“There is great fear among some, here and round the world, that that will lead to the betrayal of our traditions, to the denial of the authority of scripture, to apostasy, not to use too strong a word,” he said. “And there is also a great fear that our decisions will lead us to the rejection of LGBT people, to irrelevance in a changing society, to behaviour that many see akin to racism. “Both those fears are alive and well in this room today.

The Most Rev Justin Welby also said there was “great fear” that holding special services to honour gay and lesbian couples could be viewed as “apostasy”.

But he said that the Church’s decisions could “lead us to the rejection of LGBT people” and “irrelevance in a changing society”.

The Archbishop made the comments in a personal address to a General Synod meeting in London shortly after the Church agreed on a historic step that could see the creation of the first female bishops this year, another issue that has divided Anglicans for years.

The Church plans to hold mediation sessions about a report on sexuality by a group of bishops that recommended holding special services for same-sex couples.

Dr Welby said he recognised the report’s suggestion was controversial, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph.

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