Hi °C | Lo °C First Minister Ian Paisley is set to remain as Free Presbyterian moderator despite unease within the church over the DUP's power-sharing deal with Sinn Fein.
The annual general meeting of the presbytery takes place at Martyrs' Memorial in Belfast on Friday.
Mr Paisley did not want to make any comment on reports he could face a challenge for the position.
A spokesperson for him said the issue was entirely a matter for the presbytery which in June debated the DUP decision to enter government with Sinn Fein.
There has also been speculation, however, Mr Paisley could announce he is standing down because of the pressure of work in the Office of First and Deputy First Minister.
But senior church sources told the Belfast Telegraph it was "extremely likely" that Mr Paisley will be re-elected as moderator, as he has been annually for more than 50 years.
"We are not expecting anything untoward," one member of the church leadership said.
Another source added: "The overwhelming feeling is that the church should not be dragged into the mire of politics."
There have been reports one elder in Magherafelt was suspended after criticising political negotiations taking place on the Sunday before the DUP-Sinn Fein deal was unveiled.
Mr Paisley, however, recently hit back at critics within his church in an editorial in the latest edition of his church's magazine The Revivalist.
"There are ways to deal with disputes in the church and that way is clearly not the way of slandering God's leadership," he said.
