On Monday night, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was attacked and stabbed in what is being considered by police.
The bishop is a popular leader of a branch of the Assyrian church in western Sydney and a prominent member of his community.
Here’s what we know about him.
Who is Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel?
Mar Mari Emmanuel is an Assyrian Christian bishop at Christ the Good Shepherd Church, which he established in the western Sydney suburb of Wakeley in 2015.
Assyrian Christians living in the Middle East are a minority group and the population has shrunk since the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State group in Iraq a decade ago, according to Minority Rights Group.
According to the Christ the Good Shepherd Church website, Mar Mari Emmanuel was ordained a priest in 2009 and then a bishop in 2011.
His sermons are regularly live-streamed, and he has hundreds of thousands of social media followers.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, leader of the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in the Sydney suburb of Wakeley, was stabbed while delivering a sermon. Source: Facebook / Christ the Good Shepherd Church
He gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic when he shared his views criticising lockdowns, vaccines, and ‘Big Pharma’.
He described the lockdowns as ‘slavery’, and labelled the World Health Organization a ‘fraud’.
The bishop also recently weighed in on United States politics, and has claimed Donald Trump is America’s “only hope”.
“This has got nothing to do with Donald Trump, it has got to do with the Lord Jesus — once Donald Trump goes, kiss America goodbye for good. It’s gone, finito,”.
“At the moment, it’s on the verge of collapse.”
He said he hoped Trump would welcome Jesus Christ of Nazareth as the “only true God”, reverse “offensive laws”, bring the Bible back into schools, and “stop LGBT nonsense”.
NSW Police at the Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, Sydney, Tuesday. It was here on Monday that Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed during a sermon. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi
Mar Mari Emmanuel was previously aligned with the Assyrian Church of the East before a split several years ago, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The bishop is a popular and influential figure in his western Sydney community, and has led events supporting his community’s youth and charities.
Member for Fowler Dai Le described the bishop as a “great person”.
“I was in the kitchen cooking when I got the message from some of our community members, saying that Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel has been stabbed while giving (a) sermon in his church here,” told the ABC.
“I have attended the church and he’s a wonderful human being … a very, very great person.”
One resident told the ABC the leader was a much-loved and respected community member.
“It is sad to hear. I know a lot of the boys that come here. The bishop has influenced a lot of us, especially us young troubled ones,” he said.
“He would keep the peace and he would want that himself.”
Additional reporting by Australian Associated Press
Tyler Mitchell