Manhattan’s New Church sells historic building to Serbian gov’t for $15M

The New Church, a historic Manhattan building described as “one of New York’s most picturesque houses of worship” in the Murray Hill neighborhood, has been sold to the Serbian government for $15 million just over two years after the nearly 200-year-old  congregation shuttered its doors and put the building up for sale in 2020.

The sale was first reported by the New York Post, which was told by Craig M. Dix of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, which represented the church in the sale, that other groups that sought to buy the property included a performing arts group and a religious institution. Tristan Harper of Douglas Elliman who represented the buyers, further noted that the church will likely house Serbia’s new United Nations mission.

Also known as The Church of the New Jerusalem, or Swedenborgian, The New Church, is a very small denomination whose teachings were developed by Swedish scientist, philosopher, mystic and theologian Emanuel Swedenborg. It had fewer than 10,000 members worldwide as of 2,000.

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According to New York magazine, there were some 30-odd Swedenborgian congregations in the U.S., and membership in the denomination peaked at 7,000 in 1900.

“Today there are about a quarter as many,” notes Christopher Bonanos, the magazine’s longtime New York City editor.

Followers of Swedenborg’s teachings, who reportedly rejected or challenged traditional church doctrines, brought his message to New York City in 1805. In the early days of the movement in New York, adherents met at different locations for several years before they were able to settle down in a building they purchased in 2021 on Pearl Street.

In 1838, the church sold the Pearl Street building to the Zion Baptist Society and started meeting in different locations again. They were later offered three lots on 35th Street, near Fourth Avenue, in the 1850s, by James Chesterman, on the condition that a new church building be erected on the property, according to the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

“On July 1, 1858, the cornerstone was laid for a Gothic-style edifice that would measure 75 by 50 feet and cost about $15,000. Designed by James Hoe, the church occupied the rear of the property and was actually in the Italianate Renaissance style,” the website says.

Some eight years later in 1866, a design was made to extend the church’s property on the right side of the building.

By 1990, when the church membership dwindled to 18 members, the church had to close due to water damage to the roof timbers. The church sold some of its property to cover the repairs.

“Ultimately, an adjacent row house was sold for $3 million to finance the $1.6 million restoration of the church, as designed by Alexander Gorlin. Since the reopening of the church, the congregation has encouraged the use of its 220-seat church as a wedding venue,” the Guild notes.

Among the church’s notable members was Samuel L. Waldo, a successful artist who lived near Cooper Square.

The New Church in Manhattan joins a long list of churches that have shut down after the lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

First Presbyterian Church of Des Moines in Iowa, which had been in operation since 1848, closed for good in April 2022. Other churches, like the 221-year-old First Presbyterian Church in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, permanently closed its doors on Christmas Eve 2021 due to declining membership and attendance.

The Potter’s House of Denver also announced plans in December  2021 to sell its $12.2 million megachurch in Arapahoe County, Colorado, and go completely virtual amid declining donations during the pandemic.