Archbishop Justin Welby has denounced “the profound evil of antisemitism” as faith leaders marked the mark the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference.

Addressing a symposium in Berlin in a video message, the Archbishop said: “For centuries, antisemitism has been like a volcano in European culture, from time to time erupting with absolute destruction, but always emitting noxious and terrible gases which have poisoned the atmosphere, both in Europe and around the world.”

He warned: “We must constantly be vigilant against the first signs of an eruption coming. We can never ever tolerate any antisemitism. There is no acceptable level of antisemitism.”

Attended by 15 faith leaders, the symposium was organised by the European Coalition for Israel (ECI) and was entitled “The Contemporary Church and Antisemitism — what must we do?”

It explored how the Christian tradition is still struggling to relate to the Jewish faith with respect and dignity.

The event marked the anniversary of the 1942 Wannsee Conference, in which Nazi leaders planned the mass murder of Jews in the final years of the Holocaust.

Tomas Sandell, founding director of the ECI, said the Holocaust could not have happened “without… deeply rooted antisemitic sentiments in the German culture at the time.”

Delegates to the symposium included the secretary-general of the World Evangelical Alliance, Dr Thomas Schirrmacher, and the chair of the Pentecostal Religious Liberty Commission, Dr Arto Hamalainen, representing millions of Christian believers worldwide.