Dress-down for vicars

Dress-down Fridays for office workers are one thing - but now the Church of England is suggesting dress-down Sundays.

It is considering allowing clergy to hold services in casual clothes in a bid to shed their old-fashioned image and appear more 'trendy'. The move could see vicars wearing T-shirt and jeans when addressing a congregation of young people, or a lounge suit for a Sunday service. The idea will be discussed by the Church's governing body, the General Synod, next month.

Just over 1 million people attend church every Sunday but only 180,000 are 'young people' - the under 16s. However, the move is likely to face strong opposition from traditionalists.

A spokesman for the Church of England said 'quite a few people feel very strongly' about the issue.