Christian Church Leader, Churchgoers Stabbed During Service in Sydney

The bishop was stabbed multiple times to the head and upper body at the altar as parishioners screamed and ran to his aid. 

Police tape is seen at a protest in Sydney, Australia, on July 19, 2015. Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

A Christian bishop and three churchgoers have been stabbed by a man during a televised service in western Sydney.

Police said an operation was underway and a man was arrested in Wakeley in the city’s west on Monday night (April 15) following reports of multiple people being stabbed.

“Officers arrested a male and he is assisting police with inquiries,” police said in a statement on April 15.

Video circulating on social media shows a man dressed in black approaching a man named as Mar Mari Emmanuel, the bishop of Christ the Good Shepherd.

He was seen stabbing the bishop multiple times to the head and upper body at the altar as parishioners screamed and ran to his aid.

NSW Ambulance said they were called to the church about 7.15pm and sent multiple paramedics to the scene.

A spokesman said they had treated a man in his 50s for multiple cuts before taking him to Liverpool Hospital.

A man his 30s was also treated for lacerations and taken to hospital.

A man in his 20s was being treated for a cut to his hand and a man in his 60s treated for a laceration to his arm at the scene.

A riot erupted outside the Wakeley church following the attack, with police cars vandalised amidst the chaos.