The Church of Ireland Primate of all Ireland, Archbishop Robin Eames, has expressed a wish to see a "new trust born between the communities in Northern Ireland". In his Easter message yesterday the archbishop said Ireland needed "a new beginning in which the dark days of division are pushed back into history".
"Ireland needs hope for the future - hope that peace will be permanent and lasting so that new generations will be born into a land at peace with itself - a land where fear of violence, fear of the intentions of other communities and fear that what is important to any community will be threatened will cease to exist. "This Easter we continue to search for a permanent peace when we feel dismayed by the remaining obstacles to agreement, to not let us forget how far we have come and how much has been achieved already. When we pray for that permanent peace, let us remember constantly our political representatives on whom so much depends," Archbishop Eames's message concludes.
Meanwhile, in Belfast, St Anne's Church of Ireland Cathedral and St Peter's Catholic Cathedral have marked Good Friday by carrying a 16ft cross for peace between the two places of worship yesterday.
The peace walk was aimed at marking the first anniversary of the Good Friday agreement and formed part of the ongoing partnership between the city's cathedrals.
About 250 parishioners left St Peter's Cathedral on the Falls Road at 11.30 a.m. and arrived half-an-hour later at St Anne's in Donegall Street for a three-hour service.