St. Sarkis the General, coloring and activity pages

St. Sarkis the General (Սուրբ Սարգիս Զորավար) the is one of the most loved Saints in the Armenian Church. We commemorate him in February every year (though the date is movable, like most in our church). It usually happens around Valentine’s Day – what a coincidence – because St. Sarkis Day is sometimes known as the Armenian Valentine’s Day, and has some sweet traditions for youth and unmarried folks. (Read the pages linked at the end of this post.)

I made some coloring and activity pages relating to Saint Sarkis. I had so many ideas for more pages, and should copy in the actual stories from his life… but those can be for future iterations… wanted to call this done for now.

St Sarkis activity pages Download

The first coloring page is based on icon by Daniel Varoujan Hejinian at Saints Vartanantz Armenian Orthodox Church in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The second coloring page is based on an Armenian prayer scroll, made in Constantinople in 1655, at the British Library.

If you want to read more about St. Sarkis, here are some links:

St. Sarkis the Warrior

St Sarkis the Warrior (Soorp Sarkis)

AND some recipes… yum!: https://thearmeniankitchen.com/category/holidays/st-sarkis-day/

Nativity and Theophany, activity and coloring pages

I made a ton of these this year. Just about to print them out booklet style, so my kids have something relevant to do/doodle after (or probably during, eep) Badarak tomorrow. Sharing now, in case anyone who gets emails from this site wants to print them too, before Armenian Christmas tomorrow.

I am particularly proud of the “Let’s draw” type pages. And you’ll see a bunch of nativity icons too. For some reason the “Let’s decorate” outlines didn’t format properly when I converted the doc to a PDF, so apologies if the lines are really thick on those… I’ll figure out why later.

Nativity and Theophany, activity pages 2026 Download

Last year’s version was definitely more simplistic and for a younger group, but still good too: Activity and coloring pages for Armenian Christmas / Epiphany

Shnorhavor Surp Dznunt!

Coloring page based on illustration of Sts. John and James, Sons of Thunder

During Hisnag, the roughly-50-day period before we celebrate the Nativity and Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ on January 6th, the Armenian Church recognizes some of its most important and beloved saints. This includes Apostles and Saints John and James, called the Sons of Thunder. Here’s a coloring page of the two that I made based on an illustration in the Walters Manuscript.

Coloring page of Sts. John and James, Sons of Thunder, illustration in Hymnal, Walters Manuscript W.547, fol. 40r., 1678. Constantinople Download

Coloring page of St. James of Nisibis, Soorp Hagop

Been on a coloring page kick recently. Here’s one I made of St. James of Nisibis, AKA Soorp Hagop, who we celebrate later this week on 12/13 in 2025. The Commemoration is during Advent each year, but the specific date moves annually. Here’s a link to a blog post about St. James in our tradition: https://armenianchurch.us/the-saints/st-james-of-nisibis/

St Hagop of Nisibis coloring page Download

Armenian Santa Claus coloring page

Presumably this is a drawing of St. Nicholas AKA Saint Nick AKA Soorp Nighoghos AKA Santa Claus. “St. James of Nisibis Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church of Evanston, IL” is super on top of it with their Facebook posts – they’re posting pictures of saints for their saint/commemoration days, using Armenian sources when they can. And a few days ago, they posted an image that I think is supposed to be St. Nicholas of Myra, though it wasn’t specifically labeled. I tried to reverse image search for it, but didn’t come up with anything.

They originally posted the image on Nov 22nd, for the Commemoration of Saints Gregory the Wonderworker, Nicholas the Bishop and Myron the Bishop. We actually celebrate St. Nicholas of Myra TWICE in the church calendar… once with these other saints, and once on his own (this upcoming Saturday, Dec 6 in 2025 – the exact date changes every year). So I had a nice little window of time during which I could turn the manuscript doodle of probably-Saint-Nick into a coloring page. Yay!

Here’s the original, and my colorable version.

And here’s the content of their post from a few weeks ago:

“Saturday, November 22nd, 2025

Commemoration of Saints Gregory the Wonderworker, Nicholas the Bishop and Myron the Bishop

The Armenian Church commemorates St. Gregory the Wonderworker, St. Nicholas of Myra, and St. Myron the Wonderworker as early bishops who helped shape the Christian world through faith, ministry, and miraculous deeds. Each came from a different background, yet all strengthened the Church during times of challenge.

St. Gregory the Wonderworker was born into a wealthy pagan family in Neocaesarea but converted to Christianity while studying under the theologian Origen. When he became bishop, only a few Christians lived in his city, yet through his preaching and miracles—such as driving out demons and commanding a river by prayer—Christianity spread rapidly. Tradition says that by the end of his life only seventeen pagans remained, showing the powerful impact of his witness.

St. Nicholas of Myra, born in Patara, devoted his inheritance to the poor and became bishop at a young age. He suffered imprisonment during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian and later took part in the Council of Nicaea. His generosity, care for the vulnerable, and miracles connected to his tomb made him one of the most beloved saints in the Church.

St. Myron the Wonderworker of Crete began as a humble farmer known for kindness, even helping thieves who stole grain from him. His compassion led many to repentance, and he later became a priest and then bishop, performing miracles such as stopping a flood by prayer. His village eventually took his name, and his relics became a place of devotion.

Together, these saints show different forms of Christian leadership—Gregory through teaching and conversion, Nicholas through charity and steadfast faith, and Myron through humility and service—demonstrating how bishops guided communities through love, example, and the power of God.”

Here’s the file if you want to download it as a coloring page:

St Nicholas of Myra, from Armenian miniature Download

Holy Lance relic, coloring page/craft

This Saturday, November 29th (in 2025) is the Commemoration of the Apostles St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew, who are considered the first to bring Christianity to Armenia. Tradition says that St. Thaddeus brought with him the Holy Lance that pierced the side of Jesus during his Crucifixion. A relic of the lance is at Holy Etchmiadzin, and used for sacred ceremonies like the blessing of the muron (holy oil) every seven years. They’re going to bring out and venerate the Holy Lance at Etchmiadzin this weekend. More on the lance here: The Holy Lance in Armenian Tradition & Legend – The Armenian Church

I made a simple coloring page of the Holy Lance a few years ago when they were blessing the muron, so I have it for anyone who wants to use it. We colored it on the page, and pasted one of the pages on top of some cardboard, cut it out, and tried to use it like a “real” spear. Both were fun, but the design is a little too thin/the handle too flimsy to use like a real spear with just cardboard. Maybe if we used two layers? We’ll try again. Anyway, enjoy!

Trying to make the Holy Lance on cardboard.

Here’s the PDF:

Holy Lance of Keghart coloring page craft Download

Armenian American advent calendar paper chain for 2025-2026

Making this year’s paper chain Armenian advent calendar

We’re big fans of paper chains in this house. They’re a fun way for kids to mark the passing of days. We’ve done them for advent in the past, for Lent, for Eastertide.

In the Armenian orthodox church, advent is longer than in other Western churches. Advent begins on the day after the Sunday nearest November 18. It lasts between six and seven weeks, depending each year on the duration of the period between Assumption (Sunday closest to August 15) and Theophany (January 6). Although we call it “hisnag” (“fifty” for the fifty-ish-day period), advent isn’t always exactly 50 days in our church, it varies. Also in the Armenian church we have only a few fixed dates for feast days, the others shift to different dates from year to year. (This is another reason why there are so few resources for Armenian orthodox families… even if you create something one year, it’s not necessarily “evergreen.”) So although I made an advent chain in previous years, the one I’ve posted and used before is inexact.

This year I made one with real dates… the dates/holidays/commemorations we especially celebrate in our family are bolded. On the chain, I alternated odd #s and even #s so you can print these on red & green colored paper and make a chain that alternates colors. Here is is, hope someone other than us uses it & enjoys!

Armenian Advent 2025-2026, countdown paper chain Download

Presentation of 3yr old Mary to the temple, Armenian manuscript coloring page

This past Friday, November 21, was the Feast of the Presentation of Mary, the Holy Mother-of-God, to the Temple. I made a coloring book page based on an Armenian manuscript page depicting the event.

Here’s the write-up about the feast day, from our church bulletin:

Presentation of Mary, The Mother of God to the Temple at the Age of Three

The Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Mother of God happened, according to the preserved accounts of Holy Tradition, in the following manner: the parents of the Virgin Mary, the Righteous Joachim and Anna, in praying for an answer to their childlessness, gave a vow that if a child were born to them, they would dedicate the child to the service of God. When the Most Holy Virgin reached three years of age, the holy parents decided to fulfill their vow. Having gathered together their kinsfolk and acquaintances, and having dressed the All-Pure Mary in her finest clothes, and with the singing of sacred songs and with lighted candles in their hands, they carried her to the Jerusalem Temple. There the high priest with a throng of priests met the Maiden of God. Then the high priest, through an inspiration from above, led the Most Holy Virgin into the Holy of Holies, the Altar. Only the high priest entered this place one time a year with a purifying sacrifice of blood. Therefore, all those present in the Temple were astonished at this most unusual occurrence. In remembrance of the Entry of the Most Holy Mother of God into the Temple of Jerusalem, the Holy Church from ancient times established a solemn feast day. The Feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Mother of God foretells the blessing of God for the human race, the preaching of salvation and the promise of the coming of Christ our Lord.

Here’s the original illustration, and what I came up with:

And here’s the file:

Presentation of 3yr old Mary to the temple, Armenian manuscript coloring page Download

Hand-drawn Armenian dot crosses

Found these in an old binder, totally forgot about them. The designs are based on Armenian crosses I found in various places, but I don’t have the original reference photos anymore. One of them is a handheld processional cross. One of them is also recreated as a coloring page in the awesome classic coloring book, “Picture Book of Armenian Miniatures,” which you can buy from the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR)’s bookstore, linked here.

I drew these by hand, then scanned, and attempted to clean up the lines using some editing software. So, they’re not perfect with even line weights, etc. unlike these other Armenian do-a-dot crosses I made entirely with the computer a few months ago (link to the post with those = Armenian cross do-a-dot pages). Still, they’re a new resource! And life isn’t perfect. And I like them anyway. And I don’t have the luxury of time, to edit or redo them. SO. Here you are, world!

Handdrawn Armenian orthodox do-a-dot crosses (PDF)Download

Handdrawn Armenian orthodox do-a-dot crosses (doc)Download

^ Click each image to download a .png file of each cross separately. Feel free to use for anything you want.

Armenian Jerusalem activity pages

Hiyaaaa,
I made these activity pages back in 2022, when the Eastern Diocese was doing a virtual pilgrimage to Jerusalem (you can still find videos from that event online, like this tour of the Holy Sepulcher). We wanted to participate, but thought we’d have to entertain our 4yr old at the time, during the video calls, so I made all of these activity pages to keep them engaged/so they could participate in their own way. Ultimately my parents took the kiddos that day, so we participated in the virtual pilgrimage un-distracted. But the pages remain! Now my kiddos are doing a virtual pilgrimage as part of their summer camp, so I dug these pages out in case they want to use them, and figured I’d share with you all as well. 🙂

Armenian Jerusalem, trace wall outlines Download