The Church of England will no longer be able to carry on in its current form unless the downward spiral in its membership is reversed ‘as a matter of urgency’, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have warned. It could face a dramatic shortage of priests within a decade as almost half of the current clergy retire, according to the Most Rev Justin Welby and Dr John Sentamu. Meanwhile dwindling numbers in the pews will inevitably plunge the Church into a financial crisis as it grapples with the ‘burden’ of maintaining thousands of historic buildings. The two archbishops also called for the Church to invest more in building up its presence on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to get its message across as part of a ‘major programme of renewal and reform’. Their blunt assessment of the Church’s prospects came in a paper for members of its ruling General Synod, which meets in London next month