Church at the centre of western Sydney Covid breach is shut down and the pastor banned from preaching as 27 parishioners are hit with more fines worth $14,000 after illegal gathering

An evangelical church in Covid-riddled western Sydney has been shut down and a pastor banned from preaching for at least a week after he 'declared lockdowns over in the name of Jesus' during an illegal sermon.

NSW Police shut down a Christ Embassy service in Blacktown on Sunday night after neighbours reported 60 parishioners for illegally gathering.

Initially, 30 people were fined a total of $35,000, but on Wednesday detectives issued a further $14,000 worth of fines. 

Twenty-seven guests were hit with a second fine worth $500 each for also failing to wear or carry a face mask.

Thirty adult attendees at the church sermon held in Blacktown were issued $1,000 penalty infringement notices on Sunday night

In total, the guests have been fined $1,500 each, while Christ Embassy was ordered to pay $5,000 for hosting the event.

The pastor who hosted the event was served a prohibition order about 6am on Wednesday, which forbids him preaching to his parishioners for the next seven days.

He was also hit with a further $500 fine for failing to wear a face mask in a public place.  

Christ Embassy Blacktown will not be able to operate for the next seven days, preventing at least two scheduled services from going ahead. 

Blacktown is one of 12 local government areas under particularly strict lockdown to control the spread of Covid.

Hours before the illegal gathering, pastor Marvin Osaghae delivered a spirited sermon to parishioners in which he vowed to 'refuse every lockdown in our cities'. 

'In the name of Jesus we refuse every lockdown in our cities,' he said in widely distributed footage of a sermon he delivered on Sunday. 

The Sydney branch of the global church, which was founded in Nigeria, is run by local couple Marvin and Isioma Osaghae

Police were called to a church in Blacktown on Sunday night, where 60 adults were children were participating in a sermon inside

'We declare the lockdowns are over in the name of Jesus. Lockdowns are over in the cities of New South Wales.' 

Footage of police at the scene shows many of the parishioners without face masks, which are mandatory across NSW unless a person is exercising or at home. 

Police also allege there were also no mandatory QR codes at the church entrance.

Extra officers were called to the church to help break up the gathering and obtain attendees' details. Many had travelled from other locked-down suburbs, including the Canterbury-Bankstown and Fairfield LGAs. 

Marvin Osaghae delivered a spirited sermon to Christ Embassy Sydney parishioners on Sunday in which he vowed to 'refuse every lockdown in our cities'

Pastor Osaghae denied hosting the event in question but admitted he was there for 'the party'.  

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Christ Embassy Sydney for comment.    

Since its inception in Nigeria in 1987, Christ Embassy has amassed more than 13 million followers across five continents, helmed by pastor Chris Oyakhilome. 

The megachurch, its subsidiary global television networks and Oyakhilome have repeatedly been criticised for promoting dangerous and unfounded myths about the pandemic across the United Kingdom and in Nigeria.  

Most recently, a post written on a Facebook page for Oyakhilome's church falsely alleged 'vaccine is a gene therapy which is capable of opening the DNA up to be editable'

They were fined $AUD240,000 by the UK Office of Communications in March after Christ Embassy's television station, Loveworld Television Network, was determined to have breached broadcaster guidelines.     

A 29-hour show titled 'The Global Day of Prayer' included sermons with 'potentially harmful' Covid claims when it was broadcast in January, Ofcom found. 

The sermons included allegations the virus was 'planned' and vaccines were a 'sinister' way to 'nanochip' and control people,' the regulatory body found.  

In a previous breach on the same station, a presenter falsely linked the Covid pandemic to the rollout of the 5G telecommunications network.  

'This is not coronavirus, but cell poisoning. Remember 5G started in China. Wuhan is one of the provinces where 5G has been rolled out,' she said. The program was later ordered to explain how it breached regulations. 

Christ Embassy Church advertised its afternoon sermon on Instagram on Sunday, encouraging people to attend 'online or onsite.'

Oyakhilome's sermons and unfounded claims about Covid have been repeatedly 'fact checked' and in some instances removed from social media all together to avoid giving his 2.1million followers false information. 

Most recently, a post written on a Facebook page for Oyakhilome's church falsely alleged 'vaccine is a gene therapy which is capable of opening the DNA up to be editable'.

Hundreds of followers shared the debunked claim, which he allegedly repeated in a sermon that was posted - and later deleted - on YouTube. 

Oyakhilome claims to be a faith healing minister who is a 'unique minister... sent from God, who exudes an insatiable passion to reach the peoples of the world with God's manifested presence'.  

Police allege there were no mandatory QR codes when they were called to Christ Embassy Sydney in the Covid-19 hotspot of Blacktown on Sunday night

What are the new coronavirus restrictions? 

ACROSS NSW: 

- Wearing masks outside will be mandatory for everyone in NSW, unless they are exercising.

- Those who are exercising will still need to carry a mask with them at all times.

- People will need to put on a mask while exercising if they are in a busy area or cannot socially distance.

IN SYDNEY'S 12 LGA AREAS OF CONCERN:   

- Curfews will be introduced from 9pm to 5am, except for authorised workers, emergencies or medical care, to help reduce the movement of young people 

- Sydneysiders travelling into or out of the 12 LGAs of concern for work will also need to carry a permit 

- Outdoor exercise is limited to one hour per day 

- Click and collect only at garden centres and plant nurseries, office supplies, hardware and building , landscaping material , rural supplies, and pet supplies. Tradies are allowed to shop in-store where relevant 

- All exams and other education or professional development related activities will move online, not including the HSC.  

- These LGAs are Bayside, Blacktown, Burwood, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, Parramatta, Strathfield, and some suburbs of Penrith. 

POLICE GIVEN SPECIAL POWERS:   

- Power for the Commissioner of Police to lock down apartment blocks while NSW Health assesses the COVID risk 

- Power for the Commissioner of Police to declare a residential premise a COVID-risk and order all people to present to police during compliance checks 

- Powers to allow police to order anyone issued with an infringement notice to return home 

- If a person from outside an LGA of concern is found in an LGA of concern without reasonable excuse, they will be fined $1000 and required to isolate at home for 14 days. 

ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS FOR AREAS OF CONCERN  

- Childcare workers and disability support workers who live or work in the LGAs of concern must have their first vaccination dose by August 30. 

- Authorised workers who work outside their LGA of concern are only permitted to work if rapid antigen testing is implemented at their work-site or they have had their first vaccination dose by August 30. 

- From August 28, authorised workers from LGAs of concern are required to carry a permit from Service NSW declaring they are authorised workers and can't work from home.