Paisley To Step Down As Church Leader

Rev. Ian Paisley, the North's First Minister and moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church, announced last week that he would not be seeking reelection as head of his church.

The North Antrim M.P., who has served as the head of the Free Presbyterian Church for 56 years, has been re-elected every time he stood.

The decision not to run comes as critics grow increasingly vocal about the question of separation of church and politics.

The First Minister made his announcement at the church's annual meeting in Belfast. He will step down in January.

How the development will affect his position as leader of the North's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is as yet uncertain.

Despite rumors to the contrary, a spokeswoman for the First Minister denied that he was forced into stepping down after his party's decision to enter government with Sinn Féin in the restored Northern Assembly.

The spokeswoman said: "It was his decision and he is very happy."

However, some sources have claimed that Mr Paisley wanted to avoid public dissent within the church over his dual role.

One insider told reporters, "It became very obvious that if he did stand he would lose and in those circumstances he pleaded with them not to humiliate him and just let it run to the end of the year and just walk away."

The Free Presbyterian Church was founded on March 17th, 1951, after members of the Presbyterian congregation in Crossgar, County Down split from the Presbyterian hierarchy.

Boastiing just four churches in 1951, the denomination has grown to about 60 congregations in the North, and a total of about 100 through the world, located in England, Scotland, the Republic of Ireland, Canada, the United States and Australia. It boasts around 10,000 members.