PORTLAND – A Portland rabbi can continue to hold prayer services at his home now that the city has reversed its order that barred the weekly meetings on grounds that they ran afoul of zoning regulations.

The Zoning Board of Appeals late Thursday agreed with a 5-0 vote to allow Rabbi Moshe Wilansky to host Saturday worship sessions that drew complaints from a neighbor over parking issues.

The vote came after a demonstration on the steps of City Hall and pleas from the orthodox rabbi’s supporters. Some expressed fear that the city’s interpretation of what constitutes a “place of worship” could have put home-based prayer groups at risk.

“This is a part of our traditions that has existed since the beginning of Christianity,” said Eric Smith, congregational outreach coordinator for the Maine Council of Churches.

A representative of Bishop Richard Malone of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland cited religious practices during the nation’s early history as he urged the board to reconsider the city’s position.

“This issue hits pretty close to the heart of all Christians. The only place we worshipped (in early times) was in our homes. Are we going to deny that right to the Jews?” said the Rev. Richard Senghas.

Wilansky, a member of the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Chabad Lubavitch movement, has been holding the meetings for years. They draw about 15 worshippers, most of whom either walk or get a ride. Wilansky said the sessions draw only five or six cars.

In May, Zoning Administrator Marge Schmuckal directed Wilansky to halt the meetings, noting that a place of worship in a residential zone must sit on a lot of at least two acres. The rabbi’s home is on less than a quarter acre. Schmuckal also pointed to an advertisement on the Chabad of Maine Web site as proof that the home is open to the public for the Sabbath services.

Rejecting the suggestion that Wilansky’s home was a synagogue, members of the appeals panel said the rabbi pays taxes on the property, has no sign outside that advertises the services and does not hold religious services such as weddings at the site.

“The big events that happen in a person’s religious life don’t seem to be taking place here,” board member Deborah Rutter said.