A DISAGREEMENT has broken out between some members of the select vestry of a redundant parish church in Dublin city centre and the diocesan authorities over the future of the church building.

St George and St Thomas, a Church of Ireland parish church in Dublin, was closed in 2017 after it was decided that it was no longer financially viable, and its remaining congregation moved to an amalgamated parish next door.

Control of the building was voted over to the united dioceses of Dublin & Glendalough by the select vestry — the equivalent of a PCC — with the understanding that the dioceses would seek to find a new use for the building.

Earlier this month, however, a statement was posted to the old church’s Facebook page from some members of the select vestry, accusing the diocese of breaking promises to revive the parish.

The statement argued that the select vestry had agreed to the diocese’s plan to shut down the church on the understanding that it would be “restructured to enable and release a fresh expression of parish ministry for the promotion of the gospel”.

It also quotes from a sermon given by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Michael Jackson, at the church’s final Sunday service in 2017: “There is every intention on the part of the diocese to find a new use within the Church of Ireland and within the dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough for the very beautiful church building that is St George and St Thomas Church.”

The statement continues: “We are therefore shocked and dismayed that over a four-year period, our church has remained closed, our good and faithful parishioners and select vestry members have been forgotten and our parish has effectively been dismantled.”

It was posted alongside an image of the front porch of the church, full of tents and sleeping bags used by homeless people, and accuses the diocesan authorities of neglecting the building and allowing it to be a “well-known public space for drug dealing and consumption, illegal dumping and even as a most grotesque outdoor human toilet”.

The statement concludes by demanding a special meeting of the select vestry before Easter Day, given the alleged failure by the diocese to uphold its responsibilities regarding the church.

This account has been disputed by the diocese, however, which said in a statement: “On 15 January 2017 at a meeting in St George and St Thomas's Church, members of the Select Vestry (the parish's elected management committee) agreed a resolution that the parish be amalgamated with another parish and that the name of the parish be incorporated into the name of the receiving parish. Following the closing service for the parish on 24 April 2017, pastoral care of the parishioners was taken over by the Parish of Drumcondra and North Strand. In the intervening four years, the care of the building has been undertaken by an oversight committee and the staff of the diocesan office. . .

“The future use of the church building is still under active consideration by the dioceses.”

The Rector of Drumcondra and North Strand, the Revd Garth Bunting, said that he had had pastoral responsibility for the former parishioners of St George and St Thomas for only a short time after the amalgamation in 2017, before other arrangements were made, and had no comment to make on the parish’s dispute.

Kate Esther-Madoo, the honorary secretary of the parish who signed the statement posted on Facebook, did not respond to a request for comment.