She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday: “You will be on your own singing these songs but it will feel as though you’re transported to the church where we recorded these, and you’ll be able to look around you and see the impressive building – you’ll feel as though you’re amongst the choir and it will feel like a new experience for people wherever they may be this Christmas.”

Speaking of congregants who are unable to attend church services this Christmas, Ms Cole said that from the start of the pandemic, the Church has used technology to reach people who it has never connected with before, “and to reconnect with people who haven’t felt comfortable coming into our buildings”.

“This allows us to connect with people that perhaps for accessibility reasons can’t visit us in our buildings we’re able to connect with them in this innovative way,” she added.

A Church of England spokesperson said that there is no central policy regarding churches opening over Christmas during the pandemic, and that churches and local settings are responsible for their own risk assessments.

The carols have been uploaded to the Church of England’s YouTube channel, which has almost 20,000 subscribers.

There was, until earlier this month, a ban on congregational singing, to the dismay of both clergy and laypeople. Speaking in the House of Lords in July, the Bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek, criticised the Government and called for clarity around the restrictions, “given that singing is not an add-on to worship but integral to it”.

Under Plan B, coverings have become compulsory in most public indoor venues.

However, in accordance with the current government guidelines, there is a “reasonable excuse exemption” which allows people to remove a face covering in places of worship whilst singing if they wish to do so.

Cathedral deans have also urged carol singers to wear masks and take Covid tests at Christmas even though they are not mandatory.

Under current Plan B restrictions to combat the spread of coronavirus, coverings have become compulsory in most public indoor venues.

‘We’re asking people to behave responsibly’

However, in accordance with the current government guidelines, there is a “reasonable excuse exemption” which allows people to remove a face covering in places of worship whilst singing if they wish to do so.

Despite this, cathedral deans across the country are taking matters into their own hands, and urging those entering their buildings to take extra precautions.

The Very Revd Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark Cathedral, said that he has not made radical changes this Christmas, but has insisted that carol singers continue to wear masks.

“We haven’t changed a lot of the things we have been doing throughout the year,” he said, but “we’ve reduced the numbers we were planning to have for Christmas – it’s surprisingly a bit more than at Durham [cathedral], given that Southwark is smaller, so we’re going to have 400 people in church.

“We’re not asking for passports or lateral flow tests but we are asking people to distance and behave responsibly to their neighbour.”

Regarding asking people to continue singing while wearing masks, he admitted: “It is difficult.”

“It’s particularly difficult when you’re wanting to sing carols, which demands singing out loud, but we’ve got used to this because we’ve been singing behind masks since singing was reintroduced, so we didnt take the opportunity of asking people to remove their masks – but it’s not the best.”

The Very Revd Andrew Tremlett, Dean of Durham Cathedral said that every Church of England cathedral has had to undergo a risk assessment, and for Durham Cathedral, that means having just 350 people inside the building.