Entries by stjohn

A SONG FOR CHRISTMAS

Back in 2015, while I was serving at Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Armenian Church in Belleville, Illinois, we had a beautiful Christmas tradition that I will never forget. Every December, our parish community would visit retirement homes and assisted-living centers to sing Christmas carols.

Many of those seniors lived with loneliness. Some were facing serious physical pain. Some could barely speak. Yet the moment the music began, faces softened, eyes filled with light, tears appeared. Those carols reached places words could not. They reminded them that heaven is real and that God has not forgotten them…

BIRTH OF VAHE VAHIAN

Vahe Vahian, born Sarkis Abdalian on December 22, 1908, in Gürün, Sepastia, was a remarkable Lebanese Armenian poet, educator, and intellectual who dedicated his life to the preservation and development of Armenian culture. His early years were marked by the horrors of the Armenian Genocide, during which he lost his father and two brothers but survived alongside his mother and sisters. After fleeing to Aintab and later Aleppo, Vahian pursued his education in various schools before earning a degree in Structural Engineering from the American University of Beirut in 1930. His passion for writing flourished during these years, and he adopted the pen name Vahe Vahian, under which he became a celebrated poet and literary figure…

BELIEVE AGAIN

Children and Christmas just seem to go together, don’t they? There’s something about their wonder, their excitement, the way their eyes light up, that reminds us what faith is supposed to feel like. Jesus once said, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it” (Mark 10:15). He wasn’t talking about age. He was talking about attitude.

Children don’t analyze God; they just trust Him. They don’t worry if the plan looks uncertain; they hold on to the promise. They don’t stand back with arms crossed waiting for proof—no, they run forward believing the best. When a child asks, they expect to receive. When they pray, they believe God hears. When they dream, they imagine without limits…

KING APKAR (APGAR) THE FIRST CHRISTIAN KING

According to Armenian tradition, St Abgar was the first Christian king of the 1st century, the son of the Parthian king Arshakunie Arsham. He was also called “senior man” as he was the wisest of all and a genius. Historian Moses of Khoronk, Assyrian historian Labubnia of Edessa, Greek historians Procopis and Yeusebius have all written of King Abgar. He built the city of Edessa on the site where the Armenian army protected the river crossing of the Euphrates from the Roman captain Casius. Later the king moved the royal palace and all idols from Nisibis to that city.

ABOVE THE FENCES

Have you ever noticed how many fences there are: wire fences, wooden fences, boundary markers that define limits and control movement? They quietly tell us, “You can go this far, but no farther.” And then, almost without effort, a bird flies overhead.

That bird doesn’t slow down. It doesn’t circle back. It doesn’t even notice the fences below. It keeps soaring, free and unbothered. Why? Because the fences were never meant for the bird. They were built for those who walk on the ground, not for those created to fly.

Many of us who were created to soar are living as if fences have authority over us. We let limits, labels, opinions, past mistakes, disappointments, and fears tell us how far we can go. We live cautiously, always checking the boundaries, always afraid of crossing a line…

ST. JOHN CELEBRATES STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY WITH REFLECTION, FELLOWSHIP, AND HOLIDAY CHEER

On Sunday, December 14, 2025, the parishioners of St. John Armenian Church of Metro Milwaukee gathered for a meaningful and joy-filled Stewardship Sunday, centered on prayer, reflection, and fellowship. Following the Divine Liturgy, parishioners heard thoughtful reflections on stewardship and the life of the Church, including insights into parish finances, personal testimony, and a pastoral message emphasizing gratitude, faithfulness, and trust in God…

BEARING WITNESS THROUGH STEWARDSHIP: A TESTIMONY OF FAITH, COMMUNITY, AND GRATITUDE

I was honored when Der Guregh asked me to share a Stewardship Testimony. In our faith, a testimony is about bearing witness to God’s truth, His character, and His work in our lives. I have been part of the Armenian Church my entire life, and I truly believe that God has a unique plan for each of us. He places people in our lives to guide us, teach us, and love us—and He leads us exactly where we are meant to be. Though our journeys are different and our paths are unique, we come together at St. John the Baptist Armenian Church united by a shared faith and by gratitude for the gifts God has entrusted to each of us…

ST. JAMES (HAGOP) OF NISIBIS | Ս․ ՅԱԿՈԲ ՄԾԲՆԱՅ ՀԱՅՐԱՊԵՏ

St. James (Hagop) of Nisibis (Mdzbin) participated in the first ecumenical council in Nicaea (325), where he earned great respect from the Emperor Constantine and the other attendees. He Was born and died in the city of Nisibis (Nusbyien) located in what is now southeastern Turkey, an important early Christian center in Asia Minor and a…

GUARD YOUR MIND

People often ask me, “Srpazan, why don’t you use a case for your phone?” I usually laugh and reply, “Because I like to live dangerously!” But their question always makes me reflect on how cautious we are with the things we own. We wrap our phones in cases, add screen protectors, buy insurance, and polish away every smudge. Some people won’t even put their phone down without a soft cloth beneath it.

We’re so protective of the items that can be replaced… but how careful are we with the things that can’t?

You can always buy a new phone or replace a car, a house, even a job. But your mind—your thoughts and inner life—is your most precious possession…

BIRTH OF STEPAN BALASANIAN

Stepan Balasanian (born December 5, 1837, in Botoșani, Moldavia) became a major figure of the late-19th-century Armenian intelligentsia in the Caucasus. After early schooling in his hometown, he studied in Paris at the Samuel-Moorat College (1852–1855) and the Haigazian School, graduating in 1858. Invited by Archbishop Gabriel Ayvazovsky, he taught at the Khalibian School in Feodosia until conflicts prompted him and colleagues to leave in 1861 and establish a new school in Nor Nakhijevan near Rostov-on-the-Don. His progressive journalism led to his expulsion from Rostov, after which he settled in Tiflis, where he taught Armenian subjects and French at the Nersisian School and also worked at the city’s Royal School…