The Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Rev Peter Jensen, has reached out to the Bishop of London and the beleaguered people of that city in the wake of the terrorist attacks.

Archbishop Jensen has written to Bishop Richard Chartres to express the sadness and shock the news of the mounting death toll has brought to Sydneysiders.

“Our thoughts and our hearts are with you and your clergy as you minister to the people of London with the assurance of the comfort and compassion to be found in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he writes.

The large number of Sydney Anglicans with family and personal connections in London has delivered a significant measure of the tragedy to local doorsteps.

“There is a real sense in which many of us feel like Londoners,” Archbishop Jensen says.

As Australians come to terms with the extent of the tragedy, Archbishop Jensen is promising that they will take time to remember their British cousins in prayer.

“Our prayers are for the relatives of victims who died in this appalling onslaught, and for those who have been injured. We pray also that there might be a lessening of fear and insecurity for people as they go about their daily work and lives.”

The full text of the Archbishop’s letter can be read in media releases.