National benefactor Eduardo Seferian passes away

Last thursday 19 February, died National Benefactor and former president of the Armenian Center of Argentina, Eduardo Seferian.

On monday, a crowd gathered at the Cathedral St. Gregory the Illuminator to a religious ceremony chaired by Archbishop Kissag Mouradian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Argentina and Chile, in which was also part his pair of Uruguay, Archbishop Hagop Kelendjian.

During the ceremony, where were present the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia, Alexan Harutiunian, the consul Esther Mkrtumyan, representatives of Armenian organizations and personalities of the community; condolences sent by President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, His Holiness Karekin II Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Aram Catholicos of The Armenian Apostolic Church of Cilicia, and the Foreign Affairs Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian were read. In turn, took word recalling Seferian his relatives Mateo Vartparonian and Sofi Escalante; President of the Armenian Center of Argentina, Dr. Alberto Djeredjian, and Mario Nalpatian, from the Armenian National Council.

Later his remains were transferred to the British Cemetery of Buenos Aires.

Remarks of Dr. Alberto Djeredjian, president of Armenian Center of Argentina, during the ceremony:

A newspaper article said about the death of Eduardo Seferian: “Don Eduardo Seferian was a worker, a businessman, a leader, a dreamer who shared with his peers all his concerns, also having always a time for all activities that required his support. “

We have read and heard countless highly favourable concepts since we´ve noticed of his death, but I wanted to mention the preceding paragraph because I understand it eloquently defines his personality, and especially for being a text published in a prestigious journal of Corrientes, province in which he mostly developed his work.

The interest and commitment of Eduardo Seferian to noble causes and constructive initiatives of community structures, transformed him into an important personality of the country’s reality.

He suffered with his family, like many other members of the Armenian community in Romania after the war, confiscations undertaken by the Balkan states. This determined their emigration to South America in the middle of the last century, finally establishing in Argentina, where in the province of Corrientes founded a model company, which contributed to the economic boom of the Northeast of Argentina.

The commitment of the family, and especially of Eduardo Seferian, in Argentina Armenian community life, marked an era of unprecedented brightness and development, thanks to which the community emerged as an active force in the Argentinian society with a high sense of integration. Eduardo Seferian was an important cultor and defender of the ideas of freedom and democracy, and actively participated in all initiatives to the crystallization of these values in Argentina and Armenia. He was a supporter of the redemption of the nation during the independence of the Republic of Armenia and the struggle for national liberation of Karabagh. His service many years as president of our institution, the Armenian Center, home of the Archbishop of the Armenian Church and this Cathedral, highlighted him as an agglutinative factor, deserving respect and consideration for all sectors. It was fvery important his task in the help our community offered when in 1988 a terrible earthquake struck Armenia. After deserve the decorations of the Holy See of Etchmiadzin and the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, he was awarded also by the Republic of Armenia, that will always be grateful to his memory because of the gesture of donating the building of the Embassy in Buenos Aires, done with her sister Adrienne Seferian Vartparonian in memory of their parents.

His role as a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Armenian National Fund and his commitment to its objectives defined the last years of his life, devoted to unity, solidarity, fraternal communion of all Armenians.

His work has been so important in all areas, corporative, institutional, educational, social assistance, sports and many others, that it is impossible to mention them all in detail. I do not want to forget his involvement in the founding of “Deportivo Mandiyú” futball club, that got installed in the elite of Argentine football. I mainly emphasize his concern about the education of children and youth. His participation in educational projects has been a constant throughout his career. I was one of the beneficiaries of his work. As in my case, thousands were able to complete their studies at schools in the Armenian community of the country. And of those thousands, many have assumed tasks of responsibility in the management of our institutions.

That newspaper article I mentioned initially, kept saying: “Don Eduardo never refused to give a hand. Always in absolute silence, image and likeness of his father Ardashes, whose name was immortalized in a school of Corrientes, capital”. And as a synthesis ended expressing: “The name of Eduardo Seferian is simply part of Corrientes.” I would complete it by saying “Eduardo Seferian is simply part of Corrientes, Argentina and Armenia”.

In this farewell to our dear friend, and despite the righteous and important recognitions he received in life, we have the feeling that we have not enough expressed our appreciation for his work. Maybe we can settle this debt every day by following his example.

Our deepest respect and grief honor to his life, his work and his legacy of greatness.

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