A NEW book by the Archbishop of York has won high praise from a range of leading figures - including Russell Brand.

Stephen Cottrell says he wrote the book, ‘Dear England, finding hope, taking heart and changing the world,’ after a conversation with a barista who asked him why he became a priest.

The book is said to be an extended answer to that question – as well as the letter he’d like to write to a "divided country that no longer sees the relevance or value of the Christian narrative".

The Archbishop says he wants to explain why he’s a Christian and is trying to follow the Christian way, as someone who has moved from scepticism to faith.

He said: “Somewhere and somehow on the pathway of my life, as I had sought to make sense of what it is to be human and what inhabiting this world could mean, I came to reckon that there is a God and that God is the source, the impetus and the pre-condition of everything.”

Brand, the comedian, former sex, drug and alcohol addict and ex-husband of American singer Katy Perry, describes the Archbishop as a "compelling writer".

He said: “Stephen Cottrell writes about Christ as if He were here now. As if redemption were possible for all of us, as if the void that threatens to engulf us all could be filled by a personal relationship with Christ in the present.”

A spokeswoman said Brand had a strong interest in spirituality, and was interviewed at the Christian festival Greenbelt a couple of years ago.

Dame Julia Unwin, former chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “In this gentle and accessible book, the Archbishop of York takes the reader by the hand to explore big questions of faith, meaning and belonging.”

The MP David Lammy said the book was a "deeply thoughtful exposition of faith’s transformative power".

He said: “'Dear England' gave me hope, not only for the future of Christianity, but for a changed world too.”

Dear England’ will be published on Thursday by Hodder and Stoughton, costing £12.99 in hardback.