The head of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, said that "no sacrifice is too great to be obedient to the call of Christ that we may be one".
Speaking to Vatican Radio at the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which is taking place in Busan in South Korea, he also said he hopes to "produce a few surprises" with Pope Francis on the relations between the two Churches.
Welby said the divisions in the Church were a reflection of "the diversity of our world", noting that the longer different church communities existed apart from each other, "the more our different communities embed their own institutions and put down roots". "That makes it harder and harder for us to say, well, actually, perhaps we need to reimagine what it means to look like the Church and to surrender some of the things that give us our sense of identity in the cause of Christ," he said.
He said bodies such as the Anglican-Catholic dialogue commission ARCIC were working through "extremely important doctrinal and dogmatic differences". "We need to make sure we're working on them in the context of Churches and ecclesial communities that say no sacrifice is too great to be obedient to the call of Christ that we may be one," he added. He went on to express "hope" that the revised legislation for women bishops in the Church of England would be passed at General Synod this month.
The archbishop reiterated his praise for Pope Francis, saying: "God has given you, and given us all, a great Pope." Asked about what joint initiatives he and Pope Francis may announce during his next visit, which Vatican Radio said would take place in the spring, he declined to give any details except to say: "We're hoping to produce a few surprises."
Asked how concerned he was about a potential split with traditionalist Anglican bishops of the Gafcon group whom he recently addressed at their meeting in Kenya, he said: "I rejoice in groups, like Gafcon, with many others across the Church, with lots of different perspectives, which ... remind us of the breadth and depth of Christian commitment that we need. So, I'm grateful that they force me back to think and I listen to all of them."
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