Bringing the Light of Orthodoxy to the Ancient City of York

The Orthodox Community of St Constantine in the City of York, under the Patriarchate of Antioch, has grown steadily since its founding in 2004. Now, with the blessing of Metropolitan Silouan and our parish priest Fr Michael Alexander, we are looking to raise funds to purchase and restore an ancient church building within the city walls to become our permanent home for the years to come.

York holds a special place in Christian history. It was here that St Constantine was proclaimed emperor, and here that St Wilfrid and St Paulinus once preached the Gospel. God is now renewing that ancient bond, and we are committed to bearing witness to the life of Orthodox prayer and worship here in York, in the English language.

By God’s grace, today our community numbers more than sixty regular worshippers: converts and cradle Orthodox from many nations alongside a growing roster of catechumens. For many years we have worshipped in the chapel of York St John University, and we remain deeply grateful for their hospitality. Yet we can only use it when it is available, and as guests, we have no space for catechesis, fellowship, or shared meals. We need a permanent home, and one that includes space for pastoral care, Christian instruction, and charitable outreach.

The ancient church of St Martin-cum-Gregory began life in the 11th century as a pre-Schism monastic cell, built on Roman foundations dating from the time of St Constantine the Great. Over the centuries this building was expanded and altered to become a much larger place of Christian worship, but in the 20th century it entered a period of decline. Its congregation diminished and it was closed for weddings in the 1940s, before being combined with the neighbouring church in the 1980s and closed as a place of worship in 2004. Since then, it has been used sporadically as an exhibition space but has mostly remained closed to the public.

The Anglican Diocese of York, the current owners, are now looking to sell the building and have agreed with the Church Commissioners for England to grant us six months to raise the sufficient funds to make an offer of purchase. But to convert this building back into a place of Orthodox worship, we need your help! To bring this sacred work to fruition, we must raise a minimum of £750,000.

We invite you — our brothers and sisters in Christ across the world — to join us in re-founding this ancient Orthodox temple into a place of worship of the Holy Trinity once again. Please pray for us, and if you are able, make a donation today. Your gift will help root the Orthodox faith more deeply in English soil and give our growing community a true home for many generations to come, a space worthy of the beauty and depth of the faith we long to share with all who seek it.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.” – Psalm 127:1

We are a registered charity (#1201173) with a governance structure in place, and every contribution to this fundraising drive goes directly toward our Building Fund. All proceeds from this fundraiser will support the purchase, renovation and maintenance of a church building. We are seeking funds to make an offer for the church of St Martin-cum-Gregory on Micklegate, York. Any future use of St Martin-cum-Gregory will be subject to statutory public consultation under Church of England governance structures.

We are a canonical member of The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland under the omophorion of His Eminence Metropolitan Silouan (Oner).

We have also produced a longer documentary short film on our parish and search for a church building which you can watch here.