The Church of England fears that worshippers are donating less to the collection plate in protest over its creation of a £100 million slavery reparations fund.
Bishops have moved to reassure congregations that none of the money they give to their local parish is being used for the fund.
They said the money was coming from the church’s central investment pot and said the cash would be given out in grants to projects working with communities that were still suffering from “the legacy of horrifying cruelty” of the slave trade.
A significant proportion of the church’s wealth, valued at £10.4 billion according to new accounts, can be traced back to Queen Anne’s Bounty, a gift it received in the early 18th century from the