A Church of England spokesman said The Mail on Sunday had taken out of context statements by George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in a soon-to-be-released pamphlet marking the passing of two millennia since Christ's birth.

The newspaper said Carey raised doubts about the central tenet of Christian belief by writing: ``While we can be absolutely sure that Jesus lived and that he was certainly crucified on the cross, we cannot with the same certainty say that we know he was raised by God from the dead''.

In the same message, Carey went on to say he believed in Christ's resurrection, but the newspaper left these quotes out of its report, Church spokesman Steve Jenkins said.

``Archbishop doubts the resurrection of Jesus Christ'' is an attractive headline. Well, put yourpens down. I firmly believe that God raised Jesus from the dead,'' Carey wrote, according to Jenkins.

``This is mischievous journalism,'' Jenkins said of The Mail on Sunday report. ``They've taken his remarks out of context. It is a question of how you define the word `know','' Jenkins said.

``A Christian knows that Jesus was raised from the dead, but it is difficult to help a doubter know that he was,'' he added.

The Mail on Sunday said the Archbishop's comments about the resurrection had raised a ``huge religious and political storm''.