ARMENIAN CHRISTMAS CELEBRATED AT ST. JOHN

St. John the Baptist Armenian Church celebrated the Feast of the Nativity and Theophany of Our Lord (“Armenian Christmas”) on January 7, in keeping with the community’s longstanding custom of observing the holiday on the Sunday closest to January 6. In his Nativity homily, St. John’s parish priest, Rev. Fr. Guregh Hambardzumyan, spoke of the mystery of the Incarnation: Why did God become human? One answer is that through his birth in Bethlehem, Jesus, the Son of God, lowered Himself to …

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“APATHY KILLS”: KERKONIAN ON ARTSAKH AND THE THREAT TO ARMENIA

When international lawyer Karnig Kerkonian was invited to speak at St. John the Baptist Armenian Church, hope remained that Artsakh could survive. But by the time he spoke at the Milwaukee, Wis. church on Sunday, Oct. 15, Artsakh had fallen to Azerbaijan. The Western media, and Western governments, largely averted their eyes from the carnage.A graduate of Harvard and the University of Chicago, Kerkonian is an authority on international law and its application in U.S. courts. He warned his audience that what he was about to say “will be difficult to hear, difficult to digest and even difficult to believe.” The events of the past months constitute a “second Armenian Genocide.”

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HOLY WEEK OBSERVED AT ST. JOHN, GREENFIELD

With the Opening of the Doors on the morning of April 2, the curtains that had concealed the altar for 40 days were finally drawn. Lent had ended and Holy Week began by commemorating Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on the final week before his crucifixion. The bema at St. John the Baptist Armenian Church was decorated with palm fans and palm branches were …

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ST. JOHN CELEBRATES 80TH ANNIVERSARY

On Sunday, Nov. 13, St. John the Baptist Armenian Church of Milwaukee observed its 80th anniversary with Bishop Vahan Hovhannesian, former primate of the Armenian Church Diocese of France, celebrating the Divine Liturgy. ..

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AN EVENING OF OPERA & ARMENIAN SONGS

Two Armenian opera singers, tenor Yeghishe Manucharyan and mezzo-soprano Victoria Avetisyan, gave a concert at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center. The event was sponsored by St. John Armenian Church, as part of its observation of Armenian Culture Month…

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OSCAR TATOSIAN’S STORIES OF ARMENIAN CARPETS

Oscar Tatosian is a familiar name to Midwest Armenians. He was on the Eastern Diocese’s Diocesan Council for many years and continues to sit on the boards of the Fund for Armenian Relief and the Armenian Assembly of America. He is also Honorary …

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MILWAUKEE ARMENIAN FESTIVAL A BEACON OF CULTURE AND HOSPITALITY

Twenty-five years ago, the older members of St. John the Baptist Armenian Church in suburban Milwaukee worried that the parish’s annual summer festival would soon die for lack of young volunteers to do the work. That generation has passed, but younger generations have filled the role of their elders, making the 2022 Milwaukee Armenian Fest the most successful in its long history.

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Church Celebrates Anniversary

On Sunday, November 9, St. John the Baptist Armenian Church celebrated its 79th anniversary with Divine Liturgy followed by a banquet and program. The Diocesan Vicar of the Eastern Diocese, Very Rev. Fr. Simeon Odabashian, was the guest celebrant.

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SAINTLY WOMEN’S DAY 2020

A week before many events throughout the U.S. were being cancelled from fear of the coronavirus, the Armenian Church Eastern Diocese’s annual Midwest Saintly Women’s Day was held as scheduled on March 14. This year’s host congregation, St. John the Baptist, Greenfield, drew attendees from neighboring Armenian communities and the participation of several Midwest area clergy

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Milwaukee Armenian Fest 2018

Armenian Fest has become the Milwaukee Armenian community’s opportunity to give southeastern Wisconsin a taste of Armenian food, culture and hospitality.

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