The Church of Ireland Primate, Dr Eames, has said the Northern Ireland talks, which are "facing up to the real matters which have divided us, can make this Christmas a time of genuine hope."
Archbishop Eames was addressing the Christmas Day service in St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh. He said everyone in Northern Ireland had a duty to do what they could to make friends and not enemies of their neighbours.
He warned there was "still a very long road to follow, but there is now a greater sense of realism on both sides of the community."
On Christmas Eve, in Armagh's Catholic cathedral, Archbishop Sean Brady had agreed: "The journey towards a lasting peace has begun but there is a long road to go, the hopes and the work and the prayers must continue. There is one type of hope which is particularly needed just now. It is called magnanimity. The magnanimous person remains undaunted in the face of troubles and has the courage to continue to seek what is best and most promising."
He said it would take "nobility of spirit and generosity of heart and we need that generosity now towards opponents, towards refugees, towards offenders, towards a whole host of people."
He went on: "The peace process offers signs of hope. We have got to hold on to that hope. It offers a vision of peace with justice and without violence, of swords being turned into ploughshares, of the lion lying down with the lamb."
The Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry, Dr Mehaffey, said the greatest threat came, not so much from sectarianism, "as from a form of religion without Christ".
He said: "One of the greatest contradictions and one of the saddest things is that some who make a loud profession of their religion are also people who reveal a strong sectarian spirit. The spirit of sectarianism and the spirit of Christ are mutually exclusive."