Who is Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel? The priest at Wakeley’s Christ The Good Shepherd Church, which was attacked in the second Sydney stabbing, is a well-known anti-vaxxer with a large online following
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The priest who was stabbed during a sermon at a church in western Sydney is a known anti-vaxxer who railed against lockdowns during the Covid pandemic.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was holding mass at Wakeley’s Christ The Good Shepherd Church on Monday night when he was attacked at about 7pm.
Terrifying footage of the incident, which was broadcast live on the church’s YouTube page, shows Bishop Emmanuel looking up stunned as the black-clad assailant suddenly rains blows on his face and head.
The attack comes days after six people were stabbed to death in a separate rampage at Sydney’s Westfield Bondi Junction.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was holding Mass at Wakeley’s Christ The Good Shepherd Church on Monday evening when he was attacked at around 10pm.
Bishop Emmanuel rose to prominence during the Covid pandemic by criticizing harsh lockdown measures which he called ‘mass slavery’.
He argued that vaccines would not work against the virus because living ‘normally’ would boost immunity.
‘Are we human? Because we are treated like animals, Bishop Emmanuel said in a sermon in 2021.
“They encourage people to take the vaccine and stay at home. They have had enough’.
He also said: ‘I believe, although I’m not in the medical field and I’m not an expert, that stress is the biggest killer of the immune system.
‘The vaccine is supposed to work to strengthen the immune system, but on the other hand, we have put people through so much stress and anxiety that it has destroyed it. What then is the use of this vaccine?’
Bishop Emmanuel is pictured with Father Isaac Royel, who was also wounded
Terrifying footage of the incident, which was broadcast live on the church’s YouTube page, shows Bishop Emmanuel looking up stunned as the black-clad assailant suddenly rains blows on his face and heat.
Bishop Emmanuel rose to prominence during the Covid pandemic by criticizing harsh lockdown measures he called ‘mass slavery’
He has since developed a large TikTok following and has 290,000 followers on the church’s Facebook.
A NSW Police spokesman said Bishop Emmanuel suffered “non-life threatening injuries”.
“Officers arrested a man and he is assisting police with enquiries,” the spokesman added.
TheWSTNews Australia approached NSW Ambulance for comment.