Members of the Ulster Defence Association staged a protest outside Drumcree Church in Portadown last night.
Several hundred protesters, some wearing UDA tee-shirts, marched to army lines, accompanied by a band playing loyalist tunes. The crowd hurled verbal abuse at security forces but there was no violence. Ms Gina Adair, the wife of jailed loyalist leader Johnny Adair, addressed the crowd, calling for the release of her husband.
The marchers dispersed shortly before 9 p.m.
Members of the District Orange Lodge who have staged nightly vigils at Drumcree for the last three years said they knew nothing of last night's protest until it was over.
"The first I heard of it was when I came up here tonight at 10 and by that time they had gone home," one lodge member said. "No one local was involved in the protest."
Asked if he would like the same people to return on Sunday he said: "If they come on Sunday we'd like to see them in church."
Another Orangeman said the paramilitary protest did not enjoy the support of people at Drumcree.
In the latest spate of sectarian incidents, a Catholic church was the target of an arson attack, and at least three Catholics have been sent bullets in the post.
Minor damage was caused to St Nicholas's Parish Church in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, after a window was broken and a fire started inside the building.
The fire service, alerted by a smoke alarm, quickly extinguished the blaze.
In Armagh, three Catholics reported receiving a bullet through the post wrapped in a piece of paper bearing the message, "24 hours".
Supt Bob Moore of the RUC condemned the threats. "This is despicable and blatant sectarian intimidation," he said.
Meanwhile, police have not ruled out a sectarian motive in a petrol-bomb attack in Portrush, Co Antrim.
The device, thrown through the window of a flat in Glenann Drive shortly after 2 a.m. yesterday, started a fire, which was put out by the fire service.
An RUC inspector has also called on those with legally held firearms to ensure they are properly secured, following a raid on a house in Warrenpoint, Co Down, on Wednesday night.
Insp Randal Ward described as "worrying" the incident in which three men, apparently looking for arms, ransacked a house on the Ballydesland Road, while holding the occupants hostage.
The men left empty-handed after 15 minutes.