History:

There are records as far back as the early C13th which show that St Dionis Backchurch stood on the corner of Fenchurch street and Lime Street. The present church building, in Parsons Green, was consecrated on 19th June 1885 by the Bishop of London. 11 years later the tower was completed. The transfer of the ornate font (cover designed by Martin Travers) and finely carved pulpit (possibly the work of Grinling Gibbons) are testament in the ‘new’ church building of its previous existence in the city.

The area had already been served by the patronage of Charlotte Sulivan, who was concerned that the inhabitants of Parsons Green should enjoy facilities for worship. Accordingly, the Mission Hall, which stands on the opposite corner of St Dionis Rd, was completed in 1876, and was consecrated by the Bishop of London for the administration of sacraments.

Who is St Dionis?

St. Denys (or in the Greek form Dionysius), the first Bishop of Paris, was beheaded on the hill of Montmatre in A.D.273. According to legend the body of the Saint arose and carried the head a distance of two mile. Later St. Denys became the Patron Saint of France and an Abbey was built on the spot.

Through the ingenuity of Hilduin, Abbott of St. Denys in the early ninth century, Denys of France was deliberately confused with Dionysius the Areopagite converted through St. Paul’s preaching in Athens (Acts 17). To this Dionysius of the Bible had been attributed some mystical fifth century writing of Syrian origin which has achieved considerable fame. To inflate the prestige of the Abbey, Hilduin composed a fictitious biography of St. Denys in which Dionysius the Areopagite, the supposedly famous author, later became the first Bishop of Paris. In an uncritical age this was accepted without question. So St. Denys is really three different people.

The name “Dionis” is unique, and is presumably a mediaeval corruption due to confusion between the French “Denys” and the Greek “Dionysius