The young men of a Church of England cathedral choir have dismayed traditionalists by stripping off their shirts for a charity calendar.
The "heavenly hunks" of Portsmouth cathedral choir have been photographed in a series of provocative poses for the 2005 calendar, which has the backing of the Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Rev Kenneth Stevenson.
A number of the pictures of the choristers, aged between 18 and 26, have a nautical theme to tie in with the city's celebrations next year of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Admiral Nelson.
Bishop Stevenson said he fully endorsed the project, adding: "I support anything that involves young people having fun as part of the Church and congratulate these lads who have bared more than their souls to raise money for these charities."
The calendar has not, however, been so well received elsewhere in the Church. Frank Knaggs, a member of the General Synod, the Church's Parliament, said: "Oh, dear me!
"These are soft-porn images. I'm saddened that the Church looks as though it's trying to break into the Cosmo market. January is definitely beyond the pale, and as for the guy on the bike. . ."
But Anne Ashton, 75, a member of the Bishop's Council and a lay canon emeritus at Portsmouth Cathedral, said: "I want to go to the cathedral bookshop to see what it's all about. Can I get it down at the bookshop?"
David Price, 33, the director of music at the cathedral, who features in both the February and December pictures, defended the project, which he hopes will raise £1,200 for the choir and Macmillan Cancer Relief.
"The image that the Church usually has is of elderly people at prayer and it is seen as stuffy and not open to new ideas," he said. "The truth is that cathedrals are one of the best shop windows for the Church these days.
"We wanted to show that in cathedral choirs there are people of all ages singing in choirs, including youngsters of university age."
He said the calendar was the third the cathedral had created and each was more risqué than the last.
"We have had to be a little more careful, being a cathedral choir, but for this one we have taken our shirts off. But who knows? Our admirers are so demanding that next time we might do the Full Monty."