A leading member of the Anglican Church in Bahrain has called on local Christians to join in a week of prayers for peace in the island nation after recent outbreaks of violence.

Provost Derek Taylor, of St Christopher's Cathedral, has the support of many of Bahrain's Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic clergy for the church vigils and prayers in Christian homes for "reconciliation, dialogue, healing of divisions and security" in the mainly Muslim country. About 7 per cent of Bahrain's population of 570,000 are Christian.

Over the past 14 months, Bahrain has endured waves of vandalism, including loss of life and destruction of property. Foreign groups have been blamed for causing the violence as part of attempts to destabilise the Government. Some news media in the region have accused Iran of being behind the violence, but Iranian officials have denied the accusations.

On 18 January a home-made bomb exploded in the Royal Meridien Hotel during an international oil conference.

In the week following the explosion, more than 2000 people were arrested in police raids and during protests.