Bishop in church stabbing forgives alleged attacker

The bishop who was stabbed during a livestreamed sermon in Sydney, Australia, has forgiven his alleged attacker. 

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed within the attack at The Good Shepherd Church on Monday together with three others. Their injuries weren’t life-threatening and he said he’s “recovering quickly”. 

The incident was later declared a religiously motivated terrorist attack. A 16 12 months old was arrested in reference to the attack and has been charged with committing a terrorist act. 

It sparked riots outside the church during which 10 police cars were destroyed and two law enforcement officials were injured.

In his audio message shared on social media, the bishop called for peace and urged his supporters “to act Christ-like”.

“The Lord Jesus never taught us to fight. The Lord Jesus never taught us to retaliate,” he said.

The bishop went on to say that he forgave “whoever has done this act” and that he was praying for his attacker. 

“And I’ll all the time pray for you. And whoever sent you to do that, I forgive them as well in Jesus’s mighty name,” he said.