St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church
Սբ. Աստուածածին Հայց. Առաքելական Եկեղեցի
200 W. Mt. Pleasant Avenue,
Livingston, New Jersey 07039
Introducing Father Voskan
The Rev. Fr. Voskan Hovhannisyan was born on September 4, 1989, in Etchmiadzin, Armenia, one of three children of Hrach and Alvard Hovhannisyan. He was christened Andranik on October 6, 1990, in honor of his grandfather, Andranik Hovhannisyan, and received his early education in local Armenian schools. He also pursued musical studies at the Makar Ekmalyan Music School in Etchmiadzin.
In 2006, Andranik felt a calling to the priesthood and was admitted to the Vazgenyan Seminary in Sevan, where he studied for one and a half years. He later received a bachelor’s degree in theology from the Gevorgyan Seminary in 2010. During his studies, he served as the canon sacrist of Soorp Araqelotz Church adjacent to the seminary, overseeing the care and maintenance of the church and assisting with services. In 2007, he was ordained to the rank of acolyte in the St. Hakop Chapel of Vazgenyan Seminary by His Grace Bishop Markos Hovhannisyan, the former Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Gegharkunik.
From 2010 to 2012, Fr. Voskan continued his theological studies at the Gevorgyan Seminary of Holy Etchmiadzin. During this time, he served as the canon sacrist of several chapels: the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the St. Vardan-Hovhannes Chapel, and the Holy Archangels Church of the Gevorgyan Seminary. On December 25, 2010, the Feast of St. Stephen the Protomartyr, he was ordained to the Diaconate by His Grace Bishop Artak Tigranyan. In 2012, he graduated with a master’s degree in theology.
At Holy Etchmiadzin, Fr. Voskan was appointed Secretary of the magazine Etchmiadzin (the Official Pontifical Magazine of Holy Etchmiadzin), where he wrote, edited, and designed content, including scholarly articles. Concurrently, he taught at the Gevorgyan Seminary, instructing in Armenian Church Music, Christian Teaching, and Pastoral Theology. He also served as a deacon of the Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin.
On February 27, 2014, the Feast of Sts. Vardanants, Andranik Hovhannisyan was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by His Grace Bishop Mushegh Babayan at Holy Etchmiadzin, receiving the priestly name “Voskan” in honor of His Grace Archbishop Voskan Galpakyan, Senior Priest of Holy Etchmiadzin. Following his ordination, Fr. Voskan began serving at St. Kevork Armenian Church in Masis City and St. Kevork Armenian Church in Marmarashen Village. Between 2016 and 2017, he also completed English language courses at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan.
In 2017, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, assigned Fr. Voskan to serve as an intern in the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America. Under the direction of Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, former Primate of the Eastern Diocese, Fr. Voskan served as an intern priest at Holy Ascension Armenian Church in Trumbull, CT, for nearly nine weeks, under the guidance of the parish’s pastor, the Rev. Fr. Untzag Nalbandian. During this time, he continued English studies at Westchester Community College in Valhalla, NY, and made pastoral visits to other parishes within the Diocese.
On May 8, 2018, Fr. Voskan was appointed Visiting Pastor of the Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Armenian Church in Belleville, IL, and successfully completed a ten-week Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO.
Upon completing his internship, Fr. Voskan was officially appointed Pastor of Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Armenian Church in Belleville, IL, on January 1, 2019, by His Grace Bishop Daniel Findikyan, former Primate of the Eastern Diocese.
From January 1, 2019, to June 30, 2025, Fr. Voskan served as the pastor of Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Armenian Church. In late 2023 through early 2025, he also served as the visiting priest of St. Garabed Armenian Church in Kansas City, MO.
On July 1, 2025, Fr. Voskan is being appointed pastor of St. Mary Armenian Church in Livingston, NJ, by His Grace Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan, the esteemed Primate of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern).
Fr. Voskan is married to Yn. Olga Mosikyan-Hovhannisyan. They are the proud parents of a son, Hrach.