The Eastern Diocese mourns the loss of Edmond Yervant Azadian—Armenian intellectual, political activist, and littérateur—who passed away on March 25, 2023, after a brief illness, at age 87.
Diocesan Primate Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan offered the eulogy at Mr. Azadian’s funeral on April 22, at St. John Church of Southfield, MI, which appears below.
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In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In one of his greatest parables, our Lord Jesus Christ told the story of a master who distributed his wealth—in the form of golden talents—to his servants. Some of those servants used their talents to perform good works, and to magnify the gifts invested with them—all to the master’s pleasure and praise. One servant hid his talent away, and received the master’s anger.
Our Lord’s meaning is plain: the gifts we have been given, whether large or small, are not to be hidden away in darkness. They are meant to be used, actively, to bring something productive into this world.
This lesson is in my heart today, as we remember a man of many gifts: Edmond Yervant Azadian. He was deeply aware of the responsibility that came along with his gifts: the obligation to use them—and to do so in a cause greater than yourself. For Edmond Azadian, the way he employed his gifts took many forms. But fundamentally, the cause they served was the welfare and advancement of the Armenian nation—in our homeland, and throughout the diaspora.
For me, growing up in Armenia, I did not have the privilege of knowing Edmond Azadian personally—as so many of you did. But his name was well-known to us all. We knew him through his writings, and through his reputation as a dynamic thinker and activist, of international standing, in the Armenian world. We knew that he was held in esteem at Holy Etchmiadzin, and among all the cultural institutions of Armenia.
Edmond’s life is an impressive story. He was a native of Beirut, and raised at a unique time: when the city’s Armenian community was undergoing a “renaissance” of cultural flowering. Edmond absorbed the intellectual and artistic richness of that time, and brought it with him to America when he settled here.
In this country, he became well known as the advisor and right-hand man of one of the great, visionary benefactors of modern Armenian history: Alex Manoogian. For a quarter century, through his work for Mr. Manoogian, Edmond Azadian was introduced to all the leading figures of the Armenian world, and gained access to our communities across the globe.
At the same time, Edmond made a name for himself in the international Armenian press. He is most closely identified with Baikar and The Armenian Mirror-Spectator, of course. But in his time, he established several newspapers, and wrote extensively on politics, the arts, history and literature for dozens of publications.
At the center of his character, Edmond Azadian was a “political” man: a man who felt at home in the “rough and tumble” of political activism. He was not afraid of controversy; indeed, he was drawn to the arena where ideas and convictions fight it out—because that arena is where the quality of an idea is tested, to see if it will stand or fall in practice.
He knew that for Armenians, ideas were often our only weapons, our only shield, in a hostile world. And so he worked, with passion, so that the ideas we stood for would be strong, and durable, and capable of sustaining our nation in good times and bad.
Edmond was, of course, deeply devoted to the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, and he will surely go down in history as one of its great figures. It was his leadership, his energy, his imagination that propelled his party, and inspired its members, over the course of sixty years.
But politics was only one aspect of Edmond Azadian’s activity. He was also a man of letters, a man of culture and high civilization, who drew talented people around him. He was a rare individual who excelled at two very distinct vocations: the practical and the aspirational.
A thousand editorials in the Armenian press testify to his gifts as a writer: his ability to make sharp observations, and relate them in a way that could persuade readers.
But equally important were his literary efforts: his sensitive volumes on our great writers; his taste for fine art and poetry. His prominent role in the great Tekeyan Cultural Association—named for Azadian’s best-loved poet—expressed Edmond’s desire to not only preserve the high culture of Armenian history, but to celebrate it, build on it, and share it with new generations.
I want to add that this was a mission he shared with his beloved wife, Nora. As we know, Nora Ipekian was a gifted artist and educator. She was a wonderful match for Edmond, and greatly enriched his life. Today we remember her with Edmond, and pray for their eternal rest.
Along with his role as a political man, and a man of letters, Edmond Azadian was, ultimately, a man of the church. I hardly have to mention how much he loved St. John Armenian Church—how he truly felt at home and complete in this setting. One of the things he loved most was having the Manoogian School right here, alongside the church; and he cherished his role in guiding the school as a longtime board member.
Edmond recognized the great role the church has played in Armenian history—and the great place it holds in the Armenian heart. He was a champion and advocate of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin: its staunch defender during the difficult days of the Cold War; its enthusiastic promoter and benefactor from the dawn of Armenia’s independence.
His experience and insight into the international Armenian scene made him a valued counselor and friend to His Holiness Karekin the Second, the Catholicos of All Armenians. And Vehapar honored Edmond with some of the highest distinctions of the Armenian Church.
Today, in the church he loved and served, we pay our final respects to Edmond Azadian. We ask our risen Lord to grant rest to his servant; and we extend our deepest sympathies to his loved ones; to the Tcholakian family; to Edmond’s many friends, colleagues, and collaborators in his lifelong mission to advance the Armenian nation. In remembering the many gifts of Edmond Yervant Azadian, we also honor his patriotic spirit. And we pray with hope that he will be received in God’s peaceful, holy kingdom. Amen.