History

Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church of Webster, Massachusetts reflects the story of its country as much as its community. In the early 1900s, immigrants from Greece and Albania arrived in Webster and the surrounding towns of south-central Massachusetts, bringing with them strong family bonds and the teachings of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Reverend Wolcott Lindsey, an Episcopal priest in Webster, befriended the original immigrants and invited them to worship in the Episcopal Church, recognizing their desire to organize their own community. He served as an intermediary between the Greek Orthodox faithful and the Slater family, who provided the community's first house of worship, a two-tenement house on Pond Court and Thompson Road.

As the community grew, a proper church was established on High Street. The parish had served the Webster area for decades when, on February 28, 1966, a fire destroyed the High Street church. The congregation turned to their neighbors: the Zion Lutheran Church in Webster offered its hall for services while the community organized a building effort. Under the leadership of James Metropoulos, a building committee was formed and the parishioners built their new church in just nineteen months. On May 26, 1968, the doors of the new Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church were opened in a dedication ceremony. Parish Council president Arthur Pappas and long-time chanter Louis Thomas opened the doors together, with Bishop Makris of Olympus presiding.

The parish celebrated its 100th anniversary in recent years, a milestone that reflects the depth and endurance of Orthodox Christian life it has sustained in the Blackstone Valley. The community is known throughout the Metropolis of Boston for its warm and welcoming spirit, its full cycle of worship services, and its vibrant community life, which encompasses an annual Greek Festival, a variety of seasonal celebrations and fellowship meals, and active outreach to hospitals, nursing homes, and those in need.

Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church at 37 Lake Parkway in Webster serves the Orthodox Christian faithful of the Blackstone Valley as a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.