The number of worshippers at Church of England cathedrals at Easter has risen steadily since 2000, and the Church hopes the trend will continue this year to a new seven-year high.

Figures released yesterday indicate that the number of worshippers at Church of England cathedrals this Easter weekend may be the largest since the millennium.

Last year attendance at cathedrals on Easter Eve and Easter Sunday increased to 52,400 last year, an increase of nine per cent since 2000. If the current trends continue, the number of worshippers will reach 53,300 this Easter.

The annual figures also show that attendance at regular services in cathedrals has increased by a total of 17 per cent since 2000, representing continued growth of approximately three per cent every year.

The sheer architectural scale of the 43 cathedrals cared for by the Church of England is matched by the scale of the numbers passing through their doors, which averaged a total of 27,400 visitors for every day of 2006. It is likely that nearly half of these visitors said a prayer or lit a candle, the new research suggests.

Rev Lynda Barley, the Church of England's Head of Research and Statistics, said: "Cathedrals play a lively and unique role in the everyday life of our nation. They are increasingly points of contact with people on the fringes of church life and have a growing ministry on weekdays, on special occasions and major Christian festivals.

"Many are attracted to cathedrals for the sacred space they offer and services, particularly those at Christmas, are growing in popularity."

Official statistics published by the Church of England reveal that an average of 15,800 adults and 2,800 children and young people took part in Sunday services at cathedrals during 2006. When services over the rest of the week are included these figures respectively rise to 24,800 and 6,800 each week.

The figures show that more than 130,000 people attended services in cathedrals on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day last year, an increase of over a third (37 per cent) since the beginning of the century. Services over Advent - the four-week period leading up to Christmas - attracted total attendances of 717,300. Comparable figures from parish churches are currently being collated.

An increasing number of children are attending educational events at cathedrals, with 281,400 children taking part in such activities last year alongside a further 9,400 children educated at schools associated with cathedrals. More than 2,000 children and adults are also involved week-by-week in cathedral music traditions, a figure that is increasing as more cathedrals offer places to female choristers.
The annual number of cathedral visitors has remained stable at approximately 10 million, but with the addition of Westminster Abbey and other royal peculiars this figure is closer to 12 million.

Evidence released today also suggests that many of these 'tourists' use the opportunity of visiting these historic buildings for spiritual reflection: almost half (45 per cent) of those surveyed in a study by ORB said that they lit a candle or said a prayer during their visit.

The survey, conducted among visitors to Liverpool, Salisbury and Southwark Cathedrals during October 2006, revealed that although the most popular reason for visiting cathedrals was to explore the history of the building (48 per cent) or the architecture (40 per cent), a significant proportion (20 per cent) visited for a 'spiritual reason' - and a quarter (25 per cent) of surveyed visitors said that the atmosphere of calm within the building was a major factor influencing their enjoyment of the visit.

The survey also revealed that cathedrals appeal to a wide range of visitors, including atheists and agnostics (10 per cent), although 'spiritual' and 'religious' people make up the majority (63 per cent).