I am returning to work not with an unending amount of patience with those who are interested only in certain issues in the Church of England.

I have had a brush with death, and you don’t get over that. I had been involved with parishioners in similar situations, but it had never happened to me.

I have come through the treatment very well indeed . I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia on 8 September. I was told I had more of a chance because they had got it quickly.

I knew something was wrong: I had felt increasingly tired and sweaty. I had a horrible weekend over that August bank holiday when it was really hot. I went to the doctor, who did a blood test, and I was suddenly whipped into hospital. I was partly relieved to be told why I was feeling as I did.

Leukaemia is not something you get as a result of stress. You catch it because you catch it.

I can remember looking at Sarah (my wife) and thinking, "I am in God’s hands, and I will give it my best."

I was not frightened of death, but I did not want to leave my loved ones behind. I think people with a religious faith find it easier to cope with these kinds of illnesses.

I was conscious of such a strong atmosphere in the ward from the nurses and doctors. It is a very good example of the NHS at its best. I was in the haematology unit at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth. I had my own room. I can’t praise the staff more highly.

I kept my hair, but lost my grey strands. I have always been squeamish, but I had to overcome it with all the blood tests.

A naval medical pal said to me, "You’ll be fine. But 20 years ago, it would have been goodbye." So that makes me "the very model of modern medical science".

We have been absolutely overwhelmed by support: cards, goodwill messages, and prayers. I have been prayed for in all sorts of places, across the diocese and beyond, including the Anglican church in Baghdad and in the States.

Being soaked in the prayer of the Church really helped. It helped me get through the low moments and the discomfort. I was in hospital for 12 weeks.

I never questioned God, but I got very fed up when details did not work out. Like when there was a problem putting my drip lines in. The little things became a big issue.

Come hell or high water, I said morning and evening prayer every day. I remember once making myself put on clean pyjamas, clean up, and read. It was not what I felt like, and a lot of the time it meant nothing, but the discipline was so important, and I depended on it. Sometimes I would have to stop if a doctor or nurse came in. It was one of the things that got me through, even on the days when I could barely see because of the chemotherapy.

Sarah came in every day. Her support was vital. She is a lollipop lady and stopped doing her afternoon shift so she could be with me. My four children were around as well — I am going to be a grandfather this year.

My grandfather was a bishop in Denmark. I am three-quarters Danish, and I used to spend every summer in Jutland, and we return regularly. I love the sea and crossing by ferry.

One of my biggest regrets is not learning to cook until I was in my late 40s. I started on Chinese and still do stir-frys. I also love fish, and cook a lot of prawns and salmon. I have just cooked a Danish pork dish, an old family recipe. I find it very relaxing. I am currently reading Culinary Pleasures: Cookbooks and the transformation of British food by Nicola Humble.

I had two childhood ambitions: to be a priest, and to survive school. I was too much of an eccentric and nonconformist to fit in and enjoy it.

I was brought up an Anglican in the Episcopal Church in Scotland. Every August I would become a Lutheran in Denmark. My parents had a post-war marriage. My father was an MI6 officer, and he married the bishop’s daughter. My grandfather was a slightly larger-than-life figure. I am the eighth consecutive generation of clergy; the ninth is coming up.

My grandfather was a major influence in my life . During my childhood, I remember his attitude to life: he was so natural about God and so engaging, and had a great sense of humour. He taught me about life’s joys, despite his own tragedies, like my cousin’s suicide.

I married before I was ordained, but she knew the score. Sarah is a vicar’s daughter. We knock the trade very easily, but we have a job to do, and that sort of thing does not help. Getting married was the most important choice I made.

I have tried to square the impossible circle. Why have I come through it, and why did the wife and mother opposite me die? I suppose it is about squaring genetics with divine providence. It will be with me for the rest of my life.

I get angry at particular crass and avoidable ecclesiastical pig-headedness. I am happiest, particularly in the past few months, when I am sitting with Sarah in the evening with our Border terrier and reading. I am thankful for being alive.

Whenever I visit churches round the diocese, I enjoy the fairtrade stalls. Apricot muesli is my favourite.

I would like to be locked in a church with Bach. I would love to know his different interpretations, if he were around today. I am convinced he would not have had anything to do with the divide between sacred and secular.

Dr Stevenson was talking to Rachel Harden.