An embattled Archbishop of Canterbury will confront anger within the Church of England as, on this most critical day of his five years in office, he tries to justify his remarks about Islamic law.

Dr Rowan Williams will open the General Synod in Central London this afternoon with a presidential address in which he will show that he can weather the storm over his recent remarks. He will attempt to set the record straight, insisting that he never advocated a “parallel jurisdiction” of Sharia.

The Archbishop, whose liberal stance has provoked fury among evangelicals, will face further pressure when a senior bishop launches a renewed attack on the Church’s approach to homosexuality.

The Right Rev Michael ScottJoynt, the Bishop of Winchester and fifth most senior clergyman in the hierarchy, will give warning that the Church’s integrity has been “gravely undermined” by its implicit acceptance of same-sex relationships.

Multimedia

• Video Q&A with Archbishop of Canterbury about Sharia

• Churchgoers react to Archbishop's comments

• Listen to the Archbishop's speech on Islam

Intellectual arrogance pervades heart of wisdom

Dr Williams was advised before his speech that the content could prove controversial. He should have listened to that advice

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I've read it so you don't have to

The Archbishop of Canterbury meant well and was quite aware of some of the objections

BACKGROUND

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Related Links

• Full text of Archbishop's lecture

The issue of homosexuality and the Church is due to be debated by Synod when the Covenant, a new agreement on doctrine supported by Dr Williams, is examined on Wednesday.

In a forward to God, Gays and the Church, a book to be published this week and seen by The Times, Bishop Scott-Joynt attacks what he calls the “public advocating and vaunting of behaviour contrary to the teaching of the Church of England” at last year’s synod, which was presided over by Dr Williams.

The Archbishop, who spent yesterday in private meetings, received a telephone call from Gordon Brown on Saturday evening. The Times believes that the Prime Minister, who made plain on Thursday that he disagreed with Dr Williams, was understanding and supportive of the Archbishop’s concerns that he had unwittingly stirred controversy.

Mr Brown is, however, also believed to have encouraged Dr Williams to clarify his remarks where he felt that they had been misinterpreted. The call was made at Mr Brown’s behest as demands for the Archbishop’s resignation escalated. His predecessor, Lord Carey of Clifton, was among those to criticise the speech.

Cabinet ministers are seriously worried about the impact of the Archbishop’s remarks about Sharia on their efforts to improve community cohesion, a central plank of Mr Brown’s strategy since entering No 10.

Hazel Blears, the Communities and Local Government Secretary, has told colleagues that she regards Dr Williams’s comments as “unhelpful” because they were always bound to give rise to misinterpretation, misunderstanding and mythology. “It would have been far better had this not have happened,” a source close to Ms Blears said.