Leaders of the Presbyterian Church in the North yesterday accused the Orange Order in Portadown of "failing to commend" either the Christian faith or Protestanism during the 10-month dispute at Drumcree.
A report due to go before the general assembly, the Church's general board, next month said the Orangemen had, "comprehensively ignored" advice to reach a local accommodation or to accept the decision of the Parades Commission.
Had they taken the advice, the general board said, "violence and widespread disorder would have been avoided".
The report also warned Orangemen that parading to and from church is not an absolute civil and religious right if it impinges on the rights of other people.
The report continued: "When people come out of a service of Christian worship and confront the security forces and precipitate crisis which costs millions of pounds, seen the burning of churches and Orange halls and caused people to be driven from their homes, this commends neither Protestantism nor the Christian faith to the millions who watch all over the world and the millions throughout the United Kingdom who have to pay for the consequences of such activity."
The report by the Presbyterian Church comes just over a week after the annual synod of the Church of Ireland urged the Portadown Orangemen to stay away from this year's church parade unless they agree to remain within the law.
Such condemnation by the largest of the Protestant churches in North will undoubtedly enrage the Orange Order.
It will also centre attention on the new moderator, the Rev John Lockington, who is himself an Orangeman.
Once again this year a resolution before next month's general assembly calls on all those involved in contentious disputes to, "co-operate fully with the Parades Commission" and to "abide by the lawfully taken determinations" of the commission.