Our Mission
Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Christian Church | 71 Chandler Road, Andover MA 01810 | 978-470-0919
The mission of Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church is to proclaim the Gospel in accordance with Orthodox faith; to sanctify the faithful through God's grace in worship, the divine liturgy and other sacraments; enhance their spiritual life; add to their numbers by instructing others and receiving them into the Church through baptism, and /or chrismation; and educate them in the Orthodox faith and in the ethos of the church through the establishment of programs, schools, philanthropic activities and implementing Christian ministries.
THE PURPOSE OF YOUR LIFE.... the Orthodox Christian Perspective
Message by Fr. Christopher
The purpose of every Orthodox Christian (and every human being) is to accept and believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and the Savior of the world – and to Worship theTrinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We then embark on a journey of holiness (wholeness) with the help and divine grace of God.
COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND CLEANSE YOURSELVES
The Bible declares in 2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1 : “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father to you and you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 52:11, 2 Samuel 7:14)
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
"An escape from filthiness requires more than thinking repentant thoughts. For we are enmeshed in a spiritual war zone, entrenched in patterns of sin which become habitual. Often, darkness becomes imprinted in our souls and bodies, so that even our wills are by-passed and we sin automatically.
To cleanse ourselves means that by the promises of God, we embark on a sustained spiritual effort for holiness. This cleansing includes genuine sorrow for our sins, confession, and repentance. It means a willful avoidance of sin-arousing situations, reconciliation with those we have wronged, the resolute practice of Christian virtue, and cleaving to God through faith, prayer and the reading of the Bible. This cleansing also calls us to participation in the holy sacraments – especially Holy Communion.
Is this too difficult for us humans? Yes. Thus it is the Holy Spirit, who cleanses us from every stain and heals our infirmities, who strengthens and empowers us to live this life of peace with God and repentance (personal transformation) before Him." (from the Orthodox Study Bible).
GOD HAS GOOD NEWS AND A GREAT PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE!
Once you truly accept and believe in Him, change will happen in your life, and He will help you become the person that He created you to be. There is no greater joy and no better way to live.
“Life without Christ - is not life.”
Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church - Andover, MA
With the advent of the late 1800’s, word of a new land of opportunity reached the shores of Greece. The adventurous spirit of the Greeks flared brighter at the thought of new horizons and they began to migrate to America with a few settling in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The first priority of these immigrants was to organize a Greek Orthodox Church to meet their spiritual needs.
The date of May 18, 1917 was to become a historic day in the life of the Greek Orthodox Community. On this day, a group of eight Greek immigrants visited the Department of Corporation at Lawrence City Hall to obtain and complete legal documents required for the establishment of a Church for the Greek Orthodox faithful of the area. On July 16, 1917 the official state document stating that “A Greek Orthodox Church bearing the name of Saints Constantine and Helena be established” was received and the search began for a suitable facility to hold services. The founders rented a storefront on Essex Street where services were held until a vacant hall on Broadway became available. Simultaneously, the Greek immigrant women organized themselves into the “Society of Grecian ladies” and worked diligently at fundraising to fulfill the dream of owning their own Church. In 1924, the Ladies Society purchased a plot of land at the corner of Essex and Gale streets in Lawrence. Working hand in hand with the men of the community, the Ladies Society continued fundraising and on August 1, 1936, ground-breaking ceremonies were held for what would finally become their own Church structure.
The Church continued to meet the needs of the community. Fr. George Karahalios became the pastor in 1971 and would lead the parish for the next twenty years. The number of faithful grew even larger, but the neighborhood surrounding the Church began to deteriorate, and a decision was made in 1985 to purchase the Doyle Lumber Company on Chandler Road in the neighboring town of Andover. In 1987, under the leadership of Fr. George and parish council president Charles Liponis, construction began on our new church and on December 4, 1988 “Thyranixia Services” were conducted and another dream became a reality.
From 1991 to 1997 Fr. Paul Pantelis faithfully led the new parish in Andover. In 1998, Fr. Christopher Makiej was installed as parish priest. During the next five years the Church experienced unprecedented growth from the existing two hundred families to over four hundred and fifty families. It became evident that the church facility had to expand in order to sustain the constant flow of new parishioners and to meet their needs with new and expanded ministries. And so the parish boldly embarked on the largest building project of its history: a new Family Life Center to be connected to the Church. Under the leadership of Fr. Christopher and parish council president, David Kalivas, the parish began aggressively fundraising and, by the grace of God and the faithful generosity of our parishioners, dedicated its new twenty thousand square ft. state-of-the-art Family Life Center on May 20, 2007, celebrated by our Metropolitan Methodios on the ninetieth anniversary of the parish!
We are deeply grateful to all the generations of parishioners who sacrificed their time, talent and treasure to the establishment and inspiring growth of our beloved parish. Ultimately we are truly grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ, our master and benefactor, who alone established the Church and paid for it with His own blood on the Cross. He is the true visionary and creator of all things. Since 33 AD all we can try to do is add and expand to what is already established by Him (“we offer to you your own, from what is already yours” – Divine Liturgy). He is the Architect and the Chief Cornerstone of the Church and has laid the foundation with His own body (Ephesians 3:20-22). And we praise and glorify Him for all things, past, present and future.
Amen!
Our Purpose
Parish History
