Pope Benedict XVI publicly shook hands with a clergywoman for the first time in a historic gesture ahead of a service at Westminster Abbey. The Pope joined Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams for the highly-symbolic ecumenical service.
In what marked the first visit by any pope to the Abbey, the pontiff was presented to the Rev Dr Jane Hedges, canon steward of Westminster Abbey.
The campaigner for women bishops joined a gathering of the Abbey's chapter to greet the Pope as he arrived for the hour-long prayer service.
Dr Hedges was also one of those leading prayers during the service, praying for the Queen, Government, elected representatives and community leaders.
The introduction of women bishops in the Church of England, which moved a step closer this summer, has been opposed by the Vatican as a ''break with apostolic tradition'' and a ''further obstacle'' to any efforts at dialogue between the two churches.
To add to the tensions, in July the Vatican listed the attempted ordination of a woman, just as sexual abuse of a child by a priest, as one of the gravest crimes for the Catholic Church.
Members of the 2,000-strong congregation started arriving at the Abbey hours before the service. Among their number were representatives from all churches in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
During his address at Westminster Abbey, the Pope spoke of the need for Christians to talk about their faith even though society had become "increasingly indifferent or even hostile".
He also spoke about the successful efforts to unite the Christian communities since the Edinburgh Conference's appeal for Christian unity 100 years ago.
"In commemorating this anniversary, we must give thanks for the remarkable progress made towards this noble goal through the efforts of committed Christians of every denomination.
"At the same time, however, we remain conscious of how much yet remains to be done.
"In a world marked by growing interdependence and solidarity, we are challenged to proclaim with renewed conviction the reality of our reconciliation and liberation in Christ, and to propose the truth of the Gospel as the key to an authentic and integral human development.
"In a society which has become increasingly indifferent or even hostile to the Christian message, we are all the more compelled to give a joyful and convincing account of the hope that is within us and to present the Risen Lord as the response to the deepest questions and spiritual aspirations of the men and women of our time."
The Ecumenial Celebration at the Abbey "reminded of how greatly the Christian faith shaped the unity and culture of Europe and the heart and spirit of the English people," he said, adding: "Here too, we are forcibly reminded that what we share, in Christ, is greater than what continues to divide us."
He said fidelity to the word of God was an "obedience which must be free of intellectual conformism or facile accommodation to the spirit of the age".
Remembering St Bede the Venerable, he said: "Bede understood both the importance of fidelity to the word of God as transmitted by the apostolic tradition and the need for creative openness to new developments and to the demands of a sound implantation of the Gospel in contemporary language and culture".
The Pope added: "May St Bede's example inspire the Christians of these lands to rediscover their shared legacy, to strengthen what they have in common, and to continue their efforts to grow in friendship.
"May the Risen Lord strengthen our efforts to mend the ruptures of the past and to meet the challenges of the present with hope in the future which, in his providence, he holds out to us and to our world."