Dr Jo Inkpin in southern Queesland said the Church should shift its attention towards listening to transgender people experiencing shame and depression, and helping them heal.

She told ABC News in Australia: “The Christian gospel in its roots is inclusion, valuing the marginalised and Jesus doing extraordinary things with ordinary people; that’s how God has always worked.

“Transgender people enlarge life and our understanding of spirituality and justice and the nature of God and Christian community… we can offer our truth… but it’s helpful if other people allow us to do it.”

Dr Inkpin, who was born as male but now identifies as female, said it was around the age of four when she began to feel aware of her “true sense of self”.

She decided not to publicly declare her transgenderism until last summer, by which time she was in her mid-50s and had been married to a woman, Rev Penny Jones, for more than 30 years.

Dr Inkpin, who grew up in a rural northern England, feared being rejected by the Church and her loved ones over her transgenderism, but claimed it was not her own choice or something she takes lightly.

Explaining the complex medical process many transgender undergo, she added: “If it wasn’t something in the deepest part of you, who would do it if you didn’t have to?

“But when I took hormones for the first day, I…

In a dramatic assessment of the state of the country, Justin Welby said there is a danger of a “schism” in society that the most vulnerable are falling into.

The Anglican leader issued a plea for Britons to be “generous” in adapting to newcomers to the country and called for people to show “care for each other”.

In an article for the Mail on Sunday, he raised concerns about the Government’s austerity drive.

Mr Welby wrote: “Brexit has divided the country – and now we need a new narrative. One that is rooted in all that is best in our history – solidarity, courage, aspiration, resilience and care for each other.

“There is a danger that there is a schism in our society into which the most vulnerable are falling. Austerity is crushing the weak, the sick and many others.”

Mr Welby, who backed the Remain campaign in the EU referendum, called for tolerance.

He said: “Welcoming strangers to our own country and integrating them into our own culture is important.

“We must be generous and allow ourselves to change with the newcomers and create a deeper, richer way of life.”

The Archbishop also called on the Government to tackle the housing crisis and warned of the importance of creating new communities.

He added: “We must build proper homes – and have a housing policy that is about…