PARISHIONERS are rejoicing after finally being able to buy a town centre church.

Colchester’s Greek Orthodox Christian community has finally found a permanent home after a quarter of a century of bidding and negotiating.

The Orthodox Parish of St Martin and St Helen Colchester will permanently move into St Martin’s Church in West Stockwell Street.

With the church building having previously been owned by the Church Conservation Trust, the parish held its sermons from St Helen’s chapel on Maidenburgh Street.

But after a sum of £150,000 was raised over two years, sermons can at last return to St Martin’s church, which had previously been an Anglican church before it closed in 1953.

The building then became a theatre for 30 years before being restored by the Churches Conservation Trust in the late 2000s – but it remained vacant before holding its first funeral in nearly 70 years last month.

Father Alexander Haigh said he was extremely thankful for the community’s support.

Historic – the church had been restored in the late 2000s but has remained largely empty ever since

Historic – the church had been restored in the late 2000s but has remained largely empty ever since

He said: “We are very grateful to all who have supported us with large or small gifts and with goodwill and interest in the parish.

“Several hundred people have given small sums – some have been Orthodox people all over the world, as well as friends of St Martin’s Church and local people who know the church and wanted it restored.

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“Everyone thought it was terribly sad that the church wasn’t used [after it had been restored], and although people have been keen that we should have the church, it has been resisted by the authorities who have owned it.”

Although the purchase of the church building was the culmination of two years’ worth of fundraising, many more years were spent negotiating with the Church Conservation Trust, with Covid-19 delaying the progress yet further.

In the intervening years, parishioners congregated at St Helen’s Church, and then at St Martin’s Church when it was leased out by the Church Conservation Trust.

But with St Martin’s Church now owned by the Orthodox parish, the future looks bright for the congregation.