The London landmark is playing host to a passion play, like it has over the past 9 years, but the group behind it is taking things up a notch in 2020.

Performances will take place across the country with Bath, Liverpool, Horsham, Bishop Auckland, Hamilton and Worcester already confirmed.

The Wintershall Estate has licensed its Passion Script, written by Peter Hutley, to allow local artists to come together and share the gospel message with their communities.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby said “Passion Plays have been a feature of the life of our country since the Middle Ages, and for good reason

“There is no greater story than that of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that this Easter, you can be caught up in the story of the love of God for the world in the person of Jesus.’

Leader of English and Welsh Catholics, Cardinal Vincent Nichols said: “This Good Friday, I recall some of the last words of Pope St Paul II: “We adore and bless the mystery of the Cross of the Son of God, because it was from his death that new hope for humanity was born.”

“I warmly commend this performance of The Passion of Jesus to you and thank all those who have had a part in bringing it about.”

The Wintershall Estate says these plays are for everyone to learn more about the Easter story and it hopes the nationwide productions will inspire unity…

Richie, member of the band the Commodores and then solo singer of hits such as All Night Long, told the magazine about his career, parenting and being a judge on American Idol. 

Speaking of his early career, he said: “I left my mum and dad’s house to go to Tuskegee University and I met my Commodore friends there,

“At the time I was seriously considering being an Episcopal priest.”

“[But] the first time I played with the Commodores, a group of girls screamed,” he added.

“Up until that moment no one, no girl, had ever screamed at me. I didn’t play basketball, football, baseball. I played on the tennis team, and no girl ever screamed at the tennis court. It was right after those girls screamed, I remembered saying to myself, ‘I don’t think I’m gonna be priest material.’”

He went on to talk about his marriage to Brenda Harvey, Diane Alexander and current relationship with Lisa Pariji. 

“I’m a man who’s been through the ups and the downs, the ins and the outs of love,” he said.

“Love is not an exact science, it’s something you have to go through. People don’t walk in love, people fall, which means you’re out of control, there’s no logic. How you survive is your story.”

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight…

St Paul’s, York Minster, Exeter, Peterborough and Durham Cathedrals will all chime at 7pm for 7 minutes.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Rev Justin Welby and the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, have called on as many churches as possibly to join in as well.

The Church of Scotland are doing the same with Rt Rev Susan Brown, Moderator of the General Assembly, saying: “The world has been shocked and saddened by the devastating fire at Notre Dame Cathedral.

“The reaction is so great because the Church is more than ‘just’ a building.”

Bells rang across France on Wednesday evening in recognition of the fire that destroyed the spire of Notre Dame on Monday night. 

The roof was also destroyed but its towers, rose windows, organ and artwork were saved.

No one was killed in the fire, which occurred during a mass, as firefighters and church officials evacuated the building quickly. 

Westminster Abbey’s bells rang at 5:43pm on Tuesday, announced by Prime Minister Theresa May: “To underline our solidarity with France and her people, the bells at Westminster Abbey will toll at 5:43pm this evening to mark the moment the fire began yesterday.

“And later this week, on Maundy Thursday, bells will ring at cathedrals and churches across England.”

The Great Peter bell will be tolled once a minute for 7 minutes before 7.00pm tomorrow evening.

York Minster will join…

The incident came just days after flames ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

The 37-year-old New Jersey man had pulled up on Wednesday night in a minivan outside the cathedral on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, walked around the area, then returned to his vehicle and retrieved the petrol and lighter fluid, according to the New York Police Department.

Deputy commissioner of intelligence and counter-terrorism John Miller said: “As he enters the cathedral he’s confronted by a cathedral security officer who asks him where he’s going and informs him he can’t proceed into the cathedral carrying these things. It’s at that point some gasoline apparently spills out onto the floor as he’s turned around.”

Security then notified officers from the counter-terrorism bureau who were standing outside, Mr Miller said. The officers caught up to the man and arrested him after he was questioned.

Around 7:55pm, a man walked into St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan with gas cans and lighter fluid, and was subsequently apprehended by @NYPDCT without incident. We thank our partners for their help, and remember – if you see something, say something. pic.twitter.com/qEbmklnqzQ

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 18, 2019

“His basic story was he was cutting through the cathedral to get to Madison Avenue. That his car had run out of gas,” Mr Miller said. “We took a look at the vehicle. It was…

Professor Stephen Murray, who co-led a project to laser map the Gothic masterpiece in minute detail, said the building was “revolutionary” for its day and the vast sums of money could be used for a cutting-edge update.

Notre Dame was within “15 to 30” minutes of complete destruction during the disastrous blaze that claimed the roof and spire, junior interior minister Laurent Nunez said.

Huge sums have been pledged to repair the beloved Paris landmark, which President Emmanuel Macron has set a target of five years to finish.

He said France “will rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral even more beautifully” as he addressed the nation little more than 24 hours after the devastating fire.

Asked if there should be a modern answer for the building’s restoration, Prof Murray said: “That’s what Gothic was all about”.

“The 12th-century cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris was the highest-tech vision of a building they could conceive,” he told the BBC’s World Tonight.

“It was really a revolutionary building and the roof was a revolutionary piece of carpentry and I don’t think we should be stuck with the past.

“We are children of the 21st century”.

Prof Murray, who studied at Oxford University and the University of London’s Courtauld Institute, co-led a project that used laser scanners and…