In an audio message, the bishop, Mar Mari Emanuel, also called upon the community to remain calm.

Police say that the attack was religiously motivated. The stabbing was live-streamed and injured four people.

The attack sparked a riot outside of The Good Shepherd Church, where angry supporters of the bishop had gathered.

A sixteen-year-old boy, who was also injured, has been arrested over the incident. He has not yet been charged with any criminal offenses. Authorities have declined to state the beliefs of the boy.

Earlier this week, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation stated that they were investigating reports of videos allegedly capturing the suspect yelling in Arabic and referencing “the Prophet”.

In Bishop Emanuel’s four-minute clip that had been uploaded to social media, he says that he forgives “whoever has done this act.” “And I will always pray for you. And whoever sent you to do this, I forgive them as well in Jesus’s mighty name,” he said. He added that he was “doing fine” and that “there is no need to be worried or concerned.”

New South Wales Police have said previously that the bishop was “lucky to be alive” after the stabbing, which occurred while he was saying mass at the Assyrian Orthodox Church, 21 miles from central Sydney. When graphic videos of the attack, and the aftermath, rapidly spread online, they drew hundreds of people to church. There, unrest left two police officers injured, ten police cars destroyed, and paramedics feared for their safety.

Police promised that those involved in the riots would be tracked down. The first arrest was made on a              nineteen-year-old man on Wednesday night.

With tensions at the levels that they are, authorities and community leaders are worried about future “tit-for-tat” violence.

Bishop Emmanuel also used his public message to urge his supporters to cooperate with the police. He suggested, “I need you to act Christ-like. The Lord Jesus never taught us to fight. The Lord Jesus never taught us to retaliate.”