The Primate of the Church of Ireland, Archbishop Robin Eames, today announced his intention to retire at the end of the year.
He made his announcement at the end of his presidential address to the Church of Ireland synod which opened in Armagh today.
Dr Eames (69) has been Archbishop of Armagh for almost 20 years. He said he would be formally retiring on the December 31st.
Dr Eames is regarded as one of the most outstanding church leaders of the past century and has played a leading role in the wider Anglican church.
He later told a press conference that he had informed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in advance of his decision to retire. However he said he would continue to play a full role within the Anglican church over the next seven months.
"He has handed me another project, described as another hot potato, and I am looking forward to the challenge of that," he said.
He said he would be saddened to retire but he said the time was right for him to move on and find other opportunities to serve the community and the country to which he was devoted.
He said he planned to spend more time in the House of Lords where he would focus on social and educational matters.
The archbishop issued a blunt appeal to Northern Ireland's politicians to make an agreement after the return to Stormont next week in a bid to find a way of restoring devolution.
He said he knew there was much scepticism of their chances of success, but said he thought that was because there had been too many false storms.
This afternoon the President Mary McAleese wished the Church of Ireland Primate well, noting he had been a strong and insistent advocate of tolerance and respect for others throughout his ministry.
"A prominent advocate of peace and understanding, he is a man of deep faith who has made a profound difference to the religious, political and social landscape of this island over the last 20 years," she said.