A liberal bishop from Sri Lanka suggested to his colleagues at the Lambeth Conference today that they should take the afternoon off to settle their theological differences over a game of cricket.

The sporting invitation from the Right Rev Duleep de Chickera, Bishop of Colombo, came in an otherwise hard-hitting sermon in which he reminded all 650 bishops attending that the Anglican Church was an "inclusive" community where everyone was equal, regardless of sexual orientation.

The sermon marked the official start of the conference in Canterbury and confirmed the Church's liberal direction. But Bishop de Chickera - who was preaching at the personal invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams - freely admitted the "reality" of the current divisions over gay consecrations and same-sex blessings.

"The reality is that we are a wounded Anglican Communion," he said. "Some of us are not here and that is an indication that all is not well."

The history of the Lambeth Conference

Our historical guide traces the origins and issues that dominated the agenda at past Lambeth conferences

From the Times Archive, 1867

The first Lambeth Conference had its issues, but participants hoped future meetings would evoke the same fraternal spirit

• 1920 Conference: Birth Control

• 1958 Conference: Family Planning

• 1978 Conference: Ordination Of Women

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Speaking quietly but with passionate insistence, the slightly-built bishop said: "Certainly the crisis is complex. It is not a crisis that can be resolved instantly and the journey ahead is a long and arduous one, a journey that will demand our prayers, our faithfulness, our mutual trust in each other and our trust in God who makes reconcilation possible."

Bishop de Chickera, himself a cricket fan, joked that perhaps the bishops should take a few hours off to sort out their differences as gentlemen and players.

He said: "Sri Lanka is a land of five world religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and cricket. Those of us who organised this conference planned an afternoon aside for cricket - and a game called baseball for the uninitiated."

He added: "In Christ there's enough to go aroud. It is an inclusive communion where there is space equally for everyone and anyone, regardless of colour, gender, ability, sexual orientation. Unity in diversity is the cherished Anglican tradition which we must reinforce in all humilty for the sake of Christ and Christ's Gospel."

The bishop made clear the growing consensus at the Lambeth Conference that the Episcopal Church of the US must not be excluded from the Communion for its consecration five years ago of Bishop Gene Robinson in New Hampshire.

Bishop Robinson was not at the service, because he has not been invited to the conference. Instead, he attended an open air communion and picnic organised by the lesbian and gay Christian community at nearby St Stephen's. The US gay lobby group Integrity will this week launch a new video featuring real-life case studies of gay Africans telling their stories of why they had no choice over their sexuality but still consider themselves part of God's natural creation.

Bishop de Chickeera said: "We are united in spite of the fact we are different because in Christ we are all equal."

He indicated a belief that even those opposed to the gay agenda would eventually change their minds. "The older [mindset] gradually converts as men and women pray and talk and dialogue and even disagree, as we must."

Afterwards, conservatives attacked the sermon while liberals gave it a warm welcome. Bethlehem Nopece, Bishop of Port Elizabeth in South Africa, said: "The parable is about an unknown enemy. We are facing a known enemy whom we must resist. They must be confronted by the gospel in love. If we let everything grow together, we are not carrrying out our Christian service. Inclusion must entail transformation."

But a senior English bishop said: "It was dreadful" and an an Indian colleague added: "They are always saying that this is going to be a long journey."

Earlier, the bishops were given warnings from the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches of how the Anglican innovations risked damaging hopes of "full, visible unity".

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, wrote in a message to Dr Williams: "New issues that have arisen in our relationship pose a further and grave challenge to the hope for full and visible unity that has been the long-standing goal of our joint ecumenical endeavour."

The Orthodox Church's Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said: "Living as we do in an age of anxiety, at a time of rapid change and sharp controversy, it is often difficult for us as bishops to exercise our diakonia in an unifying way. With all our heart we as Orthodox pray that the present Lambeth Conference will prove to be a council of reconciliation and unity, an occasion for speaking the truth in sincerity and without compromise, yet an occasion for speaking the truth in love."

Patriach Alexy of Moscow said: "It seems to me that members of the conference have a very serious task: they have to choose between the traditional, biblical norms of morality and tendencies which consider sin and general permissiveness as manifestations of love and tolerance. That is why there is laid on members of the conference such a great, historic responsibility.

"The decisions you will take today are of immense importance for the whole Christian world, for on them, in many ways, depends the future of the relations of many Christian churches and communities within the Anglican Communion."