Attendance at Church of England Christmas services leapt by 20 per cent last year, according to new annual figures.

The number of worshippers at Easter was up 8.6 per cent, with 938,000 attending services in 2023, reflecting a third year of growth.

The figures, published in the Statistics for Mission 2023 report, show that for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of regular worshippers in the Church of England edged above a million.

Overall attendance remains below 2019 levels but the report published today shows numbers recovering towards the pre-pandemic trend.

Overall weekly attendance at Church of England churches rose to 693,000 in 2023, from 663,000 in 2022, an increase of 4.5 per cent.

Meanwhile the number of children attending weekly services increased from 90,000 in 2022 to 95,000 (up 4.9  per cent in a year).

The Church of England’s overall “worshipping community” – the total number of regular worshippers – rose to 1,007,000 in 2023, from 982,000 the previous year.

Just under two million people (1,961,000) attended services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day last year, up from 1,636,000 in 2022.

Separately, 2.1 million attended services for the congregation and community during Advent 2023 in addition to 2.3 million who attended civic and school Advent services.