The leader of the Church of England is urging Christians not to over react to recent wrangling over wearing crosses in the workplace.

In one case, Shirley Chaplin, a Christian nurse, was told to remove her crucifix. She refused to remove a necklace bearing a crucifix, saying it would "violate her faith." Now she is suing the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Hospital.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams called her case the latest example of a "strange mixture of contempt and fear" against Christianity. But Williams said believers should keep "the larger picture" in mind.

"'Is the God we see in the cross, the God who lives through and beyond terrible dereliction and death and still promises mercy, renewal, life? Is that God too much of a menace to be mentioned or shown in the public life and the human interactions of society?" Williams asked, while speaking at Cantebury Cathedral.

"For Christians, making the cross invisible is dangerously close to making both ultimate tragedy and undefeated love invisible," he added.

The London Telegraph reports Williams wants British Christians to remember that fellow believers are facing true persecution in places like Nigeria and Iraq.