Police have been given more time to question a 43-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder after a clergyman was found dead with multiple stab wounds inside a locked vicarage.
The body of Reverend John Suddards, the vicar of St Mary's in Thornbury, south Gloucestershire, was discovered by workmen as they arrived at the building for an appointment on Tuesday morning.
An Avon and Somerset Police spokesman said: "When they could not gain entry they obtained a key, found the body and called the police."
According to the parish website, Rev Suddards started work at the church last July, and residents of Thornbury, about 11 miles north of Bristol, expressed shock at the discovery of his body.
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Crisp said the 59-year-old reverend had only lived in the village for "a few months", and police "do not have a good understanding of his friends and family at the moment".
He said detectives are appealing to churchgoers to come forward to tell them what they knew about him, who visited him and who he associated with.
"In particular," DCI Crisp said, "I would be keen to speak to anybody who saw the reverend after 12.30pm on Monday.
"Please don't let it rest on your conscience if you know something and you haven't told us, however small."
Jacqueline Pillinger, 68, whose daughter works up the street from the vicarage, said she understood Mr Suddards lived alone at the vicarage.
Barbara Hainsworth told Sky News he was "very caring".
She said: "He hadn't been with us very long but had made his impact on the parish.
"It's just unbelievable in a small quiet town like this that this should happen."
Chris Prince said: "We were all just getting to know him. To see that he might well have been murdered is horrific."
Bishop of Tewkesbury the Rt Rev John Went told journalists outside the church: "I was deeply shocked as the Bishop of Tewkesbury and deeply saddened to hear about John's death in such tragic circumstances."
He said he had been due to meet Mr Suddards this morning to review his ministry after the first few months of his time in this diocese.
The bishop spoke at a eucharist service at the church, where he reminded parishioners they were "part of a fallen humanity where tragic events happen".
He said: "Our hearts very much go out to you as a church community and a wider community that will be stunned at this time and will have so much to come to terms with over the coming months and indeed years."
Rev Suddards, a former barrister, moved to the area in the summer after serving at St Nicolas Church in Witham, Essex, since 2001 and before that at Great Yeldham parish, 20 miles away.
He is believed to have been a clergyman for 22 years after reportedly joining the church following a serious accident.
John Goodman, Mayor of Witham, described Rev Suddards as a "very quiet man" who was devoted to the church and was "a very well-liked rector".
The section of Castle Street where the vicarage is located was closed overnight and police patrols have been stepped up to reassure residents of Thornbury, which is home to about 12,000 people.
Police appealed to anyone with any information to contact them by calling 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 .
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