Ireland's first Russian Orthodox church set for Harold's Cross

Metropolitan Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow, and second in seniority to its head, Patriarch Alexei, will visit Dublin next month to investigate opening its most westerly parish church in Europe.

Father Michael Gogoleff, Russian Orthodox Dean of the Republic of Ireland and a priest of its London cathedral, said last night they were in negotiations with the Church of Ireland about acquiring Harold's Cross Parish Church as the first Russian Orthodox church in this country.

He said there were now approximately 1,200 Russian Orthodox members in Dublin, from among 12 ethnic groups, including Latvians, Estonians, Ukrainians, Russians, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Serbs, Belarusians and Romanians.

Currently they attend services at the Greek Orthodox church in Arbour Hill, which has a capacity for just 200.

It was hoped, he said, to obtain permission from Dublin Corporation to alter the inside of the Harold's Cross church to accommodate their needs.

If that permission was forthcoming and the negotiations with the Church of Ireland were successful, artefacts, including icons, would be imported from Moscow, he said.

It was also intended to open a social club on the site as well as a kindergarten and school for the community's 150 children. Most of the work would be done voluntarily by members, many of whom were skilled, he said. Meanwhile each family is paying £30 a month towards projected costs.

Metropolitan Kirill will meet the President, Mrs McAleese, Desmond Cardinal Connell, Archbishop Walton Empey, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, and the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mr Michael Mulcahy, during his visit, from September 13th to 16th.

At 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 15th, he will take part in a divine liturgy at the Greek Orthodox Church in Arbour Hill, which will be attended by representatives of the other churches as well as the Russian, Greek, Cypriot, Bulgarian and Romanian ambassadors and the Serbian charge d'affaires.