Anglo-Catholic bishops have backed calls to the Government to re-think church closures during lockdown. 

They write in a pastoral statement that the prospect of church closures for a second time this year is a "grave one". 

"[All] that we do as God's people flows from our worship," they write.

"The Mass is and must always be the very heart and centre of our lives, our gravest duty, our sweetest joy. As we meet the Lord at his altar, we are inspired to serve and to witness.

"Without the Mass, ministry becomes meaningless and any acts of love and service are swiftly rendered unsustainable.

"We can never allow our worship to be seen as dispensable, nor can we collude with a culture that wishes to see it as one activity amongst others.

"The Mass is literally a matter of life and death. Without regular re-orientation towards the life of God in the Mass, we are lost, we are nothing." 

The letter has been signed by the Church of England Bishops of Beverley, Burnley, Chichester, Ebbsfleet, Fulham, Lewes and Richborough.

They warn of frustration among many Christians over the restrictions. 

"We are aware of a profound disappointment, bordering on anger, in many of our congregations, an expression of the deep longing of the people of England to gather for worship," they said. 

The bishops echoed demands from leaders of the Catholic Church for evidence behind the decision to close churches. 

Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Archbishop Malcolm McMahon were quick to attack the changes on Saturday, calling the church closures a "source of deep anguish". 

"Whilst we understand the many difficult decisions facing the Government, we have not yet seen any evidence whatsoever that would make the banning of communal worship, with all its human costs, a productive part of combatting the virus," they said.

"We ask the Government to produce this evidence that justifies the cessation of acts of public worship."