The building has lain empty for almost a year and has been a target for vandals.

The church said it has been struggling in terms of managing charity governance responsibilities since 2013, leaving the site in a ‘poor state’.

The Church of Scotland has previously said that the building is in need of hundreds of thousands of pounds of urgent repairs, The Press and Journal reports.

A spokesman said: “The Presbytery of Aberdeen and Shetland worked tirelessly with local office bearers to try to find a positive and long-term sustainable solution to financial challenges and declining numbers, to try and ensure the congregation continued to serve at the heart of the community.

“Dissolution of the congregation was the last resort after an extensive and lengthy process of consultation and discussion during which the congregation was unable to reach a compromise position that would have seen a church presence of some kind continue in Garthdee.”

Local organisations and members of the church attempted to save the building in 2018 after ti was announced it could be knocked down due to the high cost of maintenance and the dropping numbers in the congregation.

After the launch of a campaign by the Garthdee Community Council, the Presbytery of Aberdeen proposed a merger between Garthdee Parish Church and Mannofield Church, which would have established a united church with a new facility in Garthdee for outreach work.

Although the proposal was welcomed by the minister and office bearers at Mannofield, members of the Garthdee congregation voted against the plans.

The demolition plans mean that the congregation will be dissolved, with all assets transferred to the general trustees of the Church of Scotland.