The Glasgow Cathedral at the centre of controversy over the reading of the Koran in church has reported a sudden boom in people attending its services.

St Mary's Cathedral, of the Scottish Episcopal Church, has seen a "sudden and unprecedented" growth in people attending church, according to its Provost, the Rev. Kelvin Holdsworth.

The cathedral, on Great Western Road, attracted criticism after local Muslims were invited to share stories about the birth of Jesus at Epiphany in January.

Rev. Holdsworth said that since that contentious event there has been 20% more people at services since January compared to the same period last year.

The boost comes as new figures show a severe decline in church worship in Scotland overall.

The number of regular churchgoers in Scotland has more than halved in three decades, prompting clergy to describe the dramatic decline as a “crisis” for Christianity.

The results of a new survey of Christians across Scotland shows a record low of 390,000 people now go to Sunday services, down from 854,000 in 1984, when records began.

Statistics show that only seven per cent of people in Scotland now attend Christian worship.

The Scottish Church Census saw almost 4,000 congregations surveyed in Spring 2016 so that clergy can respond to churchgoing trends.

The first study was carried out in 1984, and subsequent surveys in 1994 and 2002 recorded a steep decline in churchgoing.

A key finding was that two-fifths (42%) of Scottish churchgoers are 65 or over, suggesting there could be a sharper decline in numbers unless churches can attract a new generation of worshippers.

Projections based on new data gathered by statisticians who carried out the survey for Scottish churches show that the numbers attending services will likely fall by a further 100,000 in the next eight years.

However St Mary's Cathedral appears to be bucking the trend, despite the controversy of earlier this year, when student Madinah Javed read from the lectern in Arabic from the chapter of Maryam (Mary), which describes the story of Christ’s birth to Mary.

Rev Kelvin Holdsworth said: "We have seen strong growth amongst younger people, particularly people in their 20s and 30s.

"It is as though people are looking for a credible and believable expression of the Christian Faith in our times.

"St Mary's believes in practicing radical hospitality whilst confidently proclaiming the Christian faith and this may be part of the answer to those seeking to stem church decline".

"At a time when new research points to unprecedented decline in church attendance in Scotland, we have seen an unprecedented rise in attendance."

He added: "Over the next few weeks the results of the Scottish Church Census will be published and those results will give the churches little comfort.

"I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such low morale as you currently find amongst Christians desperate to stem the tide of shrinking congregations and closing churches."

Rev.Holdsworth has frequently made the news by drawing attention to contemporary story lines that are relevant to the Christian faith, story and teachings.

He recently drew comparisons between Donald Trump, President of the US, and biblical tyrant Herod.

He said Mr Trump's suggestion he would like a register of Muslims has "sinister" echoes of the great biblical census that drew Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem.

The outspoken priest said Jesus was born at a time "when big men ruled the world", and warned that "big men with an unhealthy interest in power are taking over again".

He added yesterday: "Earlier this year we attracted worldwide condemnation for being hospitable to Muslim friends and hearing the stories of Jesus that they hold dear. For weeks afterwards I had people writing to me telling me that I was fast on the way to emptying this church. And that soon no-one would be left. Quite what they would make of this morning, I don’t know.

"In God’s world, things don’t always pan out as people expect."

Yesterday the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined the Queen for an Easter service at Windsor Castle.

They walked together down the hill to St George's Chapel for the service.

They were not accompanied by Prince George or Princess Charlotte.

The Queen wore a turquoise coat and hat for the service and arrived at the chapel in a car with the Duke of Edinburgh.

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Prince Edward, the Countess of Wessex - and their children Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn, also attended the service.

The Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence were also seen arriving at the chapel.