Church Life

The Armenians who arrived in Whitinsville starting in the late 1800’s came from the plains of the Old Testament’s Mount Ararat and were people of deep faith and traditions that stretch back to the adoption of Christianity as the national religion in 301 AD. While the first Armenian church in North America was founded in 1891 in nearby Worcester, many Armenians joined the Protestant and Catholic church communities in Whitinsville for worship. In the early years, visiting Armenian clergy performed weddings and wake services in homes, and some families traveled to Worcester or Providence for baptisms. Through many years of saving and fundraising, some of the Armenians of Whitinsville eventually built their own church, consecrated in 1957, on Church Street where it thrives today. Explore the church community memories of the Armenians of Whitinsville in the images, documents, and stories below.