The television presenter and novelist said singing as a chorister at All Saints Parish Church in Ilkley, Yorkshire from the age of eight instilled in him a deep knowledge and appreciation of The Book of Common Prayer.

Speaking to The Prayer Book Society (PBS), he listed some of his favourites words used during a Baptism service.

He quoted: “The Lord bless you, and keep you: the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you: the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you.”

He added: “Also lovely are the words of the Nunc Dimittis sung at Evensong, ‘Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace’.”

Dismissing criticisms that the key source for the Church of England’s doctrine contains old-fashioned language which is hard to understand, Titchmarsh said: “In our day-to- day conversations, words account for only ten per cent of the our communication; the rest is body language.

“Similarly, there is more to the Prayer Book than the words on the page. Much of its effect derives from its atmosphere, euphony, musicality, rhythm and pace.

“In my view it is vital that people are given the opportunity to hear the magical language of The Book of Common Prayer in church.

“It has a musicality not offered by modern liturgies, but it is important that clergy who use it are able to read it effectively, giving its words significant impact.”

Members of the Baptist church in Kyrgyzstan are said to have been “inspired” by the text’s survival, which has been described as an “amazing sign”.

Paul from Operation Mark, a Christian ministry operating in Kyrgyzstan, said: “This is an amazing sign.

“This happened once before when Communists set fire to a Pentecostal Church during the night.

“The Bible and that building survived too, and there is no doubt the church in Kyrgyzstan will survive – and continue to preach the gospel.”

The Evangelical Christian Baptist Church in the north-eastern town of Kaji Say was doused in petrol before being pelted with Molotov cocktails.

Police are investigating the incident, which occurred in the early hours of last Wednesday, but there is already speculation Muslim militants were to blame.

Release International, a charity supporting believers around the world who are facing pressure for their faith, warned that opposition to churches in the Muslim-majority nation is growing.

The organisation said the attack may have been in revenge for a series of outreach meetings held by the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church.

President Trump confirmed he will not travel to the UK to open the new American embassy, and hit out at the location of the $1.2 billion (£886 million) project.

Reason I canceled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for “peanuts,” only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars. Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018

His announcement prompted a wave of tweets from MPs, who suggested they did not want him to come in the first place.

I did try to warn you that you aren’t welcome in our city @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/5f4MWN3EEx

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) January 12, 2018

Reason @realDonaldTrump canceled trip to London is that we are not a big fan of his racist, sexist, unthinking behaviour. Big protests if he came to cut ribbon. He wanted the red carpet treatment and cheering crowds – NO!

— Stephen Doughty (@SDoughtyMP) January 12, 2018

Christian and Labour MP Stephen Doughty told Sky News Trump’s visit could have caused a dangerous situation.

He said: “I think Britain has a great tradition of very non-violent and peaceful protests but, on the other hand, there were some very serious concerns already raised about the types of disorder and division that could be seen if Donald Trump came here.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan suggested the real reason why Trump cancelled his…

The Zambian government announced that all gatherings would be stopped to combat the infectious disease which has been spreading at an alarming rate since October 2017.

The Council of Churches in Zambia, Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, and Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement praying for God’s peace during the national crisis.

Their ‘Statement of National Dialogue’ read: “We pray for God’s peace, comfort and encouragement during this time of national crisis.

“We pray for the various teams working on the ground to fight the cholera outbreak so that this may be overcome quickly and life may be restored to normal.”

The Zambian bishops’ conference has also decided to suspend the “sign of peace” in a bid to curb the epidemic.

#ZAMBIA: ANTI-riot police keep watch over demonstrators in Kanyama where a riot broke out this morning after security forces attempted to enforce SI No.79, in the wake of a Cholera outbreak. #EndCholera #CholeraWatch pic.twitter.com/3RLph2UHhP

— Mwebantu (@Mwebantu) January 12, 2018

Meanwhile, riots have erupted in a slum in Lusaka, with people violently protesting against the government’s ban on street vending. This has also been done in order to contain the spread of the deadly disease.