Makruhi Kortian was honored for long and fruitful service and her book, Sermnatsan (Planter of seeds), was launched on July 8, 2023, at an event held under the auspices of Archbishop Haigazoun Najarian, primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand, and organized by the newly elected Hamazkayin Regional Executive Board for Australia. Ms. Kortian is a veteran member of Hamazkayin and the Armenian Relief Society. The event was held at the Edgarian Hall of the Church of the Holy Resurrection near Sydney.
Church fathers, invited representatives of the three traditional Armenian political parties and various Armenian organizations and clubs, members of Hamazkayin and the Armenian Relief Society, and the honoree’s family and friends had come to the hall to celebrate her achievements.
The emcee was board secretary Varteni Khudetsian. She invited board chairperson Kevork Vartanian to speak on behalf of the board. He said, “It is a great pleasure for the Hamazkayin Regional Board for Australia, sixty years after the formation of the organization in our region, to organize a book launch for Sermnatsan, a book that aids Armenian letters and literature, and to honor its author Makruhi Kortian—an active participant in Hamazkayin’s activities for over half a century. As a devotee of Armenian culture and learning, her personal mission, goals, and policies were indistinguishable from Hamazkayin’s. She has provided unforgettable service to Hamazkayin in several areas, especially as a member of the Academic Council of the Hamazkayin Saturday Schools. The praise she receives today, as an author and as a recipient of the Hamazkayin Medal, are well deserved.”
Nshan Basmadjian spoke next, introducing the volume. He praised the honoree’s literary talents, her rich Armenian vocabulary, and her ample but appropriate use of adjectives. He referred to some of the pieces included in the book—funeral orations delivered by Ms. Kortian; correspondence with Jacques S Hagopian, Vahe Oshagan, Shahantukhd, Yerjo Samuelian, and others; writings about the Armenian Relief Society and Hamazkayin; and other correspondence. Referring to the author’s talent and skills, and the importance of an environment in which to be creative, Mr. Basmadjian asserted, “Makruhi’s is a pen that writes in a setting. She worked in Sydney, rowing against the current. Her environment was Beirut. In such a setting she was able to thrive and be appreciated but also be criticized and grow. She dreamed of such an environment, but it remained a dream. Makruhi could have been the author of dozens of books if she created in her environment; she could have raised generations of writers if she had been able to work in her milieu. This is something Shahantukhd said in 2005 to her friend Makruhi, ‘Thank you for your warm feelings, which also warm my heart, reminding me of the simple but inspiring environment of the past in our social and national life.’” He said Makruhi Kortian’s nightmare was the retreat of the Armenian language; she fought that retreat in writing and in spoken word.
A close friend of Ms. Kortian’s, Armenian Relief Society Central Executive Board member Nora Sevagian spoke next. She recalled, “A comrade took the podium to speak on Mother’s Day. After she had spoken a few words, she had all my attention thanks to her rich vocabulary, her self-assured tone, her flawless Armenian, and her patriotic spirit. I was in awe. At that moment, I fell in love with her beautiful and sweetly spoken Armenian tongue, which was like honey oozing from the lips of that special person. It was the first time since my arrival in Australia that I had heard such an impressive speech and message. On that day, I decided to follow your example and express myself, work, serve, and lead like you, dear Comrade Kortian.”
Rev. Dr. Krikor Youmshajekian of the Armenian Evangelical Church, an early colleague of the honoree, spoke next. He spoke of Ms. Kortian’s many virtues as an Armenian women, an Armenian mother, a hard-working individual, a benevolent person, and so on. He made his case with examples of her industry, principled stances, and good intentions.
Heros Krikorian, a member of the Hamazkayin Central Executive Board, presented the medal. He said, “It is a day of boundless joy today because we award a comrade with over fifty years of service to Armenian education and culture in the person of Armenian Relief Society member and Hamazkayin member Makruhi Kortian.
“There is no one in this community who does not know Makruhi Kortian. Today her health does not permit it, but you should have seen her any time between the 1960s and the 2010s. She was everywhere, from the Academic Council to the Regional Executive Board of the Armenian Relief Society, from the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund to the Hamazkayin conventions, numerous benevolent programs, article series, elegies, letters of praise, letters of condolence, correspondence. . . . This has been the life of this tireless Armenian woman. Whatever she did had an Armenian flavor. She woke up with plans for serving the nation; she went to bed with the satisfaction one experiences from having served the nation.
“Today, in this formal setting, we are gathered to honor a peerless Armenian woman, Makruhi Kortian, who has collected in this volume, Sermnatsan, testaments to more than fifty years of cultural and benevolent activity. The planter of seeds is Makruhi herself. She sowed and we are reaping.
“In the name of the Hamazkayin Central Executive Board, I congratulate Comrade Makruhi for worthily receiving this award and I wish to pin this medal on her chest as a sign of our gratitude.”
Makruhi Kortian was too moved to speak. Her remarks were read by Nora Sevagian.
She said, “Dear Armenian mothers and grandmothers, as the first and last teachers of the future Armenian generation, in your homes speak Armenian, nourish your children with the Armenian language, and keep the Armenian heath lit with Armenianness, so that the Armenian language, the Armenian nation stays alive and continues its march of existence in these difficult circumstances. The seeds you sow today, dear Armenian mothers, will each become golden stalks of wheat, and they will fill our community, so far from the homeland, with Armenian spirit and breath. These were the thoughts that led me to title my modest collection of writings, Sermnatsan. Over the course of my life, I made every effort to plant an Armenian seed in this foreign land. I hope this collection will help you too do your part.”
The primate made closing remarks. He spoke about his cooperation with Mrs. Kortian over the past decade. He praised her love for the Armenian language and her efforts on behalf of 450 orphans from the 1988 earthquake in Armenia and for 150 needy students in Lebanon. He praised her courage in opposing any defeatism when it comes to the Armenian language, Armenian students, and Armenian schools. He praised Hamazkayin for recognizing the honoree’s significant contributions.
After the primate’s prayers, there was a book signing. Donations were made, which were given, at the honoree’s request, to the Regional Executive Board.
The evening ended with a reception.
