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<\/div>\nEmmanuel has an online following of almost 200,000.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Sydney: <\/b><\/p>\n
A Sydney bishop brutally stabbed during a live-streamed sermon said Thursday he is recovering and forgives his attacker, declaring: “You are my son.”<\/p>\n
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was slashed in the head and chest by a 16-year-old suspect on Monday, sparking a riot by followers of the Assyrian Christian church in western Sydney.<\/p>\n
“I am doing fine, recovering very quickly,” said the bishop of Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley.<\/p>\n
The area is a hub for Sydney’s small Christian Assyrian community, many of whom fled persecution and war in Iraq and Syria.<\/p>\n
Emmanuel has an online following of almost 200,000, galvanising many with his criticism of Covid-19 vaccines and lockdowns as well as Islam.<\/p>\n
“There is no need to be worried or concerned,” the bishop said in a YouTube video released Tuesday, with audio of his voice accompanied by a photo of him in vestments.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
The teenage suspect was taken to a Sydney hospital after the attack.<\/p>\n
Senior police said mid-week his treatment was expected to last for several days.<\/p>\n
The bishop called for calm after the stabbing sparked angry scenes outside the church.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of congregants and members of the community rushed to the site on the night of the attack.<\/p>\n
Some hurled rocks and other projectiles that allegedly wounded police and damaged 50 police cars.<\/p>\n
“I want you to always be calm,” the bishop said.<\/p>\n
“We need to be always law-abiding citizens as well. We need to cooperate with the police directives whether it be at a state level or a federal level,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We should never forget that we are very blessed to be Aussies, but above all we are Christians and we need to act like it.”<\/p>\n
Police charged a 19-year-old man Wednesday in connection with the violence outside the church and have warned more will be arrested in the coming days.<\/p>\n
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n