It has been reported that the Church of England is losing millions of pounds, and suffered a devastating shortfall of £8 million in Parish share in 2002. Figures recently released have shown that the losses have come about because churches are becoming increasingly unable or unwilling to pay the “taxes” into diocesan funds.

Even more worryingly the figure seems to be growing, as churches across the country are beginning appeals of poverty, and some are starting to change their principles and capping their payments.

The quotas for the dioceses across the nation are also predicted to rise, which will make the churches even more short on funds. The simple fact that has been clearly established out of the crisis is that the annual amounts churches are able to contribute to their treasuries are way behind their costs incurred.

With parishes struggling to meet their own costs, questions are starting to be asked in all areas of church funding.

Dioceses have stated that they are obliged to meet the increasing expenses of meeting clergy pay, and that the burden is intensified by pension payments. However, many hard-up parishes are suspecting that the dioceses are still operating a very much top-heavy bureaucracy.

These suspicions have led up to 30 evangelical churches to begin to divert money away from their respective dioceses in protest at what they interpret as the liberal doctrinal drift of the Church.

However, a Church spokesman recently spoke out in a statement to deny the accusation that excessive administration is common practice, and the spokesman clearly pointed the finger at the rising wages of clergy and their pensions as the reason for most of the increases.