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Members of Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Sydney's south-west have returned to worship for the first time since Monday's terrorist attack.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was allegedly stabbed by a 16-year-old boy during a sermon that was being livestreamed from the church at Wakeley.
Father Isaac Royel suffered lacerations and several other worshippers were injured when they attempted to intervene.
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The attack sparked a flurry of violence in which hundreds of outraged community members threw projectiles at first responders and damaged police cars.
Under the watchful eye of police today, one-by-one parishioners began to return.
A churchgoer told 9News the atmosphere at the service in the aftermath of the terrorist attack was "emotional".
"[The attack] was horrible, I don't want to even think about it," Susan said.
"But, this is the first step towards the healing."
Leaders of the church united the congregation through song and prayer while Bishop Emmanuel and Father Royel continued to recover from the attack.
"This makes us more determined to pray and to pray for everybody," church member Shaia said.
There was a strong sense of unity from community members outside the Good Shepard Church, who came out to show their support.
"Out of respect for what had happened last week to the Bishop, and to the religion, I decided to pay respects by coming here today," Mikala, a member of another congregation, said.
Local Federal Member and Minister Chris Bowen stressed the mutual respect for differing religions was essential for continued peace.
"That respect for each other's religions, the respect for each others beliefs is absolutely core," Bowen said.
On Thursday, the teenage boy was questioned by the Joint Counter Terrorism officers at his hospital beside where he was charged with a Commonwealth terrorism offence.
