St. John's Greek Orthodox Church (Omaha, Nebraska)

Last updated
St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church
Location

602 Park Avenue

Omaha, Nebraska 68105
Country USA
Denomination Greek Orthodox
Website Church
History
Founded 1907
Dedicated May 4, 1958
Architecture
Architect(s) John Latenser, Sr.
Style Byzantine
Years built 1908
Administration
Diocese Metropolis of Denver
Clergy
Bishop(s) Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver
Priest(s) Rev. Fr. Peter J. Pappas

St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church is located at 602 Park Avenue in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. The original congregation was formed in 1907 to meet the needs of Omaha's then-burgeoning Greek community. The current building is a city landmark that was originally constructed in 1908 for Omaha's Temple Israel, and was sold to the St. John's parish in 1951. [1]

Midtown Omaha

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Nebraska State of the United States of America

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The community of Greeks in Omaha, Nebraska, has a history that extends back to the 1880s. After they originally moved to the city following work with the railroads, the community quickly grew and founded a substantial neighborhood in South Omaha that was colloquially referred to as "Greek Town." The community was replete with Greek bakers, barbers, grocers and cafes. After a 1909 mob attack on the community, Greek immigrants fled from Omaha. Today even though the Greek-American community is smaller than it was in 1909, it includes many prominent doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, business people and others who have achieved great success here. It currently maintains two Greek Orthodox Churches.

History

After large scale immigration to Omaha starting at the turn of the 20th century, in 1908 Omaha's Greeks built Saint John's Greek Orthodox Church at 16th and Martha Streets in South Omaha. The parish finalized the purchase of the former Temple Israel on December 16, 1951. The new church was occupied in 1953 and the original church was sold. The Right Reverend Bishop Ezekiel of the Chicago Diocese officiated the consecration of the new home of Saint John the Baptist parish on May 4, 1958. [2]

John the Baptist major religious figure

John the Baptist was a Jewish itinerant preacher in the early first century AD. John is revered as a major religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism. He is called a prophet by all of these faiths, and is honored as a saint in many Christian traditions. Other titles for John include John the Forerunner in Eastern Christianity and "the prophet John (Yaḥyā)" in Islam. To clarify the meaning of "Baptist", he is sometimes alternatively called John the Baptizer.

Greek Orthodox Church Orthodox Christian denominations descended from a Greek cultural tradition

The name Greek Orthodox Church, or Greek Orthodoxy, is a term referring to the body of several Churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the Septuagint and the New Testament, and whose history, traditions, and theology are rooted in the early Church Fathers and the culture of the Byzantine Empire. Greek Orthodox Christianity has also traditionally placed heavy emphasis and awarded high prestige to traditions of Eastern Orthodox monasticism and asceticism, with origins in Early Christianity in the Near East and in Byzantine Anatolia.

The new building was designed by noted Omaha architect John Latenser, Sr. and built in 1908. Omaha's only Byzantine-style architecture Christian church in the city. [3] When the parish celebrated its 100th anniversary in June 2008, Omaha-native film director and Oscar-winner Alexander Payne participated in festivities. "When you see the beauty of the church, you see why people would never want to leave it," Payne said of the church, where he served as an altar boy. [4]

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References

  1. ↑ "Temple Israel, Omaha" Archived 2008-04-03 at the Wayback Machine ., National Museum of American Jewish History. Retrieved 3/26/08.
  2. ↑ "History", St. John's Greek Orthodox Church. Retrieved 3/26/08.
  3. ↑ Burbach, C. "Greek church celebrates centennial", Omaha World-Herald . June 15, 2008. Retrieved 7/7/08.
  4. ↑ Burbach, C. "Alexander Payne to help church celebrate 100 years", Omaha World-Herald. April 22, 2008. Retrieved 7/7/08.

Coordinates: 41°15′14″N95°57′22″W / 41.25389°N 95.95611°W / 41.25389; -95.95611 (St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church)

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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