Norwegian church in London remembers Breivik's victims

More than 250 people have attended a memorial service at a Norwegian church in London for the victims of last month’s horrific terrorist attacks.

The service, held at St Olav’s, Rotherhithe, was attended by the Suffragan Bishop in Europe, Dr David Hamid, the Acting Dean of Southwark, Canon Andrew Nunn, and the MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, Simon Hughes.

The Norwegian pastor who officiated, the Rev Torbjorn Holt, said: “We needed to do something immediate.

"At the service, things were still very raw, and there were very strong emotions. Representatives from other Nordic churches were also in attendance, and many people wanted to show their solidarity with us.”

Mr Holt has since returned to Norway, where the atmosphere in Oslo, he said, was very different from usual.

“Normally Oslo is very lively in the summer, but there’s a very strange, pensive mood in the city centre. People are still laying flowers by the main cathedral. The church has been an important place for people to meet and gather and say prayers and be quiet.

“Norway is a very small country, and the way this has affected the young group of the Labour party is horrendous and impossible to imagine.”

The Bishop of Nidaros, the Rt Rev Tor Singsaas, praised Norwegians for their bravery during this terrible time.

“We have brought out a social capital we maybe even did not know was there. We must rebuild our trust in human beings as fellow human beings,” he said.

Another memorial service for the victims will be held in Southwark Cathedral on 23 September.

Elsewhere, about 50 people took part in a pilgrimage from St Helen’s, Neston, on the Wirral, to St Olave’s, Chester, pausing for a minute’s silence and special prayers for Norway, last week. The pilgrimage marked the feast day of St Olave, the patron saint of Norway.