Easter is the most holy week of the Christian calendar.

Yet all of England's churches are closed to the public on the orders of the Archbishop of Canterbury because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Now a rebel priest is battling to get their doors open again.

The Rev Cindy Kent from the Isle of Sheppey said: "I’ve lost track of the number of people who have asked me why the churches aren’t open. It makes me wonder what message we are sending out?

"I understand we should be showing solidarity with others who are being told to stay at home but if a hardware shop or off-licence can open, then why can't we?

"Supermarkets and other stores are doing a brilliant job allowing customers in and keeping everyone safe. I really feel the church could have done the same at a time like this when a lot of people are seeking solace and comfort."

To get round the ban she, and others, are streaming services on social media from their own homes. She said: "I have been amazed at the response. There is definitely a need."

Her first broadcast was from Minster Abbey on Mothering Sunday just before the full lockdown. Her last two have come live from her bungalow.

Father Robert Lane, vicar of Borden parish church near Sittingbourne, has installed an altar in his dining room at the vicarage and is now streaming his services.

He normally gets 50 to 60 people in church on a Sunday but is now being watched by up to 800 people, including viewers from the Philippines.

He said: "I obviously have to do as I'm told and would never disobey an instruction but I can't understand why I can't take my phone into the church behind a locked door and celebrate mass where viewers can see me in familiar surroundings. In times of difficulty people need the church more than ever."

Retired priest and former BBC radio producer Colin Johnson has set up a cross and chalice in his conservatory. He said: "I can understand a ban on church services but most people visit a church on their own. They just say a prayer, light a candle and then go.

"A church is one of the last havens left where people can go. I don't think having them open will do any harm at all."

Mrs Kent added: "Of course, ‘the church’ is ‘the people’ and we must all do our best to keep each other safe.

"But buildings which have stood for thousands of years and have been places of refuge and comfort should be open in a regulated way.

"Somewhere like Minster Abbey is big enough for several people at a time to be the statutory distance from each other. Surely we should be seen as an 'essential service’ too?

On Easter Sunday she will be back on YouTube at 11am with the Rev Paul Rush, the Rev Jeanette McLaren and lay-reader Ashley Shiel

Even the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who normally leads a congregation of 1,500 at Canterbury Cathedral, will be broadcasting from the kitchen of his London flat using an iPad on Easter Sunday.

He ordered the closure of churches for both private worship and public services on Friday, March 24 following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement that large gatherings were banned.

Mr Welby said it was imperative for the health of the nation that the Church of England strictly observes the new guidelines.

In a letter to all clergy he insisted: "Our church buildings must now be closed not only for public worship but for private prayer as well. This includes the priest or lay person offering prayer in church on their own."

Mrs Kent's call was backed by Jack Lopresti, Conservative MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke, who wrote an open letter to housing minister Robert Jenrick on Thursday asking for a temporary relaxation of restrictions.

He said: "If the government allows me to go to an off-licence, a takeaway or local shop on Easter Sunday, providing I observe social distancing or take other necessary precautions, why can't I go to a church and say a private prayer providing I do the same?"

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