The new Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Rev Dr Ivan McKay, was installed in Belfast last night at a ceremony which marked the opening of the church's General Assembly for this year.
A minister of Dundonald Presbyterian Church, he succeeds the Rev Dr Russell Birney, whose year-long term of office ended last night.
Dr McKay was elected Moderator-designate in March when he received one more vote than the Rev Ken Newell in a second election after they had tied in the first round of voting in February.
He describes himself as "traditional" with a preference for the less public side of the ministry.
"The responsibility of being the General Assembly's principal public representative, as the office of Moderator is described, is very daunting," he said.
Addressing the 1,200 delegates and invited guests, the new Moderator introduced his theme for the year, "Proclaiming the Gospel of God".
He reminded people that this was one of the first statements in the constitution of the Presbyterian Church. He expressed concern that, at times even within the church, the gospel was considered unimportant and was used and abused for selfish reasons.
It was, he continued, offered as only one of several acceptable philosophies of life and branded old and stale while decorated with endless trimmings to make it lovely. "How appalling," he commented.
Born in Ballymoney in 1945, he moved to Belfast at the age of two and was brought up in the Oldpark congregation, north Belfast.
He was educated at Methodist College, Belfast, Trinity College Dublin and the Presbyterian College in Belfast. He has served in north Belfast at Bethany congregation, off Crumlin Road. This coincided with some of the worst events of the Troubles.
"I saw and was involved in many situations that shook me to the depths," he has said. "However, the congregation's spiritual resolve taught me lessons I have never forgotten. Making the gospel relevant in such a context was a testing - and influential - experience in my ministry." In 1972 he moved to the rural Ahoghill area.
He then became minister at Brookside where he stayed for the next 24 years. In 1996 he moved to Dundonald. Dr McKay is married to Marleen. They have two grown-up children and two grandchildren.
Dr McKay expressed concern about the current politcal situation in the North.
"I wonder if there has been a time when we have had more difficulties politically. It just seems to me that trust seems to have broken down at every level," he said.
Speaking before his formal election he said: "There seems to me to be a failure of trust now between government and people, and a breakdown of trust between parties and even within parties."
In his outgoing address, Dr Birney said that during the year representatives of the four main churches, and some representatives of newer churches, had sought to grapple with how they were to relate to each other, "surely the most important challenge facing us at this time".
"The general consensus was that, whether we like it or not, our future is together not apart. The question of how we share that future affects us all," he said.
The General Assembly continues at Church House in Belfast until Friday. It will hear reports from 23 boards and committees and is expected to agree about 200 resolutions. This Assembly will be the Rev Dr Sam Hutchinson's last as Clerk.