Orthodox New England
The arrival of the Holy Catholic and Orthodox faith in New England is the result of the mercies and grace of God, along with the labors and sacrifices of numerous saints of many backgrounds. Archeological research and legend have it that the first Orthodox Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the 5th century by Byzantine-Carthaginians fleeing persecution and sailing to what is now Connecticut. This research is still speculative and can be counted as legend, and arguably 5th century “Connecticut” was not in any sense New England. Orthodoxy first arrived to Old England in the 1st century through the missionary efforts of Saint Aristobulus of Britain, one of the Seventy Disciples mentioned in the Gospel of Luke...but how did Orthodoxy arrive in New England?
Philip Ludwell III
Orthodoxy first spread to the American colonies in the 1700s by way of one faithful family in the Virginia colony--the family of Philip Ludwell III. They were the first faithful Orthodox Christians to build a chapel in these lands. Philip Ludwell III was a semi-prominent colonist and early opponent of slavery in Virginia who, on pilgrimage to London, discovered the Holy Orthodox Church and converted in 1738. Returning to Virginia, he built a small chapel on his property and kept the discipline of Orthodox worship through ascetical adherence to reader’s services and private prayer.
Philip Ludwell III was a contemporary, acquaintance, and a friend to some of the most well-known Americans in history, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. In fact, it was Ludwell, during his tenure in the Royal Governor’s Council, whose support of George Washington was instrumental in securing the young general's military career. At the end of his life, Ludwell decided to retire to London with his three daughters (his wife had reposed) so that he could finish his life partaking of the Holy Sacraments and attending Divine Liturgy—something still not yet available in the continental Americas in the early 18th century.
While Orthodoxy received it's first seed of faith in Virginia, throughout the 1600s and 1700s, New England remained staunchly Puritan while the Atlantic colonies were decisively Anglican. Aside from the Ludwell chapel, Orthodoxy was only present among the Smyrnian Greeks in Florida, who held Divine Services as early as 1768.
Saint Tikhon, Enlightener of North America (far right)
Observing by invitation at an Anglican gathering in Wisconsin
As time progressed, the Anglicanism of the Mid-Atlantic and New York colonies would provide a great deal of charity and hospitality to Orthodox missionaries arriving in the 19th century. However, before the arrival of continental missionaries, Orthodoxy first had miraculous breakthroughs in the Alaskan lands. In 1794, the Russian Orthodox Church was becoming the home of many Alaskans, including the native Aleuts. However, at that time, Alaska was still a possession of Russia. In mainland North America, it would be the time period of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War when Orthodox Christianity would become cemented in the majority of early American states and in New England.
Saint Sabastian
b. 1863 - d. 1940
Saint Sabastian of Jackson and California, born during the Civil War in the time of Abraham Lincoln, was the first native born American saint and participated in numerous missionary efforts to bring the Divine Liturgy and the Holy Sacraments of the Church to both coasts of the Americas. And due to the charity and generosity of the Anglicans of New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, Orthodoxy was given free space to host Divine Liturgies and for clergy to live safely. As Congregationalists, Protestants, Anglican-Protestants and Roman Catholics began to encounter Holy Orthodoxy, and as immigrant communities continued to support Orthodox parishes, many American communities began seeing the construction of Orthodox Churches that contained diverse membership. Such missionary work would be continued in the North East and especially in New York, New England, & French Canada by Saints Raphael of Brooklyn and Saint Tikhon the Enlightener of North America.
Saint Raphael of Brooklyn
Evangelist of the North East & French Canada
The First New England Orthodox Parishes
Connecticut: 1894, Russian Orthodox parish in Bridgeport.
Massachusetts: 1900, Lowell & Boston Antiochian Orthodox parishes
Maine: 1900, Saco Greek Orthodox parish.
New Hampshire: 1905, Manchester Greek Orthodox parish.
Vermont: 1906, Springfield Russian Orthodox parish.
Over the years countless thousands have converted to Orthodoxy in New England and have built up new parish communities under numerous Orthodox Bishops who serve under the united High Priesthood of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. As Orthodox Christians of the Antiochian Patriarchate, we are in communion with all the brother Orthodox Churches of this blessed land: Orthodox Church of America, Greek Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), and the Latin Rite Orthodox Churches of Antioch (Western Rite).
