St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church of Hartford and New Britain celebrated its 90th anniversary. This is the second oldest Armenian church in the United States, the Hartford Courant reported.

In celebration of this event, Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Primate of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian, the Vicar General, celebrated the Ancient Mass of the Armenian Church.

The daily also recalled that Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity in the year 301A.D.

The Mass was followed by a banquet, during which a Proclamation was read from Governor Dannel Malloy of the US State of Connecticut as well as a citation from Sixth District Senator Terry Gerrantana.

The Archbishop and Bishop welcomed the new Godparents of the church, Mr. and Mrs. Garabed Tovmassian of Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.

Following the citations, children of the church presented a gift to the Pastor, Archpriest Aram Stepanian, to be given to the orphaned children of Armenia.