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| Prof. Fountoulis at a clerical conference |
Dr. Georgios D. Panagopoulos,
Professor of Orthodox Dogmatics at the University Ecclesiastical Academy of Athens
Professor of Orthodox Dogmatics at the University Ecclesiastical Academy of Athens
A few days ago, an elect soul, a man of God, Professor Ioannis (John) Fountoulis, departed from this vain world.
Ioannis Fountoulis was born in 1927 in Mesagros of Lesvos to parents from Asia Minor. He studied Theology at the University of Athens, from which he graduated with highest honors. He then pursued excellent postgraduate studies in Belgium, Germany, and France. He was awarded a doctorate by the Faculty of Theology of the University of Thessaloniki. He worked extensively and produced studies and books on liturgical manuscripts in libraries and museums both in Greece and abroad. He contributed articles to a multitude of journals within and outside Greece. He continued to work tirelessly even after his retirement. He participated in many conferences, at which he left an indelible personal mark. He labored creatively for the Church of Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The local Church of his birthplace owes him much, since he contributed greatly to the discovery and promotion of the Saints of Lesvos. He was spiritually and by family ties connected with the late Metropolitan of Mytilene, His Eminence Iakovos II. He was married and the father of three children.
We first met the late professor in Edessa in 1979, when he came as a guest of the late Metropolitan of Edessa, Pella, and Almopia, His Eminence Kallinikos, and spoke at a clerical conference of that Holy Metropolis. However, we came to know him better during the last six years at the clerical symposia organized annually by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece. There we had the opportunity to know not only a professor highly trained in theological — and especially liturgical — matters, but also a faithful and devout man: modest and most gentle, with a calm demeanor and a natural sense of humor. Through his presence and his well-formed personality, he lent a distinctive tone to the sessions, which, thanks largely to him, were maintained at a high level.
As I have been informed, he was equally pleasant and edifying with his students, who esteemed him greatly and loved him dearly.
I remember him early in the morning at the Sacred Church of Saint John the Russian, at the shrine of the same name in Prokopi of Evia, as well as in other holy churches, reading the Six Psalms; then withdrawing to his stasidion, and at the end of the Divine Liturgy receiving the blessed bread and reverently kissing the hand of the serving priest.
He was edifying yet also delightful in his private conversations with the priest-delegates to the conferences—representatives of the Holy Metropolises of the Church of Greece — after the conclusion of the sessions and during their breaks. Always smiling and good-humored, he answered questions and engaged in dialogue calmly, courteously, and with civility, even with those who held different views on the various topics that had been presented in the papers and discussions. He always respected his interlocutor, regardless of their knowledge or age.
His books, with answers to liturgical and other theological questions, as well as his other articles and writings, will always keep him alive among us. At this moment the words of the sacred hymnographer come to my mind — words which I believe fully correspond to the person and the work of the late professor — that Ioannis Fountoulis both “having died, lives in the Lord,” and yet also “lives among us, as one who speaks through his books.”
May his memory be eternal. Amen.
Source: Ekklesiastiki Paremvasis, Issue 129 (February 2007). Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
