St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church is located at 602 Park Avenue in Midtown Omaha,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. 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.

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 The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

at 16th and Martha Streets in

South Omaha South Omaha is a former city and current district of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. During its initial development phase the town's nickname was "The Magic City" because of the seemingly overnight growth, due to the rapid development of the Union S ...

. 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. 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. When the parish celebrated its 100th anniversary in June 2008, Omaha-native film director and

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

-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 An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helps bring up the gifts, brings up the book ...

.Burbach, C
"Alexander Payne to help church celebrate 100 years"
''Omaha World-Herald''. April 22, 2008. Retrieved 7/7/08.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Johns Greek Orthodox Church, Omaha, Nebraska Churches completed in 1908 Churches in Omaha, Nebraska 20th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Greek Orthodox churches in the United States Greek-American culture in Omaha, Nebraska 1907 establishments in Nebraska