Definately do not try to repair and ride on a damaged fork. The fork is the most important component in the safety of the rider.

In order to maintain your bike's geometry you will need to get a fork with the same amount of rake (measured in mm) and of the same length.

Your bike's handling is largely determined by trail, which is primarily a combo of head tube angle and fork rake. Adding a fork with a different rake will change the trail and adding a fork that is longer or shorter will change the head tube angle, which will change the trail.

A mm or two probably won't make a huge impact on your bike's handling but a difference of 5mm probably will be noticeable. It probably won't be enough to discourage you from riding since a lot of people switch forks. Just get as close as you can.

ETA: I checked the web for your bike and your fork had 44mm of rake. Mid-40's is a very common range for aftermarket forks and Surly has several that are 43mm rake. You would just need to check the length, which is the hardest part to match.