The roots of the St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Church Dublin can be traced to the early migrations to Ireland, primarily health sector professionals, from the mid-1970s. Although there are no documented records of the exact number of Malankara Orthodox families, it is estimated from the memories of faithful of the time, that around 25 families were based in and around Dublin. These early migrants were offered spiritual support by priests who visited from the UK. In 1989, under the leadership of Fr. V.M. James (now Metropolitan Yakob Mar Elias), the faithful in Dublin organised the first Orthodox prayer group in Ireland, marking a significant milestone for the Malankara Orthodox community. Family Conferences were also organized during this time. In later years, fellowship meetings continued with prayer gatherings led by Fr. Thomas Yohannan. However, owing to remigrations to UK, USA, and Canada in search of better prospects, the number of faithful dwindled.
A new chapter turned page in the early 2000s with a new wave of Indian Orthodox faithful arriving in Ireland in search of professional and academic prospectives. This era was of great significance as it marked a growing number of faithful establishing permanent residencies in the country. Several faithful, including members from sister Churches congregated at various places for prayer fellowships during this time. Gradually, the Malankara Orthodox faithful recognized the need for a priest and a place of worship. This was communicated to Metropolitan Philipose Mar Eusebios, who at the time served as the Inter-Church President. Through deliberated efforts, Fr. Varghese T. Mathew (Bristol, UK) was invited to Dublin to celebrate Holy Qurbana in April 2004. These services held at St. Maelruain’s Church in Tallaght united believers from various Christian denominations as the St. Gregorios Congregation. Such efforts continued until July 2005, when visa restrictions gave way to certain logistical issues. These issues motivated the Orthodox faithful to boost efforts to establish an independent Orthodox congregation in Dublin.
Upon the request of the Orthodox faithful, late lamented Metropolitan Dr. Zachariah Mar Theophilos (then President of MGOCSM) nominated Fr. Dr. K.M. Koshy Vaidyan (Thevalakara, Kerala – Diocese of Kollam) to serve the Congregation with the approval of relevant authorities. Arriving in Dublin in January 2006 as a student at Maynooth University with the permission of late lamented Metropolitan Dr. Thomas Mar Makkarios (then Diocese of Canada, UK and Europe), Fr. Vaidyan conducted the first Holy Qurbana at St. Maelruain’s Church on 15 January 2006. A Governing Body was elected from among members on 12 February 2006.
As per the request of the members, the Congregation was formally recognised by the Diocesan Metropolitan as the St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Congregation Dublin on 26 February 2006.
Services were initially held twice a month at St. Maelruain’s Church in Tallaght. With the increase in the number of newly migrated faithful, services expanded to all weeks with alternate services being held at St. Ann’s Church in Dublin city centre. This benefitted several owing to easier accessibility.
As the fraternity of the community grew, the urge arose to own a premise for worship. Under the leadership of Vicar Fr. Dr. Koshy Vaidyan, formalities towards this commenced with resolutions taken at the General Body which met on 17 May 2006. Processes for registration with the concerned bodies commenced, and the Church was officially registered as ‘The Indian Orthodox Church Limited’ on 08th August 2006, and later as a Charity Organization on 13 May 2008. Memberships in the Parish which was a mere 13 at the start of 2006 grew to 43 by the end of the year, with a monthly subscription system introduced in August 2006.
On 01 May 2006, through an official circular (Kalpana) from late lamented Metropolitan Makarios, the Congregation was elevated to the status of a Parish. This was formally proclaimed by him during his first Episcopal visit to Ireland in December 2006. The visit of Metropolitan Makarios was noteworthy as it helped to build new relationships with other denominations. The meeting with Rt. Rev. John Neill (Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin) proved particularly fruitful as it paved way to acquiring the permission to use the St. George and St. Thomas Church (Cathal Brugha Street), where services have continued to this day. Holy Qurbana commenced at this venue on 18 February 2007. During his second visit to the Parish in December 2007, Metropolitan Makarios emphasized the need for the Orthodox community in Ireland to have an owned place of worship and even made the very first financial contribution towards this dream. Metropolitan Makarios tragically succumbed to injuries from a motor crash in late December 2007 and demised on 23 February 2008. The Parish is forever indebted to him.
With the reorganisation of Diocese in 2009, the Holy Episcopal Synod included Ireland under the newly formulated Diocese of UK, Europe and Africa, appointing H.E. Dr. Mathews Mar Thimothios as its first Metropolitan. Metropolitan Thimothios paid his first episcopal visit to Dublin in June 2009, during which time he also met with leaders of various Christian denominations extending greetings and helping to foster stronger relationships.
The next major milestone in the journey of this Parish was in 2010 when the first Parish Centre (34 Liffey Park, Lucan, Co. Dublin) was purchased, which was blessed by Metropolitan Thimothios on 29 June 2010 and named Malankara House. After six years of dedicated and faithful service, Fr. Dr. K.M. Koshy Vaidyan returned to India in September 2012. Fr. Prof. George Varghese (Anandapally, Kerala – Diocese of Adoor-Kadampanadu) arrived in September 2012 to take up the responsibilities of Vicar and continued until June 2014, when Fr. Anish K. Sam (Vakayar, Kerala, – Serving for Diocese of Chennai) arrived.
The next landmark event was the relocation of the Parish centre to the newly purchased 62-cent property in Palmerstown (Dublin 20, D20VP97) on 27 August 2017. The funding towards this was achieved from the sale proceeds of Parish centre at 34 Liffey Park, Lucan, Co. Dublin as well as the generous contributions of members and other faithful. Following the completion of his tenure, Fr. Anish K. Sam returned to India and was succeeded by Fr. Dr. Anish John (Delhi – Diocese of Delhi), who took charge in June 2017. The Parish gratefully remembers the efforts of Fr. Anish K. Sam towards achieving the Palmerstown property. At the blessing of the home, the centre was named as Malankara House and a room in it was converted into a Chapel and dedicated as ‘St. Gregorios Chapel’ by Metropolitan Thimothios.
The filing of Planning Permission procedures for a place of worship commenced in June 2018 and this was approved in August 2018 (Ref. SD17A/0466). However, the onslaught of Covid in early 2020 brought the process to a standstill. The Parish thankfully remembers Fr. Dr. Anish John who meritoriously led the Parish through the tough pandemic times. In August 2022, Fr. Dr. Abraham Koshy Kunnumpurathu (Chengannur, Diocese of Chengannur) took over as Vicar of the Parish. November 2022 marked a new chapter for the Diocese of UK Europe and Africa as H.E. Abraham Mar Stephanos took charge as Diocesan Metropolitan. He made his first episcopal visit to the Parish in January 2023.
Owing to the time lapse in the permissions granted in 2019, an amended planning permission was filed in July 2023, and permission was granted in April 2024 (Ref. SD23A/0177). Owing to personal circumstances, Fr. Kunnumpurathu returned to India in December 2023, and Fr. Dr. Anish John was reassigned as Vicar-in-charge from January 2024. Under the guidance of the new Diocesan Metropolitan H.E. Abraham Mar Stephanos, a major milestone was achieved with the Groundbreaking Ceremony on 03 June 2024 by Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan HH Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, during his first Apostolic visit to Ireland for the Malankara Orthodox Sangamam at Maynooth University Campus.
Fr. Stanly David James (Thottupuram – Serving for Diocese of UK, Europe and Africa) took over as Vicar from July 2024. Site clearance works commenced in August 2024 and the Laying of the Corner Stone for the Church was prayerfully done by Diocesan Metropolitan Stephanos in the presence of the Parish faithful on 08 September 2024. The works were completed in late August 2025, with the Architect officially signing the Practical Completion. The property was handed over by the Contractor (Cascade) to the Parish in early September 2025. Faithful of the Parish dexterously worked together to prepare for the Consecration of the Church, which was held on 04 and 05 October 2025.
The Parish has continued to dedicatedly works for the spiritual growth of its members as well as others through regular Sunday School, Youth fellowships (OCYM), Women’s fellowships (MMVS), Choir groups, Prayer Meetings at members’ homes and Acolytes (AMOSS) activities. It is a matter of pride that the Sunday School of the Parish has been overall champions at the Diocesan Talent Competitions consecutively for the past three years.
Over the years, the Parish has maintained active participation in several ecumenical bodies such as the Irish Council of Churches (ICC), Dublin Council of Churches (DCC), and Dublin City Interfaith Forum (DCIF), Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME), taking part in events such as St. Patrick’s Day Ecumenical Prayer, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and Annual Garda Memorial Day. Representatives of the Parish, including Vicars have served as members of Governing and Executive Committees on several forums, attended several international forums such as Conference of European Churches (Serbia), European Parliament (Brussels), European Churches Environmental Network (Poland) and have also extended cordial relationships with several sister Churches and denominations across Dublin.
The Parish is actively involved in charity and social outreach programmes such as offering assistances to Capuchin Day Centre Dublin, medical aid assistances to several in Ireland and India, as well as exceptional events such as assistances to earthquake victims in Turkey, flood victims in Kerala, etc. It also actively supports environmental initiatives, distributing saplings through the Tree Council of Ireland and is a proud recipient of the Eco Awareness Award from Eco Congregation Ireland. The Parish has also proudly supported the advanced education of its clergy, supporting two priests in their doctoral studies and one in a master’s program.