Church leaders across Zimbabwe are calling for calm and peace as the country remains on a knife edge following Robert Mugabe's removal after 37 years in power.

A bloodless coup took place early on Wednesday as the military took control of government buildings and placed the 93-year-old president under house arrest. It appears the army leaders want Mugabe's former deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was fired last week, to succeed him after his widely disliked wife Grace was being prepared to take over.

Zimbabweans are 'confused and anxious about what has transpired and continues to unfold in our nation', according to a statement from The Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations.

The group, which is chaired by the Anglican Bishop of Central Zimbabwe, Ishmael Mukuwanda, and includes the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference, and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe urged against 'despondency and fear' and warned the army 'it is their responsibility to ensure that human dignity and rights are respected'.

In a statement to the Anglican Communion News Service they said: 'There is no way we can go back to the political arrangements we had some days ago. We are in a new situation. But our shared future will only be realised [with] dialogue.'

But they warned unless there was reconciliation between the opposing factions 'we are all doomed'.

The statement said: 'While the changes have been rapid in the last few days, the real deterioration has been visible for everyone to see for a long time, especially during the political rallies of the ruling party, coupled with the deteriorating socio-economic situation.'

It added: 'We see the current situation not just as a crisis in which we are helpless. We see the current arrangement as an opportunity for the birth of a new nation. Our God created everything out of chaos and we believe something new could emerge out of our situation. But first we must properly define our problem. Proper naming of the problem will give us a clear sense of where we must go as a nation.'

Lambeth Palace has assured local bishops it is praying, according to Archbishop Albert Chama, the Bishop of Northern Zambia, as he said 'this sad situation needs more than a political solution'.

'It also needs all people of faith to pray and all citizens to engage in dialogue for the sake of peace and stability in Zimbabwe,' he said in a statement on ACNS. 

'We pray that no life will be lost and no property will be destroyed during this time of uncertainty. We want to assure all the people of Zimbabwe of our prayers and fervent hope for an amicable solution to this situation.'

Bishop Abel Gabuza of Kimberley, who chairs the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference justice and peace commission, said the military action in Zimbabwe was 'not expected' adding he was 'very disturbed' by what was happening.

'This is the price one pays when the democratic process has been undermined for so long,' he said, according to the Catholic Herald.