The Rt Rev Christopher Chessun, the Bishop of Southwark, called for them to be properly resourced to meet existing demands as well as future crises.
In a House of Lords speech heard by ministers, he said there was a need to ensure that the services "upon which our well-being and upon which our very lives depend" were "not pushed beyond the limits of capacity".
As well as highlighting cuts to the fire service and police numbers, the bishop also highlighted previous reductions to staffing in prisons, which in jails in his own diocese, had "impacted on morale and prison regimes adversely".
Bishop Chessun made his stark comments during a debate in the Lords on the Queen's Speech.
Other peers also demanded resourcing for the police and fire services, warning the Government that legislation was not a substitute for adequate funding.
Bishop Chessun said: "Those services which responded so magnificently to the outrages and calamities of recent weeks need the resources both to meet future crises of the moment and the capacity to meet other ongoing demands.
"Compared with 2010 there have been significant reductions in the funding of fire and emergency planning services. The number of police officers has fallen by over 20,000 in England and Wales.
"The Prison Service is now aiming to recruit an additional 2,500 prison officers, but this has to be seen in the context of a previous reduction of more than 6,000 key and experienced staff, which in my diocese in our five very large prisons, has impacted on morale and prison regimes adversely.
"These services upon which our wellbeing and upon which our very lives depend often operate to the limits of their capacity.
"We must take responsibility to ensure that they are not pushed beyond the limits of capacity."
