Christians remember bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Vigil at Westminster Cathedral

As people around the world prepare to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Christians in the UK will be joining an online vigil to mark the occasion.

The nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima (6 August 1945) and Nagasaki (9 August 1945) killed hundreds of thousands of people and left countless others living with the effects, many of which continue today. Those who survived the bombings, known as Hibakusha, have been leading campaigners for nuclear disarmament for nearly eight decades.

This year the Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship will come together on the evening on Sunday 6 August for an online vigil including prayers, reflections and songs. While the evening will include prayers for the victims and survivors it will also look forward with hope towards a world without nuclear weapons.

The vigil will include a message from Rt Revd Christopher Cocksworth, Bishop of Coventry. In it he describes the bombing of Hiroshima as "cataclysmic event which caused such terrible loss of life", adding that the event "has cast a terrible shadow over humanity ever since".

Bridget Tiller, Christian CND Co-Chair, said: "Remembering Hiroshima is always a moving event. This year there is added poignancy as the war continues in Ukraine, with the increased risk of nuclear weapons being used again. We hope this time of reflection will be a chance to rededicate ourselves to the cause of peace".

In London, there will be a Pax Christi vigil and stall outside Westminster Cathedral from 11.00am to 1.00pm on both Sunday 6 and Wednesday 9 August. The Sunday will see an event at Coventry Cathedral at 2pm, with music, poetry, making peace cranes and meeting representatives of the Japanese community. On 9 August, Pax Christi Merseyside will run a stall outside Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral from 12.30pm.

Other events have been organised in Bradford, Abingdon, St. Albans, Romford and online. Details are on the website of Pax Christi England and Wales. Also, information about the Michael Mears' play 'The Mistake', about the Hiroshima bombing, which will tour England and Wales from September.

The online vigil will start at 8pm on Sunday August 6. The link for the free Zoom registration is here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckce-rqTojHtTtIaMFikO1javX4KQA-rf3

Full details of all events at: https://paxchristi.org.uk/