Christmas services at Melbourne’s Anglican St Paul’s Cathedral will proceed as planned after police thwarted an alleged Christmas Day terror attack which they said intended to target the cathedral along with Federation Square and Flinders Street Station.
Four men have been charged after a series of raids on Friday involving police and security agencies.
Thanking police, Dr Andreas Loewe, Dean of St Paul’s, said those at the cathedral will be “alert, but not afraid”, describing the building as a “symbol of faith in the city”.
Dr Philip Freier, Melbourne Archibishop and Anglican Primate of Australia, thanked God “that the message of hope, peace and reconciliation which is God’s message in Christ will be proclaimed clearly and publicly at St Paul’s as well as all of our parish churches and authorised Anglican congregations”.
He said the alleged terror plan “should alert us all to making proper preparations for welcoming the many thousands of people – regular, occasional and no-church goers alike – to our Christmas worship”. “If you have any concerns about your security arrangements you should talk to your local police.”
Extra security had already been arranged for the cathedral over Christmas prior to yesterday’s raids.
