A controversial silent disco held in one of Britain's most iconic cathedrals may never be held again despite raking in around £12,000.

The discos - dubbed the 'Rave in the Nave' - were held to raise much-needed funds for the historic Canterbury Cathedral and were heavily criticised by some Christians as an 'alcohol-fuelled rave in God's house'.

The two sellout events held earlier this month got positive views from the 3,000 party-goers who attended the event.

The 90s-themed silent discos saw headphone-wearing hedonists dancing to tracks from the likes of the Vengaboys, All Saints, the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears.

Glowstick-clutching revellers danced the night away in the 1,400-year-old religious landmark's iconic Nave, which was illuminated by LED lights from the headphones.

However, not everyone was happy at the events - at which beers were sold for £5 and wine for £6.

Crowds of ecclesiastical Christian protesters gathered outside the Kent cathedral to sing hymns as ravers entered, furious at the events which they claimed were 'the very opposite of holy'.

One pious protester, Tom Alberto, claimed Canterbury Cathedral was the birthplace of Christianity in England, saying: "Saint Augustine landed here almost 1,500 years ago, and there’s going to be a rave inside there tonight."

"Alcohol is going to be served. It’s the very opposite of holy." "

Church leaders had argued the two discos, held on a Thursday and Friday night in February, were needed to reach out to younger generations and help raise the large sums of money the cathedral needs to survive.

Dr Cajetan Skowronski, a medical doctor involved in the Sacred Matters campaign group which opposes cathedrals in the UK being turned into 'nightclubs', said events such as Canterbury's silent discos served to 'diminish' the Christian faith across the country.

"While respectful of our right to protest, the Dean was dismissive of our petition, stating that we were an extreme minority - for not wanting an alcohol-fuelled rave to the music of Eminem in God's house," Dr Skowronski said. "

"If we do not resist, our ancient temples will become nightclubs on a regular basis, and the Christian faith in this country will be further diminished."

But despite these fears, the silent discos were described as having been 'pretty tasteful and inoffensive', with one reviewing partygoer saying: "If the fear had been it would descend into a drugged-up end-of-days party, it pleases me to confirm this was not the case. "

"Everyone was tremendously friendly and polite, with big cheesy grins worn by all. "

"There was a lot of love in the room. The event did bring people together where possible." "

Officials from the Cathedral, which was founded by St Augustine in 597 AD and is one of the UK's most-visited historic sites, said they'd received 'overwhelmingly positive' feedback for the events.

However, the discos weren't able to raise as much as had perhaps been hoped, with organisers saying they didn't know if other such events would be held in the future.

A spokesperson for Canterbury Cathedral said: "The figures are yet to be confirmed but we estimate that the silent disco will generate much-needed income to the Cathedral of between £10,000-£12,000 after costs."

"A decision hasn’t yet been made as to whether or not we’ll offer a similar event in the future."