After the horrific suicide bombing of three churches last weekend, Anglican bishops in Sri Lanka have written to clergy, wardens and lay leadership telling them to "prayerfully discern" whether they should go ahead with their usual Sunday services.

The bombings on Easter Sunday, which also targeted luxury hotels, killed 253 people and injured hundreds more.  The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks. 

The Bishop of Colombo, Dhiloraj Canagasabey, and the Bishop of Kurunegala, Keerthisiri Fernando, has advised church leaders to cancel services if they feel it is "not prudent" to hold them in light of the attacks, the Anglican Communion News Service reports. 

They told local church officials to assess the situation in their area before reaching their own decision on the matter. 

"That is because the dynamics and ground situations differ from one community to another or one area to another area," they said. 

Churches were told they could consider "creative means" to observe Sunday worship if services were cancelled. 

They also reminded church leaders that the goal of the terrorists was to spread fear and stop Christians from worshipping God.

"If you feel it is not prudent to hold worship in your churches in the prevailing circumstances then please refrain from having any gathering that may not be advisable until there is an improvement in the current situation in the country," they continued. 

"On the other hand you must not lose sight of the fact that the intention of the forces of darkness and these perpetrators is to stop us worshipping our God and to cripple everyday life by driving fear into people.

"During the 30 years civil War our worshipping communities were only prevented from meeting for worship only due to curfews."