Former first minister and DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley has announced he is standing down from ministry in the Free Presbyterian Church he founded 60 years ago.
The 85-year-old former moderator of the church told his congregation in the Martyrs’ Memorial Church in Belfast on Sunday that he was stepping down from his ministry and would now concentrate on his memoirs.
Dr Paisley, now known as Lord Bannside, did not contest his North Antrim seat in the Westminster general election last year – a seat that his son Ian jnr won – and also stood down from the Assembly earlier this year. Dr Paisley founded the church following a falling-out with the main Presbyterian Church of Ireland in 1951. He stepped down as moderator three years ago but continued to preach at his church on the Ravenhill Road in Belfast.