[ACNS] The general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Revd Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, has sent a message to the Anglican Primates meeting this week in Canterbury, offering them his “warm greetings” and assuring them of his “heartfelt prayers”.

In his letter, Dr Tveit says: “On the occasion of your meeting as Primates of the churches in the Anglican Communion, I convey to you my warm greetings and assure you of the heartfelt prayers of the World Council of Churches, to which most of your provinces belong.

“The Anglican Communion has offered so much to the churches’ vocation of striving for justice and peace and for visible unity. The ecumenical movement continues to look to you for leadership and inspiration. As you meet, you will contemplate places of brokenness and pain in our world, and we trust through your witness and commitment to a common faith in Christ you will find ways to motivate Christians beyond your own communion towards renewed expressions of mission and diakonia.

“Hope is essential in our Christian faith, and indeed in our relationships and actions as people and churches. The hope we share is far more than simple optimism; the true test is in the actions we take according to the content of our hope, what revelation and values we long to be realized.

“Unity is a gift and a calling. God’s will for all of creation is reconciliation through the love of Christ, and that we might live together in unity guided by the power of the Holy Spirit. This aspect of our faith, this content of our hope, is not optional, but rather is a reflection of God’s own being.

“The WCC’s experience of staying together and moving together as a fellowship of churches has helped many churches to see that commitment to relationship with one another is an enriching, transformative action in hope.”

Dr Tveit concluded his letter with a quotation from Romans 5:5 – “And hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”