More than 2.5 million people went to a Church of England service during Christmas 2011 – a 14.5% increase on the previous year, according to figures released on Tuesday.
The report on trends within the Anglican church in 2011 also reveal that the number of christenings increased 4.3% and the number of adult baptisms by 5%. However, the number of worshippers attending church on a weekly basis fell 0.3% to 1,091,484, suggesting that regular attendance is levelling off.
The church, which described the numbers as "heartening", also recorded growth in attendance in 20 of its 44 dioceses and a 1.2% increase in attendance by children and young people.
Although the number of weddings it conducted in 2011 fell 3.6% to 51,880, the number of blessings following civil ceremonies was up 4.5%.
Clergy and lay ministers conducted 162,526 funerals – a decrease of 2.8% on the previous year, which appears, in part, to reflect the 1.8% fall in deaths in England and Wales recorded that year by the Office for National Statistics.
While the Christmas 2011 attendance figures of 2,618,030 show a sharp rise on the previous year in the number of those heading to church for seasonal services, this could be explained by the fact that poor weather deterred some worshippers in Christmas 2010.
Nevertheless, initial figures for Christmas 2012 are understood to show a further increase, fuelling Anglican hopes of a growing trend for Christmas worship.
Canterbury – where archbishop Justin Welby presides, supported by the Bishop of Dover – was the worst-performing diocese for weekly attendance, with a 9.5% drop between 2010 and 2011.
The Rt Revd Graham James, bishop of Norwich – which was dubbed England's most godless city after the 2011 census showed that 42.5% of respondents there had no religious affiliation – said the statistics were a "welcome reminder" of the hard work undertaken by the church. The figures, he added, showed that the church conducted 1,000 weddings, 2,600 baptisms and more than 3,000 funerals every week of the year.
"The attendance figures are heartening, especially the very strong growth in Christmas day attendance," he said.
"The encouraging news of further growth to come even on these high figures is very welcome and points to a growing trends. Also welcome is the stabilising of the numbers of those who attend church services on a weekly basis."
He added that the rise in attendance by young people and children reflected "the investment made by churches across in the country on youth and children's workers to serve not only the church but the whole parish".