The Archbishop of Armagh, Most Rev Dr Seán Brady, will be the first Catholic primate of All-Ireland to attend an opening session of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which takes place in Belfast from Monday evening.
On May 11th, Archbishop Brady was the first Catholic primate of All-Ireland to attend a Church of Ireland General Synod. It took place in Armagh this year.
Archbishop Brady will attend the General Assembly opening session as a personal guest of the Moderator-designate of the Presbyterian Church, Rev Ken Newell, whose installation as Moderator for the coming year takes place on Monday evening.
As recently as 1999, the General Assembly itself voted not to extend its invitation list to attend its sessions to additional churches. That meant continuing the practice of not inviting representatives of the Catholic Church. Since the 1970s, both Church of Ireland and Methodist Church representatives have been invited.
The decision to invite Archbishop Brady has led to some protests within the church.
Three of its 21 presbyteries in Ireland - at Foyle, Tyrone, and Ballymena - wrote to Rev Newell expressing concern and hurt at the invitation.
It was pointed out to them in reply that the invitations were personal and that Rev Newell's guests would sit in the Assembly gallery, along with his family and friends, as is customary.
Representatives of churches invited by the General Assembly itself sit with delegates in the main hall.
Rev Newell has also invited the Church of Ireland primate of All-Ireland, Archbishop Robin Eames, and the president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, Rev Jim Rea, as personal guests. It is believed all three church leaders - Archbishop Brady, Archbishop Eames, and Rev Rea - plan to attend.
In June 2002, deep divisions emerged among delegates at the General Assembly in a debate over the attendance of Belfast's then Sinn Féin Lord Mayor, Mr Alex Maskey, at its opening night.
Mr Maskey was there in response to the church's customary invitation to the city's first citizen to be present for the installation of the new Moderator. Delegates, mainly from the Tyrone and Ballymena areas, felt the decision to invite Mr Maskey had caused deep hurt.