The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, responded to the attack in a Tweet, in which he expressed his “profound sympathy for the victims and relatives of the New Zealand terrorism.”

He added: "Profound sympathy for the victims and relatives of the New Zealand terrorism.  Let all Christians pray for healing of people, interfaith relations and New Zealand itself. Jesus calls us to welcome strangers and love our neighbour however different."

Meanwhile, Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier, the Anglican Primate of Australia, issued the following statement:

“Acts of brutality like the outrage in Christchurch offend the decency of our common humanity.

“Our hearts go out to all who grieve or have been traumatised. Australia and New Zealand are closely bound by history, geography and heritage, and Australians know how appalled the people of New Zealand are at such awful mass murder in their country. 

“We pray for all who suffer.”