Watch: Bishop wearing jewellery worth $1m robbed at gunpoint

Lamor Whitehead was robbed of his chains, cross, wedding ring and watch as thieves stormed their way into the church. Photo / AP

A Brooklyn bishop was robbed at gunpoint as he was delivering a sermon, with the thieves making off with jewellery worth more than $1 million ($1.6m).

Lamor Whitehead, a bishop at the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in the south-eastern Brooklyn neighbourhood of Canarsie, was robbed of his chains, cross, wedding ring and watch.

The trio of masked robbers had burst into the church just as Whitehead asked his congregation: "How many of you have lost your faith because you saw somebody else die?"

Having ripped the jewels and clerical collar from the bishop, who was forced to the ground, they moved on to his 38-year-old wife, snatching her jewels as the congregation cowered in fear.

They also pointed a gun at the couple's eight-month-old daughter. The robbers then made their escape in a white Mercedes.

"When I see them coming into the sanctuary with their guns, I told everybody 'get out, just get out'," Whitehead said.

"I didn't know if they wanted to shoot the church up, or if they were just coming for a robbery," Lamar stated later on Instagram.

It was unclear why the church was targeted; however, Rolls Royce-driving Whitehead has attracted some criticism.

However, he has defended his flamboyant lifestyle.

"It's about me purchasing want I want to purchase. It's my prerogative to purchase what I want to purchase," he said in a video.

Lamor Whitehead was robbed of his chains, cross, wedding ring and watch as thieves stormed their way into the church. Photo / AP

The violent heist, which was caught on a live-stream video of the service, was the latest graphic illustration of the crimewave which has been sweeping New York.

Earlier this month, New York's Police Department released figures showing that major crime in the city has soared by 37 per cent this year.

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A post shared by Lamor M Whitehead (@iambishopwhitehead)

Robberies increased by nearly 40 per cent and burglaries by just under 33 per cent.

Only last week, a crew member working on the long-running crime series Law & Order was shot dead while working on the show's set in Brooklyn.

New York Mayor Eric Adams, who has vowed to tackle the crime epidemic, angrily condemned the robbery at the church.

"No one in this city should be the victim of armed robbery, let alone our faith leaders and congregants worshipping in a House of God," he said.

"The NYPD is investigating this crime and will work tirelessly to bring the criminals involved to justice."