A new Romanian Parish in Greater London for the faithful of Dartford and Gravesend

On Saturday, the 6th of September 2025, the Romanian Orthodox community in the eastern metropolitan area of London experienced a special moment: the inauguration of a new parish for the faithful of Dartford and Gravesend – areas regarded as part of London’s eastern suburbs.

On this day, His Eminence Atanasie, the Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, celebrated a solemn Te Deum service in the newly established parish of ‘The Sunday of St Thomas the Apostle’, which is under the pastoral care of the Deanery of London and Eastern England.

With this missionary initiative, the number of Romanian parishes in the London metropolitan area has reached twelve – a significant figure, considering that recent analyses estimate approximately 500,000 Romanian citizens currently live in London and its surroundings.

At the conclusion of the service, His Eminence officially installed Fr Alin Lazăr Zegrean as parish priest of this young community. In his pastoral address, the Archbishop emphasised both the beauty and the responsibility of priestly service, showing that the mission of a priest is to be a spiritual father for all, to care for every soul, and to strengthen the faithful’s bond with God and with one another:

‘A parish priest is called to be a spiritual father for the entire community, to care for every soul, and to labour with love and self-sacrifice in the building up of Christ’s Church. Pastoral ministry is not merely an administrative duty, but above all a spiritual mission: to bring people closer to God and to strengthen their fraternal bond in love and communion.

In a world often hurried and marked by loneliness, the priest’s mission is to be close to the faithful, to listen to their struggles, to share with them the hope of the Gospel, and to reveal through his ministry the face of Christ’s love. We entrust Fr Alin Lazăr Zegrean to the prayers of the faithful and we bless him to begin his ministry with zeal, with gentleness, and with steadfastness, for the benefit and joy of all.’

In turn, the parish priest expressed his gratitude to His Eminence Archbishop Atanasie for the trust placed in him, as well as to the faithful who welcomed him with warmth and fatherly love. He pledged to fulfil his ministry with dedication, responsibility, and love, for the spiritual growth of the new parish and the well-being of the community.

The event was also attended by representatives of the local authorities, including Cllr Jenny Wallace, Mayor of Gravesend, and Mr Peter Whapshott, Mayor of Dartford, who, at the end, conveyed words of thanks, expressing their joy in supporting the Romanian community in the area and wishing the new parish a fruitful and blessed role in the spiritual and cultural life of the region.

The establishment of this new parish forms part of the pastoral and missionary programme of the Archdiocese, which seeks to respond to the needs of Romanians living in Great Britain, offering them places of prayer and fellowship where they may preserve their faith, traditions, and identity, while also serving as spaces of spiritual growth for present and future generations.

Photo credit: GeoPan Photography