In a lecture in a Buckinghamshire church, Dr Carey expressed his exasperation that his efforts to revive the Church of England in the 1990s had been frustrated by lack of support from the clergy.

He delivered a warning to his successor, Dr Rowan Williams, that his initiatives could meet a similar fate.

However, the former archbishop argued, however, that it was still possible to turn the tide if the Church did not "throw up its hands in despair"

His outspoken comments will dismay some Church leaders, who privately complain that he has repeatedly breached the tradition that retired archbishops refrain from stirring controversy.

But friends insisted that he was intending to indicate his backing for Dr Williams's Fresh Expressions initiative, designed to encourage alternative forms of worship.

Speaking at St Michael's church in Amersham-on-the-Hill, Dr Carey said that all the Christian denominations had suffered plunging congregations.

"No Anglican can be satisfied that only one in 50 people attend this national Church," he said.

Referring to an official report published this year, Dr Carey said it spoke of a Church "that is running out of cash and spending it on buildings, that has lost its vision and is becoming a club for the elderly." He continued: "The picture I have described is of Churches approaching meltdown rather than on the cusp of renewal."

However, Dr Carey said there was also good news. He cited the 2001 census, in which 72 per cent of the population described themselves as Christian, and said that there was still a "deep allegiance" between nation and Church.

He said the Church had to focus on mission from top to bottom" or it would become "an irrelevancy in the nation and a club for the old, the resigned and those tired of life."

END