In their stand against mammon, protesters occupying St Paul's churchyard to vent anger at reckless bankers found heartwarming support emanating from the house of God.

Far from requesting that the 300-strong crowd be removed from the cathedral steps on Sunday , the Rev Dr Giles Fraser, canon chancellor of St Paul's, requested that the police themselves move on as the Occupy London Stock Exchange protest entered its second day.

A line of officers had taken up position at the top of the steps to "protect" the building. "Which was very good of them," explained the canon. But then he had asked them if they would leave, "because I didn't feel that it needed that sort of protection".

And so those attending Sunday mass found themselves picking a path through the makeshift camp of around 100 tents erected at the foot of the cathedral's steps after Saturday's global day of action inspired by the US's Occupy Wall Street movement.

With the sermon of the day appropriately including a gospel reading about "God and money", the regular congregation was joined by some of the protesters. The canon had warned them the cathedral bells were "really loud", so it was an early start to their first full day of occupation.

An attempt on Saturday to set up camp outside the London Stock Exchange in nearby privately-owned Paternoster Square had been thwarted by police. But all the indications on Sunday were that a hard core of dedicated protesters were digging in for the long haul at St Paul's.

A field kitchen was being erected, offering basics donated by wellwishers. A first aid point was set up in front of a poster renaming the area as Tahrir Square. A media area, powered by a generator, was aiming to stream activities from the camp live on to the internet. A line of seven portable toilets had also been installed. "Pick up your litter" was one of the continual announcements over the camp's megaphone.

A spokesman said the purpose of the occupation was "to challenge the bankers and the financial institutions which recklessly gambled with the economy. This and 20 other occupations all around the UK have been directly inspired by what's happening all across America and especially in Wall Street."

Roy Alexander, 39, from Surrey, said: "We're planning to stay here indefinitely, we'll stay here and make a stand. I think we'll have more people join."

The protest indeed appeared to have struck a chord with many who were new to demonstrating. "I'm 40. Never been on a protest before. But I found myself here," said one man, who asked not to be named, from Sheffield. "I'm pretty middle of the road politically, so I wasn't sure about all the Socialist Workers placards at first. But this issue has attracted people from all walks of life. I'm a diehard atheist – there's a woman over there with a 'Jesus is Calling' placard. It's all of us."

Another on his first protest was Ollie Taylor, 23, from Aldershot. "I feel really, really strongly about this issue. I really think it is going to snowball." He, like many others, was having to leave the protest to return to his job, working in a photographic studio. But many pledged to return.

Police appeared relaxed, keeping a visible but low-key presence, and chatting and mingling with protesters. It was a different situation on Saturday, when an estimated 3,000-4,000 protesters converged on the cathedral. Supporters claimed a disproportionate amount of force was used and people were "kettled, grabbed and thrown off the steps forcefully".

The Metropolitan police said some "containment" had been in place to prevent a breach of the peace. Eight people were arrested, of whom six were charged with offences including affray and cannabis possession.

How long the camp will be allowed to stay remains to be seen. Asked about the impact it would have on businesses in the area, one shop supervisor said: "I can't imagine the shops in Paternoster Square are too happy about it – they haven't been able to open since yesterday."

As for the cathedral's blessing, the canon stressed that while he had not given specific backing to the occupation of St Paul's churchyard, he supported the democratic right to protest peacefully. "It's cold, isn't it going to be cold tonight?" he said. "We'll see how it goes. We're taking one day at a time and it's really good it's all worked out well for us today."