It would be easy to assume that all monks and nuns are celibate and shut themselves away from society.

But an increasing number of Christians are joining religious communities which allow them to work, marry and live a thoroughly modern life.

The Church of England's General Synod heard that such informal communities were becoming increasingly popular among people who stopped short of joining a more traditional order.

The Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, chair of the advisory council for relations between bishops and religious communities, said some communities even said their daily prayers over Skype.

"We recognise communities that maintain the common life in its traditional monastic form, and we acknowledge communities which, like my own, interpret that tradition alongside commitments to family and to outside work," he said.

"It is this latter category in particular which has seen a remarkable outpouring of God's blessing in recent times. New communities are springing up as men and women come together to address, for God's sake, the prevailing social ills of our time."

The bishop spoke about his own discovery of a Franciscan order "for men and women who had work and family obligations they couldn't walk away from".

The Archbishop of Canterbury said he too was part of the trend as a Benedictine Oblate, an associate of the Benedictine community of monks.