10.09.2025
Christ Church Leeson Park Will Continue to be a Place of Worship
Romanian Orthodox Church Expresses ‘Deep Joy’ at Purchase of Christ Church Leeson Park.
Christ Church Leeson Park has been sold to the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Parish of St Bartholomew and Christ Church Leeson Park, announced yesterday (Tuesday September 9). The historic south Dublin church was deconsecrated in March of this year following the difficult decision taken by the Select Vestry to sell the building which was too large for the parish’s purposes.
The Vicar of St Bartholomew’s and Christ Church Leeson Park, Canon Andrew McCroskery, welcomed the news that the building will continue to be a place of worship. “The Romanian Orthodox community have been with us under a licence agreement in Christ Church for nearly twenty years now and we are extremely happy that they are the buyers of the property. The church will continue to be a church – an outcome that so many of us had both hoped and prayed for,” he said.
He said that the sale was tinged with sadness but this marked the start of a new chapter for the much loved church. “For us in Saint Bartholomew’s and Christ Church Leeson Park there have also been mixed feelings throughout this process of sale as we drew our connection with the building, its history and community to a close. It is sad to see our own involvement with Christ Church Leeson Park come to a definitive close at this time, but we take comfort in knowing that the work of the Gospel and the proclamation of God’s Kingdom continues on this site. We wish every blessing for the Romanian Orthodox community as they begin a new chapter in the church and we are grateful for all who have been faithful members of the parish and Select Vestry of Christ Church who loved and cared for their church, enabling us to pass on the building in good order for a new chapter of its life,” he added.
The Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Ireland and Iceland, together with the Parish of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Dublin, announced yesterday “with deep joy, heartfelt gratitude, and great enthusiasm that, as of today, Christ Church in Leeson Park, Dublin, becomes the Episcopal Cathedral of the Diocese”.
In a statement the diocese said the purchase was made possible through the generous support of the Departmentul pentru Românii de Pretutindeni – Department for Romanians Abroad, an institution of the Romanian Government; through the contributions of donors; and through the sacrifice of all those who offered their time, effort, and resources to “make this dream come true”.
“From now on, this Cathedral will be the heart of Romanian Orthodoxy in Ireland and Iceland, a place of prayer, communion, and hope, and a symbol of unity and of the living presence of our ancestral faith in these lands,” the statement concluded.
The final Church of Ireland service of Evening Prayer took place in Christ Church Leeson Park on March 11. In his sermon, Archbishop Michael Jackson encouraged the congregation to cherish the memories of all that had happened in the church over 150 years. “The way this church was used by worshipers and organisations in the past lives on in the spirit of those who were inspired here. That inspiration will continue to mark and celebrate Christ Church Leeson Park,” he said. After the service he read the Act of Deconsecration.
The origins of the church lie in the Molyneux Asylum for the Female Blind which moved from Peter Street to Leeson Park in the 1860s. The Molyneux Chapel was rebuilt and renamed Christ Church Leeson Park in 1874. It became a parish in 1892 and was united with St Bartholomew’s, Clyde Road in 1972. The church, which could accommodate hundreds of worshippers, was closed in 2007. It operated, with a modified right of use, with a Eucharist every Wednesday from 2008.