|TOP|The overwhelming popularity of Dan Brown’s multi-million selling novel The Da Vinci Code is a sign of “spiritual thirst” among the public, claims the outgoing leader of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

The Most Rev Bruce Cameron told The Scotsman in his last week as Primus that the Church had to embrace the spiritual thirst of many people today in order to bring people back to Christianity.

He added that The Da Vinci Code was a “real opportunity” to draw people back to the church, an assertion backed by lead actor in the film version, Tom Hanks, who said the movie may help ministers increase their congregations by starting a debate that will encourage more people to come to church.

“All this discussion about The Da Vince Code shows that there is a thirst to learn more about Jesus, and this seems to offer a real opportunity for the Church to respond,” said Rev Cameron, who stands down this week after five years of service as Primus.

|AD|Hanks was quoted in The Sun as telling US magazine Entertainment Weekly: “I think the movie may end up helping churches do their job. If they put up a sign saying: 'This Wednesday we are discussing the gospel', 12 people show up. But if a sign says: 'This Wednesday we are discussing The Da Vinci Code', 800 people show up.”

The comments by the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church contradict the general opposition that churches have shown The Da Vinci Code and follows an announcement from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland that it will send a DVD to schools across the country in which it describes the book as “monumentally inexcusable nonsense”.

Rev Cameron, who has also been Bishop of Aberdeen for 14 years, warned that the Episcopal Church would have to change its shape and methods if it is to stay relevant.

"I would be as bold as to say that the Church at the end of the century will look radically different from how it looks at the beginning.

"Today's Church can sow the seeds of this, make the connections with the people who have given up on the Church but who are still religious."

He added that the Church had to get the message across to people that, even with their doubts, there was still a place for them in the Church. "We have our doctrines and beliefs, but people can come to the Church, with all their doubts and uncertainties, and join us on this journey. It's not about having to believe in ten impossible things before breakfast."

Rev Cameron departs from his role as Primus at a difficult time for the Anglican Communion. He described the ordination of homosexual bishops in the Communion was a “difficult and painful” issue that had to be addressed.