The tickets, worth �20,000, were paid for by church funds

St Luke's Church, in Maidstone, booked up all the showings - more than 3,000 tickets - for the opening three days and nights at the town's Odeon cinema.

The �6.50 tickets, paid for by church funds, were given away on the internet.

A spokesman said it was the best way for people to find Jesus because it was "impossible" to get them to church.

The whole point was that some people wouldn't be seen dead in church, or at least the next time they will be seen dead is in church in a box Russ Hughes

The Passion of the Christ opens in Maidstone and the rest of the UK on Friday.

Director of worship Russ Hughes said church officials came up with the idea to gain positive publicity for Christianity and to give non-believers the chance to "reinvestigate" Jesus.

He told BBC News Online: "The whole point was that some people wouldn't be seen dead in church, or at least the next time they will be seen dead is in church in a box.

"But when a man like Mel Gibson makes a film like this then it's a gift and we just had to take advantage of that."

Online applications

The tickets, which came at a reduced price for the block booking, were paid for by church funds.

The first nine showings of the film were booked by St Luke's

Many of the church's hundreds of registered members donate a percentage of their salary to St Luke's.

Mr Hughes said the total cost of the initiative was about �15,000.

Members of the public were able to apply for the tickets, worth a total of �21,500 at face value, by filling in a questionnaire about their religious beliefs on the church's website.

Mr Hughes, who alongside other church officials was treated to a special preview screening at the cinema on Tuesday night, said the majority of the tickets had been given to "non-church people".

The first nine showings of The Passion of the Christ at Maidstone Odeon have been booked by the church.

General manager Christian Webber told BBC News Online that when Mr Hughes first called about buying some tickets for the film a few weeks ago, it was expected to be more of an art house favourite than a blockbuster.

The church then said they would buy all the seats for the first three days - that's when the smile broadened on my face Christian Webber Odeon

The cinema initially planned six showings a week in 120-seat screens and Mr Hughes said he would buy 1,000 tickets.

But following the box office success of the film, Mr Webber realised it would be playing on larger screens, three times a day.

He said: "The church then said they would buy all the seats for the first three days. That's when the smile broadened on my face because it's good business for us and a good deal for the church.

"We're used to getting group bookings for popular films, like the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings films, as we're in the business of selling tickets according to demand.

"But I've never heard of such a huge block booking by one person."

Among those who attended Maidstone's first showing of the film on Friday afternoon was a group of about 20 people from a local alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre.

Project manager Trevor Tomlin, a recovering alcoholic himself, said he hoped the free tickets might encourage more of the group to visit church.