In a world that is increasingly hostile to Christians and in a country that is largely devoid of faith, one of Australia’s prominent bishops was the victim of a vicious stabbing on Monday.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed as he delivered a sermon in New South Wales — a state in a country that has largely abandoned God.
The horrifying moment was live-streamed, and videos of the attack circulating online appeared to show a man driving a sharp object into the upper body of the Emmanuel numerous times as his congregation intervened by mobbing the attacker. [WARNING: The link above contains graphic images of violence that may be disturbing for some readers.]
Clips of the sickening video are making their rounds on social media, but The Western Journal has decided not to share any of them here.
In a matter of seconds, an unidentified male attacker was subdued on the ground by members of Emmanuel’s congregation at the Christ the Good Shepherd church in Sydney.
According to Sky News, which cited New South Wales Ambulance, four people in total suffered injuries.
Emmanuel’s condition was not known as of Monday morning.
A major operation is underway in western Sydney’s Wakeley after four people were stabbed at a church, including a Christian preacher, with the disturbing attack being livestreamed on social media.https://t.co/Mc0gzdcUi6
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) April 15, 2024
Are attacks against Christians on the rise?
Per the report, those injured in the attack included a man in his 50s — presumably Emmanuel — and a man in his 30s, both of whom were rushed to an area hospital.
Two other men, one in his 60s and one in his 20s were wounded but treated at the scene.
Police in New South Wales did notify the media that they had made an arrest in a statement — although they did not disclose why that person’s identity was apparently being protected.
“A police operation is underway in Wakeley, following reports of a stabbing,” officers said. “Officers attached to Fairfield City Police Area Command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley, following reports a number of people were stabbed.”
Police added, “Officers arrested a male, and he is assisting police with inquiries.”
Crowds of angry people surrounded the church in the aftermath of the attack, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Stabbing attack at Sydney church as police try to counter growing crowdshttps://t.co/mEY0Cv1d7K
— The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) April 15, 2024
Police tried to calm a state of what was described by the newspaper as general “unrest.”
As the Herald noted, Emmanuel is a prominent leader in both the conservative Assyrian Orthodox church, as well as within Australia’s Christian Lives Matter movement.
Born in Iraq to a devout Christian family in 1970, Emmanuel was praying after the barbaric attempt on his life, the Herald reported.
Fairfield Deputy Mayor Charbel Saliba said after the stabbing, the bishop “put his hand on the assailant and started praying.”
His message of faith would not be snuffed out by the forces of evil that motivated a man to stab him. That message is one that people in Australia need to hear now more than ever.
While a plurality of Australia’s secular society identifies as Christian, almost four in 10 people in the country consider themselves non-religious, according to the country’s Bureau of Statistics.
As of a 2021 census, 43.9 percent of Aussies said they were Christians. However, an alarming 38.9 percent told their government they had no religious affiliation whatsoever.
Islam is Australia’s second-most practiced faith, with 3.2 percent of the population following Islam — a religion that dominates Emmanuel’s native country.
“Over the past 50 years, there has been a steady decline in the proportion of Australians who reported an affiliation with Christianity,” the Bureau of Statistics said. “The same period has seen a consistent rise in Other religions and No religion, particularly in the last 20 years.”
As recently as 1971, 86 percent of Australians told their government they followed Christ.
On Monday, Sydney was not a safe place for a priest to recite the Word without him and those who followed him from suffering stab wounds.
