Stabbing at Sydney church brings up terror-filled past of Assyrian community

Police stand outside the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church after a knife attack that took place during a service the night before, in Wakeley in Sydney, Australia, on April 16, 2024 | Photo Credit: Reuters

The stabbing of a prominent bishop has rocked Australia’s tight-knit Assyrian community, conjuring terrors of past violence in the homelands many fled.

During a livestreamed church service on Monday, a 16-year-old suspect slashed wildly at Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel as he gave a sermon at the Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Sydney. The suspect was quickly subdued and no one was gravely hurt, but the incident incited riots that lasted hours and shattered a community’s sense of peace.

“For community members who escaped war-torn countries, witnessing something like that was triggering, and brought back memories they had tried to bottle up and don’t want to remember,” said Ramsin Edward, a board member at the Assyrian National Council of Australia.

Assuaging anger

Since the attack, Mr. Edward has been speaking to the community, trying to understand and assuage a burning anger that left homes damaged, police cars wrecked and officers hospitalised.

This sentiment runs deep for a community anchored by faith and language that have sustained it for centuries and set Assyrians apart from neighbours in their ancient homelands — modern-day Iraq and Syria.

Since Monday night’s violence, religious leaders have met law enforcement and issued public calls for calm, trying to make sure nightfall on Tuesday does not bring more violence.