Frightened worshippers watched online and in person as a bishop was stabbed at the altar during a mass at a church in Sydney on Sunday evening, and three others were stabbed as people rushed to help, police said there were no life-threatening injuries while a man was arrested.

Hundreds of angry people rushed to the Assyrian Orthodox Church and some clashed with riot police, causing damage to their vehicles. The church and local leaders urged calm, with police stating, "We urge the public to avoid the area while police conduct their investigations."

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in the suburb of Wakely streams its sermons online, and a video on social media shows a man dressed in black approaching a clergyman known to be the bishop and appears to stab him repeatedly in the head and upper body.

Members of the congregation were seen screaming and rushing to stop him. The church identified the bishop as Mar Mari Emmanuel.

Authorities did not immediately announce motives for the attack, as Australians are still in shock after a lone attacker stabbed six people to death in a shopping mall in Sydney on Saturday and injured more than ten others, and there was no immediate indication of a link between the two stabbings.

Police asked the media not to disclose where the arrested man was taken, apparently to avoid further protests.

The church said in a message on social media that the bishop and senior priest Isaac Ruel were in stable condition in the hospital and requested people's prayers. The church's statement read, "The bishop and the father wish for you to pray also for the perpetrator of the crime." "We also ask anyone in the church building to leave peacefully."

New South Wales Ambulance said it treated a man in his fifties for multiple wounds, while three others were treated for one or more wounds.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns described the scenes as “disturbing” on social media, urging the community to remain calm and “stick together.” Religious leaders expressed their shock and condolences.

Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone, leader of the neighboring local government, described the bishop as a community leader. "This is a very emotional situation. Carbone told Sky News, “It’s clear the community is very distressed.”

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church was preparing for Palm Sunday later this month.

The bishop, who was described by local media as a figure sometimes seen as controversial over issues like coronavirus restrictions, made national news last year.

A video posted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in May 2023 about a campaign targeting the LGBTQ+ community showed the bishop in a sermon saying, “When a man calls himself a woman, he is neither a man nor a woman, you are not a human now, and since you are, I will not address you as a human anymore, because that is not my choice, but your choice.”