FORMER Stormont speaker Lord Alderdice has resigned from the Presbyterian Church following changes to its policy on same-sex marriage.
Lord Alderdice, an ex-Presbyterian elder, said it was "no longer possible for me to defend the position of the Presbyterian Church".
It comes after the Presbyterian Church in Ireland adopted a new policy that means those in a same-sex relationship cannot be a full member of the church.
Same-sex couples cannot take communion and their children cannot be baptised.
Lord Alderdice said he was concerned with the church's decision to loosen ties with the Church of Scotland due to its views on same-sex relationships as well as the move to leave the World Council of Churches.
"It is no longer possible for me to feel that it is an appropriate expression of my faith and so I have decided - after 30 years as an elder and a lifetime as a member of the Presbyterian church - to resign from the eldership and membership of the Presbyterian church," he told the BBC.
"That is a very difficult and painful decision, but it is one that has come about over a period of time watching the direction of things."
