About Us
A Western Rite Orthodox Parish in Brookfield
Emmanuel Orthodox Church is a Western Rite parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese — a community devoted to the ancient, undivided faith of the one Church, worshiping in the historic tradition of Western Christianity.
Our Home
A House of Prayer in Central Massachusetts
Our historic white church stands on Lincoln Street in Brookfield, its steeple and gold cross rising above the village. Behind its doors, the beauty of ancient Christian worship comes to life week after week.
We are a family of every age and background, united by our love for Jesus Christ. Whether you have worshiped as a Christian your whole life or are only beginning to ask questions about God, there is a place for you here.
Our Tradition
The Western Rite Orthodox Church
Many people are surprised to learn that the Orthodox Church has both Eastern and Western liturgical traditions. Long before the divisions of East and West, the Church of the first millennium worshiped with a rich variety of ancient rites — Eastern and Western alike — all sharing one Orthodox faith.
Emmanuel worships according to the Western Rite of the Antiochian Orthodox Church. The Western Rite preserves the venerable liturgical heritage of ancient Western Christianity, restored and lived fully within the Orthodox Church. Visitors will notice familiar Western forms of worship — yet grounded in the same sacramental life, theology, and apostolic faith held by Orthodox Christians everywhere.
In short, we are fully Orthodox in faith while worshiping in the historic tradition of the Christian West — the ancient faith, expressed in a Western voice.
Our Story
From a Living Room to Holy Orthodoxy
Our parish's journey is a story of seeking — and finding — the fullness of the ancient Christian faith.
2001
A Church Plant in a Living Room
Emmanuel began humbly, as a small gathering of families worshiping together in a living room. From the very start, the community longed for reverent, historic Christian worship rooted in the faith of the ancient Church.
2001 – 2008
A Charismatic Episcopal Parish
For its first years, Emmanuel served as a parish of the Charismatic Episcopal Church. As the community studied the Scriptures and the early Church Fathers, it was drawn ever closer to the ancient, undivided faith of Christian antiquity.
2008
Received into Holy Orthodoxy
In 2008, the entire parish — clergy and faithful together — was received into the Orthodox Church, entering the Western Rite of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. What began as a search for the fullness of the faith found its home in Holy Orthodoxy.
Meet Our Clergy
Emmanuel is served by devoted clergy and shepherded under the omophorion of our Metropolitan and Bishop within the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese.
Meet Our ClergyWe Invite You
Come and experience the beauty of ancient Christian worship, hear the Gospel faithfully proclaimed, and discover the Church that has preserved the Apostolic Faith for nearly two thousand years.
“Come and see.” — John 1:46