered life-threatening injuries, and victims were seen to by paramedics before being taken to hospital.
Who is the Orthodox Church Leader Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, who was Stabbed?
Mari is a well-known figurehead of an ultra-conservative sect of the Assyrian Orthodox, who became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic for being critical of lockdowns and vaccines.
He often livestreams his services on YouTube and other social platforms where he has hundreds of thousands of followers. The preacher has attracted controversy for his appeal to radical Christians and his anti-LGBTQ sermons.
Other widely-watched livestreams of Mari’s feature strong views about American and Russian politics, alongside his claim that Satan founded the United Nations. Speaking on President Joe Biden’s US election win in one of his sermons uploaded to TikTok, Mari said “100 percent it was rigged by the secret societies.”
According to Christ The Good Shepherd Church’s website, Mari went around the globe with his bible teachings, including to Arizona in the US in December. His pastoral message on the website states, “In our time and age, we believe the most important and fundamental insight is coming into the truth. The world bombards the human race with so much information, quite often we lose our orientation in discerning the lie from the truth.”
On top of hosting Mari’s sermons, the church in Wakeley hosts both English and Assyrian bible studies, Divine Liturgy services, and youth ministries.
What happened after the stabbing?
Hundreds of police officers arrived on the scene to control the growing crowds, holding up shields to fend off rioters as helicopters swarmed above. As the unrest surged, there was a large standoff between police and protesters, some of whom threw objects across the intersection.
Police cautioned the public to stay away from the area as they worked to restore order after the stabbing, and at the height of the disturbance, Liverpool Hospital’s emergency department was closed to members of the public as a precaution.