On April 15th, 2024, a BIshop in Christ the Good Shepherd Church was attacked by a Muslim teen.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, a bishop that became famous on online platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram for his teachings, was stabbed by a Muslim teen in an alleged terrorist act. According to CNN, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel “was presiding over a service that was being… [live-streamed] at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in the western suburb of Wakeley, when an alleged attacker was seen charging toward him.” Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel attempted to talk to the teen, who then tried to stab the bishop’s face and neck with a knife. The bishop fell back on the ground as other priests and members of the congregation tried to help him and to push the teen off the bishop.
After the attacker was pushed off, the bishop was seen putting “his hand on the man that stabbed him and said something like, ‘May the Lord Jesus Christ save you,’” Charbel Saliba, Deputy Mayor of Fairfield City, a suburb of western Sydney said, citing a witness.
The suspect, a 16 year old Muslim teen, was arrested by the police and was taken to a hospital and received surgery for the injuries inflicted during the attack. NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb told reporters that they “will allege [the suspect] attended that church armed with a knife and stabbed the bishop and priest … [They] believe there are elements that are satisfied in terms of religious motivated extremism.” This incident, according to The Guardian, created a wave of tension in western Sydney that led to counter-terrorism raids.
On 18 April, in an online audio sermon at Liverpool Hospital, Emmanuel again forgave the attacker, in addition to demanding his followers to not seek revenge, stating “Love never fails… whatever has happened to me personally I thank the Lord Jesus…I forgive whoever has done this act and I say to him, you are my son, I love you and I will always pray for you. And whoever sent you to do this, I forgive them as well, in Jesus’ mighty name…I have nothing in my heart but love for everyone, whether this person is Christian or not, that is totally beside the point…I am doing fine, I am recovering very quickly.”
On April 29th, Bishop Mar Mari came back from the hospital with an eyepatch, stating that he had lost his right eye from the attack. He said that his eye injury was “sacrifice” and it should be taken as an indication of love towards Muslims.
