Archbishop Desmond Tutu – whose life and struggles have inspired millions around the world – has said he wants to have an assisted death and end his life by his own choosing.

Writing on the occasion of his 85th birthday Archbishop Tutu said he does not want to be kept alive “at all costs” and maintains his right to decide when to depart from this world.

The Archbishop first spoke of his support for assisted dying two years ago, but this is the first time he has said explicitly that he would choose it for himself.

He said: “I have prepared for my death and have made it clear that I do not wish to be kept alive at all costs. I hope I am treated with compassion and allowed to pass on to the next phase of life’s journey in the manner of my choice.”

The Archbishop’s words come after he was admitted to hospital last month for surgery to treat a series of recurring infections related to his long running battle with prostate cancer, and it is understood the experience brought into sharp focus the imminent prospect of death.

Archbishop Tutu won admiration across the globe for his steadfast and courageous campaigning against apartheid in South Africa during the 1980s and early Nineties.

Following the introduction of democratic rule he went on to campaign against corruption, poverty and HIV, remaining a steadfast advocate of human rights across the continent.

His words, in an essay for the Washington Post, will renew the debate over the rights and wrongs of assisted dying, an issue which still causes deep divisions within the worldwide Anglican Church and the wider community.

Archbishop Tutu wrote: “Just as I have argued firmly for compassion and fairness in life, I believe that terminally ill people should be treated with the same compassion and fairness when it comes to their deaths. Dying people should have the right to choose how and when they leave Mother Earth.”

He went on to state that he had reversed his lifelong opposition to assisted death in 2014, but had remained more ambiguous about whether he desired it for himself.

Now, however, he says: “Today, I myself am even closer to the departures hall than arrivals, so to speak, and my thoughts turn to how I would like to be treated when the time comes.”

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu arrives in a wheelchair for a church service in celebration of his 85th birthday at St. Georges Cathedral, Cape Town credit: Nic Bothma/EPA

Archbishop Tutu goes on to argue forcefully that while he believes in the sanctity of life, people – especially those in pain – should not be denied the right to make their own choice as to when they die.

“For those suffering unbearably and coming to the end of their lives, merely knowing that an assisted death is open to them can provide immeasurable comfort,” he said.

The Archbishop, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, celebrated his birthday on Friday by presiding over Eucharist at his home church, St George's Cathedral, in Cape Town.

In his essay he repeated his support for the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey’s attempts to introduce a bill allowing doctors to help terminally ill people take their own lives in this country.

“In refusing dying people the right to die with dignity, we fail to demonstrate the compassion that lies at the heart of Christian values,” said Archbishop Tutu.

“I pray that politicians, lawmakers and religious leaders have the courage to support the choices terminally ill citizens make in departing Mother Earth.”

The then Bishop Desmond Tutu, in May 1980 credit: Gallo Images/REX Shutterstock

But Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, a former Welsh government adviser on palliative care and an opponent of assisted dying, questioned the burden the responsibility for assisting someone to end their life would place on the individual tasked with carrying it out and on a country's medical services.

She said: “Suicide is not illegal and pain free methods are widely known, so the real question is who Archbishop Tutu wants licenced to assist his death?

“That person would have the responsibility of judging that he has the mental capacity to make such a decision, they would have to decide that the prognosis is correct and won’t change and they would have to carry the burden of helping him die.”