Unitarians have been excluded after the Bishop of Chester, the Right Rev Dr Peter Forster, a leading evangelical, received a complaint about the unorthodox beliefs of some Unitarians.

He asked Canon Christopher Burkett, his chaplain and a residentiary canon at the cathedral, to carry out a review.

Canon Burkett concluded that the Unitarian service was in breach of the cathedral statutes, which stipulate that worship must be in accordance with the doctrines of the Church of England.

The Unitarian Church, founded by John Biddle in the 17th century, has no creed and rejects the doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Christ.

Canon Burkett said that, to his knowledge, just one complaint had been received, but that this was enough to prompt a review.

He said: "I was simply asked to review whether the use of the building was consistent with its foundation documents and Church of England law.

"As most people would expect, acts of worship in the building need to be clearly Christian. What I mean by Christian is those who hold a Trinitarian faith which, by definition, Unitarians do not."

He said that the cathedral did its best to abide by its Benedictine tradition of hospitality. "We do try to use it in a way that is consistent with the sanctity and history of the place, but not in a way to exclude."

Jeffrey Teagle, general secretary of the Unitarian Church, said: "The decision to rescind our booking has come as a great shock to our membership and has caused much dismay. Although Unitarians differ widely in belief and seek their religious inspiration from many sources, a sizeable proportion of our members are firmly of the view that they are part of Christianity."

Betty Rathbone, a Unitarian from Norwich who sang in the choir at last year's service in the cathedral, said that it felt like being plunged back in the religious warfare of the 16th and 17th centuries.

She said: "In the strict sense of the word, we are heretics because we do not subscribe to the beliefs of the Thirty-Nine Articles. We have become part of the struggle in the Church of England between the conservatives and the more liberal elements."

Helen Parsons, chair of the Cirencester fellowship, said that she was saddened at the response of Chester staff. "In these ecumenical times it is amazing that the tolerance of the Anglican Church is so low. What would Christ have said?"

SEPARATE BELIEFS

# The Unitarian Church dates from the Reformation and grew from the work of Erasmus, a Dutch Catholic who challenged the doctrine of the Trinity

# It was founded in Britain in the 17th century by John Biddle, whose teachings appealed to Puritans and dissenting Presbyterians

# The Church has its own martyrs. Bartholomew Legate and Edward Wightman were burnt at the stake 1612 as heretics

# The Unitarian name was coined by Joseph Priestley, the 18th-century chemist who discovered oxygen

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