Clerics form across Ireland give their reaction to yesterday's historic developments.
Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Robin Eames said that yesterday's announcement of IRA decommissioning represented "a massive step" for Irish republicanism.
However he also said that "so many people who have been disappointed in the past will take a great deal of convincing and we must understand their thinking".
The announcement could "become a major step towards a peaceful and just society if it heralds the end of all criminality and violence in future".
He urged that "all politicians reflect carefully on what has been stated and measure their response most carefully".
He added he fully respected and accepted the integrity and judgment of Fr Alec Reid and the Rev Harold Good, "who have offered such a clear picture of their experiences".
The president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Rev Desmond Bain, said this was a time for calm and reflection in order for the full effect to become evident, including the important reporting of the Independent Monitoring Commission during the next number of months.
He welcomed "the fulfilling of the IRA promise to put the weapons beyond use. As a church we have always had confidence in Gen John de Chastelain and the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning and we totally respect the integrity of the observers and what they have said."
Decommissioning had "opened wide the door for progress towards better understanding and everyone now needs to work for the trust that will bring us all closer to the future of justice and peace that God intends," he concluded.
A spokesman for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland last night said they intended waiting a few days before commenting on yesterday's events.
The North's Catholic bishops, in a statement last night, said the announcement represented "an immensely significant confidence building measure in favour of a new, peaceful and stable society in Northern Ireland."
They expressed the hope that all of those in positions of leadership would continue to affirm the political process as a means to resolve any remaining issues in the search for peace, and called on all other paramilitary groups to affirm their commitment to exclusively peaceful and democratic means.
The Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Rev John Neill, said the news "hopefully marks a step forward towards peace-building on this island". He said a culture that rejected violence and refused to glorify it in any manner must be established.
"This is a prerequisite for the healing of bitter memories. Such healing lays the foundation for the confidence and trust without which there cannot be lasting peace."
Patsy McGarry