Australia's largest and wealthiest Anglican Diocese, Sydney, has been rocked by the global financial crisis, losing more than $100 million on the sharemarket.

Sydney's Anglican Archbishop, Dr Peter Jensen, has written to parishes about the 'very significant losses' after the Archdiocese borrowed to invest on the sharemarket, which crashed at the end of 2008.

The letter states that the strategy had made a special $20 million building fund possible in 2007, but that the investment value has now fallen by more than half.

The loss means funding for diocese services next year has been slashed to just over $5.5 million.

The Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsythe, says while the church's resources will be greatly affected, Sydney parishes will be spared.

"It will have impacts on a number of our institutions," he said.

"It will not affect the parishes directly because each parish in our church is self-funding.

"This investment money was more for various central services like our theological college, Anglican Media and Youthworks. There'll be inevitable and significant cutbacks in those areas from 2010 on."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/10/2593892.htm?site=local