Mitred Archpriest Michael and Matushka Mariamna Fortounatto

Mitred Archpriest Michael V Fotounatto (1931-2022)

and

Matushka Mariamna Mikhailovna Fortounatto (born Theokritoff) (1932-2025)

Michael may be spelt Mikhail.

Theokritoff may be spelt Theokritov, Feokritov.

Early life of Michael Vsevolodovitch Fortounatto

On 19 May, 1931, Michael Vsevolodovitch Fortounatto was born in [Paris], [France], to Vsevolod L’vovitch and Evgenia Mikhailovna (born Von Fritche) Fortounatto. His brothers were Vladimir (1933) and Andrei (1940).

Their parents were émigrés, refugees, who had fled with their families from Russia at the time of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, the overthrow of the Russian Empire, and the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

After 1940, the family moved to Asnières-sur-Seine, a little northwest from Paris. It was an important centre for Russian spirituality and culture. Michael spoke only Russian as a small child, and he was very attentive to the church choir.

The parents’ caring, spiritual home reflected the fervent parish life of their local Church of Christ the Saviour in Paris, an important centre of Russian spirituality.

The young Michael developed a strong faith and a love of church music – without lacking a natural exuberance. “We boys played football in our flat !’ he admitted, with the customary twinkle in his eyes.

At the age of 10 years, Michael entered the School of Russian Cadets in Versailles, where his musical talent came to the fore. Meanwhile he continued to be involved in the life of his parish, by attending its school on Thursdays. There, he learnt not only the tenets of his Orthodox Christian Faith, but also Russian language, and Russian culture.

By the age of 15, he was singing in the parish choir and directing a children’s choir.

His church life was enhanced by participating in the Orthodox children’s summer camps that played such a large part in the life of the Russian émigré families in France.

Higher education

In 1951, Michael enrolled in the Saint-Serge Theological Institute in Paris, where he studied theology under some of the foremost theologians of the Russian Emigration, and church music under Nicholas Ossorguine.

The young student drank in not only the deep theological atmosphere at Saint-Serge Institute, but also the unique purity of the singing, which preserved the liturgical traditions of Russia’s pre-revolutionary seminaries and monasteries. He had never encountered such depth before, and he began to see how it was inseparable from the prayer and life of the Church. His affection for the Institute remained with him all his life.

However, as an émigré whose family had lost everything in the Revolution, his life, spiritually rich, was poor on the material level. He recalled later that for 4 years of his life, he went to bed hungry every night.

After graduation, and leaving Saint-Serge, he was called up for national service in the French army.

Once he was back in the civilian world, Michael began visiting the renowned choirmaster of the Russian Cathedral in London, England, Mikhail I Theokritoff, to continue his study of church music.

There, he met one of the choirmaster’s daughters, Mariamna Mikhailovna Theokritoff.

Early life of Mariamna Mikhailovna Theokritoff

In 1932, Mariamna Mikhailovna Theokritoff was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, to Mikhail Ivanovitch and Louise (born Stanscheck) Theokritoff.

As did her other siblings, she completed her primary and secondary education in Wiesbaden. The family of Michael I Theokritoff] suffered greatly during the years following 1934, when he was removed from his position as choir-director in Wiesbaden, and then during World War II itself.

At the end of the war, through a complicated network of communication, her father was offered the position of choirmaster at Saint Philip’s Russian Orthodox Church in London, England. The family was able to move there in 1946. The association with the Cathedral of the Dormition at Ennismore Gardens did not begin until its establishment in 1956.

It was there that Mariamna met her future husband Michael V Fortounatto.

Marriage

In 1961, Michael Vsevolodovitch Fortounatto and Mariamna Mikhailovna Theokritoff were crowned in Holy Matrimony at Holy Dormition Russian Orthodox Cathedral in London, England. Thereafter, they lived in Paris, France.

After her marriage, Mariamna studied iconography under Leonid Ouspensky in Paris, and she became an accomplished icon-painter.  In time, she began to lecture on the subject of iconography.   

Later, at the invitation of Bishop (later Metropolitan) Anthony (Bloom), they moved to England, and Michael became assistant choirmaster to his father-in-law at the Dormition Cathedral.

When Mikhail Ivanovitch Theokritoff fell asleep in the Lord (4 January, 1969), Michael Fortounato was assigned to succeed him as choirmaster in the cathedral.

Ordinations

Michael Fortounato was ordained to the Holy Diaconate, and later, on 28 December, 1969, to the Holy Priesthood. However, he continued serving as choirmaster.

As Metropolitan Anthony’s popularity as a speaker and his open vision of Orthodoxy began to attract English converts, the use of some English in Cathedral services became necessary. Father Michael was part of the committee tasked with making translations, and he began setting them to music. He had a gift for making the music marry with the words so as to flow easily and beautifully.

In the summer of 1980, Father Michael and Matushka Mariamna participated in the world assembly of the Syndesmos Youth at New Valamo Monastery, Finland. The manner of Father Michael’s direction of singing was quite similar to that of Archbishop Paul (Olmari) of Finland.

Father Michael and Mariamna had no children of their own, but they took a great interest in the children of the parish and diocese. A children’s camp, based on the ones in France, had been set up some years earlier, but it had ceased to operate.

Father Michael and Matushka Mariamna set up a new one, with a team of helpers who had been campers themselves. It was to become and remain one of the most inspiring features of diocesan life – ‘the truth heart of the church’ as one parent later described it. Daily worship took place in a tent converted for its purpose, and Father Michael taught the children to sing. There were classes for them to learn about their Orthodox Christian Faith, with Mariamna serving as one of the teachers. Games, treks, camp-fires (and at the Welsh campsite caving) were some of the activities everyone enjoyed.

The children became an Orthodox family. Father Michael summed up the success : ‘The Holy Spirit is there’. On their return home, the children began phoning each other from all over the country. They talked of nothing but Camp for weeks on end.

A further initiative on Father Michael’s part was the instigation of monthly Family Liturgies at the Parish House, where the London campers could keep their friendships alive throughout the year, and younger children could feel less inhibited than at the Cathedral. Both [English] and [Slavoni]c were used in the Divine Liturgy. A communal meal followed in the basement, then a lesson, and games in Holland Park.

Father Michael also organised occasional education days (diocesan-wide or pan-Orthodox). For some years, he held a Saturday school at the cathedral. He cared for the children with affection, understanding, much patience, and with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes.

From 1991, Father Michael began annual visits to Russia to teach in the theological academies and seminaries, as well as in some secular music schools. His vast knowledge of Church chant, and experience of choir directing played an important part in revitalising the Russian Church’s musical heritage.

It was during this decade that Father Michael and Matushka Mariamna visited the western USA to give a presentation. Afterwards, during the winter, they travelled to Canada, and they experience the rail journey by VIARail from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Ottawa, Ontario. The reason for this destination was to visit Mariamna’s sister Vera in Ottawa. A trans-continental railway journey in winter is very, very different from the same journey in warmer weather.

For 10 years from 2004, Father Michael organised seminars on ecclesiastical chant at the Moscow Theological Academy ; he headed the Commission on Liturgical Chant in the Education Committee of the Holy Synod ; and he published books on the history and theory of liturgical chant.

Fr Michael’s creative approach to Church singing became the subject of a dissertation by Natalia Balueva, which she defended at the Moscow Conservatoire, and a monograph “The Choirmaster. Destiny and Service”. The director Valentina Matveeva made a film “Choirmaster (Regent)” about him.

Father Michael was well-known for his clear and non-ostentatious (one might say minimalist) manner of direction, his manner of explaining the mysteries of Russian chant, and for his beautifully crystalline voice.

Back in London, Father Michael continued his work as choirmaster. Furthermore, he was also a caring, sympathetic priest, always understanding and approachable, with an appealing sense of humour : a much-loved father and pastor to all who came to him.

Retirement

In 2005, Father Michael and Mariamna retired to France to the village of Chargueraud, near to his 2 brothers. He was, at that time, transferred to the [https://archeveche.eu/en/ Archdiocese of the Orthodox Churches of Russian Tradition in Western Europe (Moscow Patriarchate).

He joined his brother, Father André, in serving in the Church of Christ the Saviour and the Dormition in Vichy.

From 2009, Father Michael began lecturing on liturgical chant at his beloved Saint-Serge Institute, and he began inspiring another generation of students. This continued during his retirement in France, as long as his health allowed.

At the same time he organised courses on church chant in the French language, and he translated the texts into French. This was considerable and very important task.

By 2014, because of poor health, he was no longer able to travel to Paris. However, he continued to work by writing essays, articles, and studies of Scripture, theology, and liturgical musicology. Some of these have been published, and it is hoped that others will follow. He had donated his archive to the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.

Bereavement

On 11 January, 2020, Archpriest André Fortounatto fell asleep in the Lord at Vichy, France.

Repose of Archpriest Michael

On 19 February, 2022, Archpriest Michael Fortounatto fell asleep in the Lord at Châtel-Montagne, France.

On 26 February, 2022, the [Funeral Service for the Burial of a Priest] was offered at Christ the Saviour Orthodox Church in Vichy, France.

Following the funeral obsequies, his body was interred at the Cimetière de Châtel-Montagne.

Repose of Matushka Mariamna

On 23 November, 2023, Matushka Mariamna Mikhailovna (born Theokritoff) Fortounatto fell asleep in the Lord, in Châtel-Montagne, France, at the age of 93.

On Saturday, 25 November, 2023, at 2:20 p.m., the Funeral Service for a Lay-person was offered at Christ the Saviour Orthodox Church, 8, rue du Docteur-Charles, at Vichy, France.

Following the funeral obsequies, her body was interred at 4:15 p.m. at the Cimetière de Châtel-Montagne.

Writings

“Reflection by Archpriest Michael Fortounatto : To the members of the Archdiocese” (11 June, 2013),

Balueva, Natalia Veniaminovna, “Regent of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Michael Fortounattto” (Moscow : 2007)

Biography of Mikhail Ivanovitch Theokritoff on the “Religious Russian Persons Abroad” web-site

Recordings

Recordings of Archpriest Michael Fortounatto and choirs

Choir Of The Russian Orthodox Cathedral In London, Reverend Michael Fortounatto - Vespers of Good Friday ‎(LP) Ikon Records (3) IKO 9 1979

Choir Of The Russian Orthodox Cathedral In London Conducted By Reverend Archpriest Michael Fortounatto* - Russian Orthodox Church Music Vol.12 : The Liturgy Of St. John Chrysostom ‎(LP) Ikon Records (3) IKO 14 1984

The Choir Of The Russian Orthodox Cathedral, London*, Nicolai Gedda, Reverend Michael Fortounatto - Hymns And Chants Of The Russian Orthodox Church ‎(CD, Album)

MP3 Recording : Choir Of The Russian Orthodox Cathedral In London Conducted By Reverend Archpriest Michael Fortounatto - Russian Orthodox Church Music Vol.12: The Liturgy Of St. John Chrysostom Album

Reflections

For 45 years Father Michael directed the choir of the London Russian Orthodox Cathedral. By doing so, he made it famous for its prayerful singing.

References

Thyateira Deanery Obituary

Londongliturgy.org Web-site about Father Michael Fortounatto

Recollections by Gillian Crow.

Additional information :

Moscow Patriarchate repose announcement, 2022

Diocese of Sourozh obituary

« Archpriest Michael Fortounatto celebrated his 90th Birthday » (19 May, 2021)

Fortounatto, Archpriest Michael, Biographical article about Mikhail Ivanovitch Theokritoff in Russian Religious Persons Abroad

Russian People Abroad reference for Matushka Mariamna M Fortounatto

[Russian People Abroad reference for Archpriest Michael Fortounatto

Russian People Abroad reference for Vsevolod L’vovich Fortounatto

Russian People Abroad reference for Evgenia Mikhailovna (born Von Fritche) Fortountatto

Archpriest Vladimir Theokritoff

Geni.com genealogical record for Michael I Theokritoff

› jisocm › article › download › 117024 › 74849 In Memoriam article about Father Michael Fortounatto by Ivan Moody

Metropolitan Evlogy (Georgievsky)

Metropolitan Vladimir (Tikhonitsky)

Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom)

Metropolitan Nicholas (Eremine)

Archbishop Elisey (Ganaba)

Bishop Basil (Osborne)

Choir of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in London directed by Archpriest Michael Fortounatto with Nicolai Gedda “The Cambridge Companion to Orthodox Christian Theology”

The Cambridge Companion to Orthodox Christian Theology

Fortounato, Mariamna, and Cunningham, Mary B “Was Iconoclasm A Theological Or Political Controversy ?” King's College London

Metropolitan Anthony: Pastor and Priest Conferences in Memory of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, 2011

Fortounatto, Mariamna, and Mary B. Cunningham. ‘Theology of the Icon’. In “The Cambridge Companion to Orthodox Christian Theology”, edited by Elizabeth Theokritoff and Mary B Cunningham, (Cambridge Companions to Religion. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2008) pp. 136-149.

Obituary of Matushka Mariamna M Fortounatto

Video : 1999 Vocal workshop, 1999

Video : Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) about Father Michael, 1999

Video : Gillian Crow In Memoriam about Father Michael Fortounatto and Costa Carras

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRhACi5m6nQ Video : “Salt of the Earth : In Memory of Father Michael Fortounatto and Costa Carras”. (Published by The Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh Spiritual Heritage Foundation and Alexander Solzhenitsyn Centre for Studies of Russia Abroad, 2021)