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'Bruises all over': Melbourne priest beaten up outside of church speaks to FOX 35

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Updated  February 23, 2021 9:39am EST
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FOX 35 Orlando

Priest attacked by man, forgives suspect

Father Kerelos said he is using his faith to find peace and move forward.

MELBOURNE, Fla. - A Melbourne priest is speaking to FOX 35 Orlando after he says he was beaten up and dragged across a parking lot by a former church member. 

Father Raphael Kerelos, of Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church in Melbourne, is recovering after being beaten up before church service on Sunday. The priest says a former church member, Mark Soliman, 45, had shown up to the church parking lot when he was getting out of his car and Soliman attacked him. Father Kerelos says Soliman then dragged him from the parking lot into the street. 

"He started to attack me, to push me into his truck," Father Kerelos said. "After hitting me, he put me down to the ground and started to drag me across the street."

Father Kerelos says someone called Melbourne police, and when officers arrived, Soliman barricaded himself in front of the church doors with a gun. He later surrendered and was arrested. 

"He started to attack me, to push me into his truck," Father Kerelos said. "After hitting me, he put me down to the ground and started to drag me across the street."

Soliman faced a judge at a first appearance on Monday and said he was not guilty of the crimes he's being charged with. 

Melbourne priest beaten up outside of church speaks to FOX 35

A Melbourne priest is speaking to FOX 35 Orlando after he says he was beaten up and dragged across a parking lot by a former church member.

"I'm requesting a bond because a lot of this information is false. This was a three-on-one situation," Soliman said during a first appearance. 

Father Kerelos says he is thankful the situation did not escalate further and that police were able to talk Soliman down and arrest him. 

"I'm thanking God for my safety and for the safety of the church," Father Kerelos said.

Father Kerelos told FOX 35 Orlando that he does not know why Soliman attacked him, but he said that he had seemed mentally unwell.

"He is saying things that are not related to each other. Flying thoughts. Imaginations," Father Kerelos said. "He is separate from reality."

Father Kerelos said he is using his faith to find peace and move forward. 

"I forgive him. For he is one of my congregation, he is a child of God," he said.