THE Bishop in Europe, Dr Geoffrey Rowell, said last week that he was "disappointed" that the Church Commissioners had allocated £84,000 from its fund to his diocese, which was insufficient to replace seven part-time archdeacons with four full-time ones.

The communications officer for the diocese, the Revd Paul Needle, said on Tuesday: "The problem is that we have seven archdeaconries spanning this huge continent. . . Our ideal plan would be for four full-time archdeacons."

Last year the diocese in Europe became eligible for funding from the Commissioners, who allocated the diocese £84,000 a year until 2016. The diocese will be eligible to bid for a portion of an additional £15 billion "for strategic development". For the moment, however, the seven archdeacons will continue to serve the diocese.