Peterborough Cathedral declared it is 'in crisis' and will not be able to stay open seven days a week unless it receives a vital cast boost.
Religious leaders at the medieval abbey have cited a decline in donations and impending rise in National Insurance (NI) costs for its cash woes.
Cathedral Dean, the Very Reverend Christopher Dalliston, warned the church, built in 1118AD, would need to 'drastically reduce' what it can offer its flock without an urgent injection of funds.
It comes after the Dean suggested Chancellor Rachel Reeves' tax-raid budget was partly behind its financial strain, after she ordered an increase to employers' NI contributions.
The Very Rev Dalliston told the Telegraph: 'We must urgently address this current situation. We risk closing our doors.
'We risk the loss of some of these critically important programmes that benefit so many in our city.'
He added the problem, fuelled partly by the cost of living crisis, was not just specific to Peterborough.
So far a number of public events hosted by the cathedral such as a 'rave in the nave' disco and £39-a-ticket 'night of Ibiza classics' have managed to stave things off but rising costs prove increasingly difficult to manage.
In a conference on Monday morning where he launched his Cathedral in Crisis fundraising campaign, the dean said: 'This cathedral has been at the heart of the diocese for nearly 1,400 years. It belongs to everyone in this city and beyond. We urgently need your support to keep its doors open and ensure it remains a place of inspiration and sanctuary for all.'
It currently costs around £2 million to run the building each year, with 15 per cent of the cathedral's income being made up of a church of England grant.
Worship and musical programmes as well as educational initiatives are currently in the firing line as activities Peterborough Cathedral is hoping to maintain.
The dean said: 'Our income has kept growing, but we have faced really difficult financial impacts. Covid, the cost of living crisis, rising fuel bills, increasing employment costs – all of this has meant that our outgoings have risen faster than our income.
'Our situation is particularly acute and our reserves are few. We have virtually nothing to draw on to help us ride through this particular storm.'
He also suggested to the BBC that the cathedral might have to consider introducing a visitors’ fee, as 'whether we can continue to make it free as we have really longed to do' was now up for discussion.
So far a number of public events hosted by the cathedral such as a 'rave in the nave' disco and £39-a-ticket 'night of Ibiza classics' have managed to stave things off but rising costs prove increasingly difficult to manage
Peterborough Cathedral was founded in the Anglo-Saxon period and dedicated to the Apostles St Paul, St Peter and St Andrew.
Catherine of Aragon - Henry VIII's first wife - has been buried in the building since 1536 with gold letters at the site reading "Katharine Queen of England", a title she was denied at the time of her death.
In 1587, the body of Mary Queen of Scots was initially buried at the Cathedral after her execution but was later removed to Westminster Abbey on the orders of her son, King James VI of Scotland and James I of England.