The new Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is being installed today at the start of the annual church General Assembly.
The Rev John Finlay (61) minister of Harryville Presbyterian Church in Ballymena, Co Antrim, takes over the role for the next 12 months in succession to Dr David Clarke.
He was elected in February when he was nominated for the post by nine of the 21 Presbyteries who met throughout Ireland to vote .
It is the first time the minister of Harryville has been elected to the office as head of the largest Protestant church in Ireland - it has some 300,000 members.
Harryville was in the news over the years because the local Catholic church and its congregation were the target of loyalists.
Dr Finlay said he regretted what had happened, but said the dispute had been resolved and the situation transformed.
He has expressed the hope that "Harryville can yet be an example of tolerance and mutual understanding."
After being minister of Harryville for 25 years he said he was stunned when selected as the next Moderator.
"I'm overwhelmed by the sense of responsibility placed on me but I accept this honour out of a desire to serve Christ and the Church," he said.
Dr Finlay said he enjoyed living and working in Ballymena, particularly Harryville - a town and community which he said he believed had been unfairly portrayed in recent years.
"We certainly have our problems but we are not the only local community having to face up to sectarianism and the drug culture and I believe Ballymena is making progress in dealing with these difficulties," he said.