Thanks to participation and reaching the finals of the show “The Voice”, Hieromonk Photius (Mochalov) last days became one of the most discussed persons in the domestic media space. But most of those discussing it know almost nothing about the singing monk as a person. The regular author of Pravmir, Denis Akhalashvili, decided to talk about his friend from this side.
Hieromonk Photius (Mochalov) and I are friends, and there was a time when we saw each other every day. We went to services together, prayed, made a book about the monastery, for which Father Photius took wonderful photographs, recorded a clip against abortion for All-Russian festival in defense of morality, we fried potatoes and talked about what we thought were important and interesting things.
Although I have been to his cell, where he has recording studio, and he gave me all the discs with his songs, I love Father Photius not for his wonderful voice. Who knows what talents, and who does what? For me, he is a monk, the one who loves Christ more than anything in the world.
And when a person is with Christ, it is visible to the naked eye, whether he sings or digs holes.
Love and complacency ooze from him, like nectar from an overripe watermelon. It seems like you are communicating - nothing special, but your soul is light and the birds are singing.
When I started working at the publishing house of the Pafnutiev Borovsky Monastery, where Father Photius was involved in design and layout, photography and television filming, we saw each other almost every day, but the first time we talked was about three months after we met. At first, Father Photius was silent with me all the time. I was keeping an eye on it so that I didn’t throw something away. A secular person in a monastery can be more dangerous than a cadet driving a car without brakes.
It used to be that he would come, politely say hello, and go to the computer. He checks his mail, does some work, and then quietly leaves. The first time he spoke to me was from behind a lamp, which I liked to light before work. “Dionysius, forgive me! But you can’t light a lamp like that! You’ve set the wick too high, it’s smoking and will quickly go out!” And he showed me how to do it. I looked at the small, even flame of the lamp and thought: “What a bore!”
Or this: “Father Photius, the apples are ripe in the monastery garden, let’s go pick them!” He looks in surprise and shakes his head: “Dionysius! We have a tradition - we don’t eat apples before the Apple Day! Sorry, but I can’t go with you.” And rest assured, even if you cut him, he will not take an apple into his mouth until the Transfiguration.
One day I happened to be cleaning out the editorial closets. I see a beautiful Hugo Boss branded package, which contains a brand new pullover. I ask whose? – no one admits. Father Photius arrives. He looks at the bag doubtfully, then laughs: “This is my pullover! As a gift, I put it in the closet and forgot.” He looks at me with joyful eyes and says: “Dionysius, come on, I’ll give it to you!” And don’t you dare refuse! You go to different press conferences, communicate with people, you need to look beautiful!”
But I really got to know Father Photius when I had a conflict with an important and influential person in the monastery, about which I was very worried.
The soft and meek Father Photius, unexpectedly for everyone, rushed to my defense like a lion, which moved me to tears.
The matter reached the abbot, but Father Photius did not change his opinion, but wrote a letter to this man, where he expressed his arguments on this matter in detail and directly. I said: “Father, back off, why do you need unnecessary problems?” He shook his head and repeated: “You can’t treat people like God, you can’t!”
He is also pathologically polite to the point of impossibility. In his vocabulary, the address “you” simply does not exist. After Cherkizon’s usual rudeness outside the walls of the monastery, this attitude is alarming and embarrassing, but then you get used to it. At first I thought that this was only happening to me, but then I saw how he communicated with his monk friends, and I calmed down.
One old experienced monk once told me that a person with a bare conscience physically cannot tolerate untruth and injustice and is like a pebble in a shoe for those around him: God loves him, but people persecute him. More more peace hates the meek. By the very fact of their existence, they serve as a silent reproach to the bestial morals that reign in the world. In a wolf pack, if a wolf does not want to fight for a place in the sun, he is expelled from the pack, and at school he is simply beaten.
Among his classmates, the future hieromonk, then a boy Vitalik, was an outcast, constantly bullied and beaten. How can you not beat him if he doesn’t give back? Is it possible to calmly pass by a boy who is not interested in football or war games, but in nature and music, and even classical music? Oh, you are so right with us!? But I’ll give you a black eye, and you won’t be so correct!
Not accepted by his peers, he found peace in nature, and still remembers with trepidation the small village of Vasilsursk, on the Volga in the Nizhny Novgorod region, where he spent every summer with his parents. Looking at the Volga expanses, the boy forgot about all the troubles and was left alone with a piercing feeling of freedom and endless happiness...
He began asking questions about God very early, and at the age of seven he dragged his mother to Church to be baptized.
He was sure that this was the only way to become an angel and make friends with Christ, and when he was baptized, he walked around like a birthday boy for a week. But his churching stopped there: although his relatives were baptized people, like the majority around him, they did not go to Church. Now it is his mother who is the regent of an Orthodox church in Germany, but then the parents were surprised at their son’s religious quest and just shook their heads.
Five years later, his vocal teacher from a music school took him to a children's Orthodox camp. The camp was at the Sunday school of one church, where for the first time he began to attend liturgy and sing in the choir. He liked church singing and church services so much that upon returning home he began to learn prayers and bought his first small icons. Mom immediately noticed strong changes in her son: he became somehow festive and inspired. Every morning and evening he diligently reads the prayer rule, and also burns incense on a spoon...
A child’s pure faith is as tender as a flower and defenseless against the winds of life: after some time, the boy’s prayerful fervor faded away. In addition, Vitaly entered music school, there was almost no free time left, and the road to the temple began to be slowly forgotten. But his wise mother, who took her son’s spiritual hobbies seriously, began to join the church, read spiritual literature and go to church. And once a month she took communion and convinced him to do the same. Otherwise, what kind of Christians are we if we live without Christ?
During a period of market turmoil, the family decided to leave for permanent residence in Germany. Together with his parents and brother, Vitaly ended up in small Kaiserslautern, next to which there was a parish (still active) of the holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon. They went with their mother to services, and when an Orthodox parish opened in their town, they began to go there. The parish did not have a permanent place; prayers and services were held in premises for which they did not take money, for example, in the hall of a Catholic community house, where they set up an improvised altar and served according to the Orthodox rite. In a makeshift church, Vitaly read “The Apostle,” sang in the choir and became a sexton.
When he began to help at an Orthodox parish in the neighboring city of Saarbrücken, forgotten childhood experiences of his first prayer and communication with God suddenly came to life in his heart. It was so joyful and strong feeling, that with a group of pilgrims he went to Russia to the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra. And there are St. Job and our contemporary, St. Amphilochius and real monastic obediences!
He really liked being near the great saints, but he did not like obedience. I thought then: the monastery is not for me, it’s too hard.
But upon returning home, I carefully and thoughtfully re-read the entire Gospel, as well as the lives of Ambrose of Optina and Joseph of Optina. The Optina elders revealed to him a new life of Orthodox asceticism and asceticism, hidden from the world. This life was so real and attractive that he decided to return to his homeland and become a monk.
In addition to his work at the Orthodox parish, Vitaly learned to play the organ in a Catholic church, where he showed great promise. The Catholic teacher was a sincere person and understood everything. Just said in parting: Make sure that it doesn’t turn out that you abandoned the organ, but didn’t go anywhere and didn’t start anything else... How often beautiful impulses of the soul become the cause of severe disappointments and life disasters.
He listened to the teacher and thought that the time had come to choose: the grace of the Holy Spirit or worldly riches: fame, money, flowers and universal honor. Not relying on himself, the young man decided to talk about choice life path with a man of high spiritual life and he was advised to go to the Pafnutiev Borovsky Monastery, to a confessor known throughout Russia, Schema-Archimandrite Vlasiy (Peregontsev). When Vitaly arrived, the priest was away, and for several months he went to services, worked, prayed and thought about his future. While I was waiting for the priest, I decided for myself: whatever he says, I will do so. When the long-awaited meeting with the elder came, he listened to him carefully, and then said: “Stay!” He accepted his words as the will of God and stayed.
Upon learning of his decision to become a monk, his father was upset, but his mother gave her blessing. Seeing his son’s inflexibility, reluctantly, the head of the family still let him go, but admonished him with the words: “Don’t remember it badly!” In general, I said goodbye forever. Now Father Photius prays for his parents before the Throne of God and in the silence of the monastic cell.
Wonderful are Your deeds, O Lord! How can I hide from Your face, You are everywhere! He lived among temples and monasteries, and then left forever to return to his homeland and become a monk.
Many go to the monastery out of unsettled life or personal problems, and very rarely out of love for God and the desire to devote their lives to Christ. He left a well-fed Germany and a completely prosperous life, in which he planned to enter High school organ class music to give yourself to God and be with Him. Relatives, favorite music - he buried all this in his heart, leaving it for the only joy that overwhelmed him - communication with God.
The young novice prepared in the monastery for the most severe tests and heavy, overwhelming labor, and was shocked that monastic life did not in the least interfere with his favorite pastime, music, to which he thought he had said goodbye forever! But by the providence of God, the abbot blessed him to sing in the choir, and then sent him to classes with a famous teacher in Moscow. Thus, the Lord turned the talent given to him from birth to serve and benefit the Church.
The teacher taught him to sing correctly and trained his voice. Years later, he himself comes to the Borovsky Monastery and studies with his student. Today, Father Photius’s repertoire includes not only church works, but also complex opera arias, Russians folk songs and romances. He performs with his brethren in cultural centers and schools, the Philharmonic, hospitals and in front of veterans. And he also takes wonderful pictures. documentaries, which receive first places in various competitions and cute, incredibly funny videos for friends.
Only he could come up with the idea of making a video from the footage of the monastery chronicle for the anniversary of the famous hieromonk, where the birthday boy is herding calves, working in the garden and dragging a refrigerator along the street to the song of the Lyube group “Such Work”, performed by prayer fathers and teachers Sunday schools, drivers, workers, children and many others (about forty people in total). At the premiere, fathers were crying with laughter...
Or make a video about “Doshirak” and, with the most serious look, ask the old-timers of the monastery and eminent priests how they eat it.
You won't get bored with him at all. When His Holiness came to Kaluga to celebrate the 650th anniversary of the Hieromartyr Kuksha, the enlightener of the Vyatichi, Father Photius was supposed to perform before the Patriarch with a solo program, for which he went to Kaluga for rehearsals. One day he missed the train and decided to go by car. All the drivers were busy, and he decided to drive himself - fortunately he passed his license a week ago. I understand that it is dangerous to let him go alone to the federal highway, and I say: “Father Photius! I’ll go with you, but I don’t have a license right now, so don’t think about crashing!” Without blinking an eye, he replies: “What are you talking about! You still need to publish a newspaper, and I still need to speak before His Holiness. We can’t crash!”
Let's go, get blessed at the shrine of St. Paphnutius and go. All the way I asked my friend about life in Germany and his journey to the monastery, he told stories, and from time to time he lamented why I was distracting him? “And while you are busy with pleasant memories, Father Photius, you forget about the excitement and drive the car like a real driver.” He says: “But it’s true!” And laughs like a child. We arrived at the rehearsal on time and, to the surprise of the monastery drivers, did not crash anywhere...
When I learned about his participation in the show “The Voice,” knowing Father Photius, I was not at all surprised. We discussed various missionary projects with him more than once that might be of interest modern people. Moreover, all his concerts for the general public, at which he performed church works, classical opera or folk songs, were always a great success. I turned on the TV and carefully watched his performance in the semi-finals.
This was the best sermon for 140 million of the Great Beautiful Country, which was heard and understood by everyone who saw it.
Even those who did not want to hear anything about the Church were shocked. And not only in Russia. A recording of his performance has already been released in France (with commentary in French), Germany and other countries.
We were having fun, dancing and thoughtlessly wasting our lives, suddenly some monk came and told us about something else, Higher world, about love and death, about the transience of life, God and faith. Among the hundreds of comments that I read, one particularly stood out to me: “After watching Father Photius’s performance, for the first time in many years I cried and couldn’t stop. I haven’t been to Church for a long time, but I’ll go tomorrow! How the ringing of a bell woke me up..."
But there were other comments... To all those who consider it unacceptable for an Orthodox monk to appear on Channel One, and even on the show “The Voice,” which is probably broadcast to the Moon, where neither their grandmothers, nor their wives and children watch it, I I would like to remind you that Father Photius does nothing without the blessing of the abbot of the monastery, Bishop of Tarusa Seraphim (Savostyanov), his spiritual father, known throughout Russia and far beyond its borders, the confessor of the Pafnutyev Borovsky Monastery and the Kaluga Metropolis of Schema-Archimandrite Blasius (Peregontsev) and the head of the Kaluga Metropolis, one of the most conservative and authoritative people of our Church, Metropolitan Clement (Kapalin), in whose name the leadership of Channel One sent official letter, which he approved and gave the blessing to Father Photius to participate in the project. If someone believes that he is spiritually superior to these people, God will be his judge...
Assessing his performance, Alexander Gradsky said that he saw why he needed to go on stage. Basta and his mentor Grigory Leps were courageous and stingy with words. Speaking about the second participant, he noted that he performed his song with the greatest professionalism, which Leps himself had never been given, but voted for Father Photius. Polina Gagarina could not speak because she was ready to cry. And even Dmitry Nagiyev forgot about the prepared jokes, because the jokes were over.
Love me, man, because I will die. What kind of jokes can there be after this? Marina Tsvetaeva. Requiem. I make a demand for faith and a request for love...
...I remember one evening during Lent. After evening, Father Photius and I sit together in the editorial office, drink tea with black bread and remain silent. He looks thoughtfully at the gathering evening twilight outside the window and quietly says: “How wonderful it is to serve during Lent! At this time, even those whom you rarely meet in the temple pray together. You will never see such unanimity! All for each other, all together, and Christ is with us. How wonderful it is!”
Hieromonk Photius (Mochalov) and I are friends, and there was a time when we saw each other every day. We went to services together, prayed, made a book about the monastery, for which Father Photius took wonderful photographs, recorded a video against abortion for the All-Russian festival in defense of morality, fried potatoes and talked about what we thought were important and interesting things.
Although I visited his cell, where he has a recording studio, and he gave me all the discs with his songs, I love Father Photius not for his wonderful voice. Who knows what talents, and who does what? For me, he is a monk, the one who loves Christ more than anything in the world.
And when a person is with Christ, it is visible to the naked eye, whether he sings or digs holes.
Love and complacency ooze from him, like nectar from an overripe watermelon. It seems like you are communicating - nothing special, but your soul is light and the birds are singing.
When I started working at the publishing house of the Pafnutiev Borovsky Monastery, where Father Photius was involved in design and layout, photography and television filming, we saw each other almost every day, but the first time we talked was about three months after we met. At first, Father Photius was silent with me all the time. I was keeping an eye on it so that I didn’t throw something away. A secular person in a monastery can be more dangerous than a cadet driving a car without brakes.
It used to be that he would come, politely say hello, and go to the computer. He checks his mail, does some work, and then quietly leaves. The first time he spoke to me was from behind a lamp, which I liked to light before work. “Dionysius, forgive me! But you can’t light a lamp like that! You’ve set the wick too high, it’s smoking and will quickly go out!” And he showed me how to do it. I looked at the small, even flame of the lamp and thought: “What a bore!”
Or this: “Father Photius, the apples are ripe in the monastery garden, let’s go pick them!” He looks in surprise and shakes his head: “Dionysius! We have a tradition - we don’t eat apples before the Apple Day! Sorry, but I can’t go with you.” And rest assured, even if you cut him, he will not take an apple into his mouth until the Transfiguration.
One day I happened to be cleaning out the editorial closets. I see a beautiful Hugo Boss branded package, which contains a brand new pullover. I ask whose? – no one admits. Father Photius arrives. He looks at the bag doubtfully, then laughs: “This is my pullover! As a gift, I put it in the closet and forgot.” He looks at me with joyful eyes and says: “Dionysius, come on, I’ll give it to you!” And don’t you dare refuse! You go to different press conferences, communicate with people, you need to look beautiful!”
But I really got to know Father Photius when I had a conflict with an important and influential person in the monastery, about which I was very worried.
The soft and meek Father Photius, unexpectedly for everyone, rushed to my defense like a lion, which moved me to tears.
The matter reached the rector, but Father Photius did not change his opinion, but wrote a letter to this man, where he expressed his arguments on this matter in detail and directly. I said: “Father, back off, why do you need unnecessary problems?” He shook his head and repeated: “You can’t treat people like God, you can’t!”
He is also pathologically polite to the point of impossibility. In his vocabulary, the address “you” simply does not exist. After Cherkizon’s usual rudeness outside the walls of the monastery, this attitude is alarming and embarrassing, but then you get used to it. At first I thought that this was only happening to me, but then I saw how he communicated with his monk friends, and I calmed down.
One old experienced monk once told me that a person with a bare conscience physically cannot tolerate untruth and injustice and is like a pebble in a shoe for those around him: God loves him, but people persecute him. The world hates the meek even more. By the very fact of their existence, they serve as a silent reproach to the bestial morals that reign in the world. In a wolf pack, if a wolf does not want to fight for a place in the sun, he is expelled from the pack, and at school he is simply beaten.
Among his classmates, the future hieromonk, then a boy Vitalik, was an outcast, constantly bullied and beaten. How can you not beat him if he doesn’t give back? Is it possible to calmly pass by a boy who is not interested in football or war games, but in nature and music, and even classical music? Oh, you are so right with us!? But I’ll give you a black eye, and you won’t be so correct!
Not accepted by his peers, he found peace in nature, and still remembers with trepidation the small village of Vasilsursk, on the Volga in the Nizhny Novgorod region, where he spent every summer with his parents. Looking at the Volga expanses, the boy forgot about all the troubles and was left alone with a piercing feeling of freedom and endless happiness...
He began asking questions about God very early, and at the age of seven he dragged his mother to Church to be baptized.
He was sure that this was the only way to become an angel and make friends with Christ, and when he was baptized, he walked around like a birthday boy for a week. But his churching stopped there: although his relatives were baptized people, like the majority around him, they did not go to Church. Now it is his mother who is the regent of an Orthodox church in Germany, but then the parents were surprised at their son’s religious quest and just shook their heads.
Five years later, his vocal teacher from a music school took him to a children's Orthodox camp. The camp was at the Sunday school of one church, where for the first time he began to attend liturgy and sing in the choir. He liked church singing and church services so much that upon returning home he began to learn prayers and bought his first small icons. Mom immediately noticed strong changes in her son: he became somehow festive and inspired. Every morning and evening he diligently reads the prayer rule, and also burns incense on a spoon...
A child’s pure faith is as tender as a flower and defenseless against the winds of life: after some time, the boy’s prayerful fervor faded away. In addition, Vitaly entered a music school, there was almost no free time left, and the road to the temple began to be slowly forgotten. But his wise mother, who took her son’s spiritual hobbies seriously, began to join the church, read spiritual literature and go to church. And once a month she took communion and convinced him to do the same. Otherwise, what kind of Christians are we if we live without Christ?
During a period of market turmoil, the family decided to leave for permanent residence in Germany. Together with his parents and brother, Vitaly ended up in small Kaiserslautern, next to which there was a parish (still active) of the holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon. They went with their mother to services, and when an Orthodox parish opened in their town, they began to go there. The parish did not have a permanent place; prayers and services were held in premises for which they did not take money, for example, in the hall of a Catholic community house, where they set up an improvised altar and served according to the Orthodox rite. In a makeshift church, Vitaly read “The Apostle,” sang in the choir and became a sexton.
When he began to help at an Orthodox parish in the neighboring city of Saarbrücken, forgotten childhood experiences from his first prayer and communication with God suddenly came to life in his heart. It was such a joyful and strong feeling that with a group of pilgrims he went to Russia to the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra. And there are St. Job and our contemporary, St. Amphilochius and real monastic obediences!
He really liked being near the great saints, but he did not like obedience. I thought then: the monastery is not for me, it’s too hard.
But upon returning home, I carefully and thoughtfully re-read the entire Gospel, as well as the lives of Ambrose of Optina and Joseph of Optina. The Optina elders revealed to him a new life of Orthodox asceticism and asceticism, hidden from the world. This life was so real and attractive that he decided to return to his homeland and become a monk.
In addition to his work at the Orthodox parish, Vitaly learned to play the organ in a Catholic church, where he showed great promise. The Catholic teacher was a sincere person and understood everything. Just said in parting: Make sure that it doesn’t turn out that you abandoned the organ, but didn’t go anywhere and didn’t start anything else... How often beautiful impulses of the soul become the cause of severe disappointments and life disasters.
He listened to the teacher and thought that the time had come to choose: the grace of the Holy Spirit or worldly riches: fame, money, flowers and universal honor. Not relying on himself, the young man decided to talk about choosing a path in life with a man of high spiritual life and he was advised to go to the Pafnutiev Borovsky Monastery, to a confessor known throughout Russia, Schema-Archimandrite Vlasiy (Peregontsev). When Vitaly arrived, the priest was away, and for several months he went to services, worked, prayed and thought about his future. While I was waiting for the priest, I decided for myself: whatever he says, I will do so. When the long-awaited meeting with the elder came, he listened to him carefully, and then said: “Stay!” He accepted his words as the will of God and stayed.
Upon learning of his decision to become a monk, his father was upset, but his mother gave her blessing. Seeing his son’s inflexibility, reluctantly, the head of the family still let him go, but admonished him with the words: “Don’t remember it badly!” In general, I said goodbye forever. Now Father Photius prays for his parents before the Throne of God and in the silence of the monastic cell.
Wonderful are Your deeds, O Lord! How can I hide from Your face, You are everywhere! He lived among temples and monasteries, and then left forever to return to his homeland and become a monk.
Many people go to the monastery out of unsettled life or personal problems, and very rarely out of love for God and a desire to devote their lives to Christ. He left a well-fed Germany and a completely prosperous life, in which he planned to enter the Higher School of Music to study organ in order to give himself to God and be with Him. Relatives, favorite music - he buried all this in his heart, leaving it for the only joy that overwhelmed him - communication with God.
The young novice prepared in the monastery for the most severe tests and heavy, overwhelming labor, and was shocked that monastic life did not in the least interfere with his favorite pastime, music, to which he thought he had said goodbye forever! But by the providence of God, the abbot blessed him to sing in the choir, and then sent him to classes with a famous teacher in Moscow. Thus, the Lord turned the talent given to him from birth to serve and benefit the Church.
The teacher taught him to sing correctly and trained his voice. Years later, he himself comes to the Borovsky Monastery and studies with his student. Today, Father Photius’s repertoire includes not only church works, but also complex opera arias, Russian folk songs and romances. He performs with his brethren in cultural centers and schools, the Philharmonic, hospitals and in front of veterans. He also makes wonderful documentaries that win first places in various competitions and cute, incredibly funny videos for friends.
Only he could come up with the idea of making a video from the footage of the monastery chronicle for the anniversary of the famous hieromonk, where the birthday boy is herding calves, working in the garden and dragging a refrigerator along the street to the song of the Lyube group “Such Work”, performed by prayer fathers and Sunday teachers schools, drivers, workers, children and many others (about forty people in total). At the premiere, fathers were crying with laughter...
Or make a video about “Doshirak” and, with the most serious look, ask the old-timers of the monastery and eminent priests how they eat it.
You won't get bored with him at all. When His Holiness came to Kaluga to celebrate the 650th anniversary of the Hieromartyr Kuksha, the enlightener of the Vyatichi, Father Photius was supposed to perform before the Patriarch with a solo program, for which he went to Kaluga for rehearsals. One day he missed the train and decided to go by car. All the drivers were busy, and he decided to drive himself - fortunately he passed his license a week ago. I understand that it is dangerous to let him go alone to the federal highway, and I say: “Father Photius! I’ll go with you, but I don’t have a license right now, so don’t think about crashing!” Without blinking an eye, he replies: “What are you talking about! You still need to publish a newspaper, and I still need to speak before His Holiness. We can’t crash!”
Let's go, get blessed at the shrine of St. Paphnutius and go. All the way I asked my friend about life in Germany and his journey to the monastery, he told stories, and from time to time he lamented why I was distracting him? “And while you are busy with pleasant memories, Father Photius, you forget about the excitement and drive the car like a real driver.” He says: “But it’s true!” And laughs like a child. We arrived at the rehearsal on time and, to the surprise of the monastery drivers, did not crash anywhere...
When I learned about his participation in the show “The Voice,” knowing Father Photius, I was not at all surprised. We discussed with him more than once various missionary projects that might be of interest to modern people. Moreover, all his concerts for the general public, at which he performed church works, classical opera or folk songs, were always a great success. I turned on the TV and carefully watched his performance in the semi-finals.
This was the best sermon for 140 million of the Great Beautiful Country, which was heard and understood by everyone who saw it.
Even those who did not want to hear anything about the Church were shocked. And not only in Russia. A recording of his performance has already been released in France (with commentary in French), Germany and other countries.
We were having fun, dancing and thoughtlessly wasting our lives, suddenly some monk came and talked about another, Higher world, about love and death, about the transience of life, God and faith. Among the hundreds of comments that I read, one particularly stood out to me: “After watching Father Photius’s performance, for the first time in many years I cried and couldn’t stop. I haven’t been to Church for a long time, but I’ll go tomorrow! How the ringing of a bell woke me up..."
But there were other comments... To all those who consider it unacceptable for an Orthodox monk to appear on Channel One, and even on the show “The Voice,” which is probably broadcast to the Moon, where neither their grandmothers, nor their wives and children watch it, I I would like to remind you that aboutFather Photius does nothing without the blessing of the rector of the monastery, Bishop Seraphim (Savostyanov) of Tarusa, his spiritual father, known throughout Russia and far beyond its borders, the confessor of the Pafnutyev Borovsky Monastery and the Kaluga Metropolis, Schema-Archimandrite Blasius (Peregontsev) and the head of the Kaluga Metropolis, one of the most conservative and authoritative people of our Church, Metropolitan Clement (Kapalin), to whose name the management of Channel One sent an official letter, which he approved and gave his blessing to Father Photius to participate in the project. If someone believes that he is spiritually superior to these people, God will be his judge...
Assessing his performance, Alexander Gradsky said that he saw why he needed to go on stage. Basta and his mentor Grigory Leps were courageous and stingy with words. Speaking about the second participant, he noted that he performed his song with the greatest professionalism, which Leps himself had never been given, but voted for Father Photius. Polina Gagarina could not speak because she was ready to cry. And even Dmitry Nagiyev forgot about the prepared jokes, because the jokes were over.
Love me, man, because I will die. What kind of jokes can there be after this? Marina Tsvetaeva. Requiem. I make a demand for faith and a request for love...
...I remember one evening during Lent. After evening, Father Photius and I sit together in the editorial office, drink tea with black bread and remain silent. He looks thoughtfully at the gathering evening twilight outside the window and quietly says: “How wonderful it is to serve during Lent! At this time, even those whom you rarely meet in the temple pray together. You will never see such unanimity! All for each other, all together, and Christ is with us. How wonderful it is!”
The voice of Hieromonk Photius (Mochalov), a participant in the show, evokes the most conflicting feelings among fans of the project.
On the one hand, the audience is pleased with the singer’s soulful voice, on the other hand, the ward of Grigory Leps was initially placed in a more comfortable conditions and this causes criticism.
Father Photius is not allowed to sing rock, jazz or just songs at a fast tempo. He always speaks beautifully, but in general, always one-sidedly in the Channel One project. However, this did not stop the performer from collecting greatest number audience votes.
Who is Father Photius, where does he come from, what is his personal life like, how he came to church and how he got on the Voice show - we will answer these questions in today’s publication.
Hieromonk Photius, in Mira Vitaly Mochalov was born in Nizhny Novgorod on January 1, 1987.
The boy became involved in music and faith from childhood. He visited the local music school, learned to sing and play the piano. When Vitaly was seven years old, he began to ask his mother to take him to church and baptize him.
At school, the boy felt like a black sheep because he was bullied by students. He did not want to take part in games, but devoted all his time to music lessons. Vitaly received his first connection to the church at the Blagovest children's Orthodox camp.
The true churching of the future monk occurred already in his adult years. The Mochalov family was in exile in Germany at that time. There Vitaly went to the local parish, learned to play the organ, made pilgrimages and gradually came to the idea of monasticism.
Three years later, Vitaly returned to Russia, entered the service of the St. Paphnutievsky Monastery in the Kaluga region and took monastic vows, becoming Hieromonk Photius.
Monastic life did not become an obstacle to Photius’s pursuit of music. The hieromonk was sent to the choir, and to train his voice he took vocal lessons in Moscow.
After twenty lessons, Photius returned to the monastery, but did not lose contact with his teacher. Viktor Tvardovsky visited his student in the monastery, learning more complex things with him, including arias from operas.
Gradually, Hieromonk Photius mastered romances and songs. He was given good musical equipment, thanks to which he was able to record and post two discs on the Internet.
With the advent of the Voice project on the first TV channel, the hieromonk’s friends suggested that he try his hand at it, but Photius only decided on the fourth season. Initially, he expected to get into the team of Alexander Gradsky, but he had to go to Grigory Leps.
The mentor met the new mentee a little with hostility, asking him the question “What will you do if you win the project?”
Photius was confused and honestly answered that he had not thought about it, and coming to the project was a feat for him.
However, despite some inconsistencies, the contestant successfully passes from one round to another. The next time we will see Father Photius will be in the semi-finals, and it is possible that he will also make it to the finals of the show The Voice.
Hieromonk Photius, blind auditions, Lensky's Aria
Hieromonk Photius, “On the Road to Zagorsk”
Father Photius successfully made it to the finals, performing “Monologue” by Marina Tsvetaeva. The contestant received 60% from the mentor and 79.25 from TV viewers. Thus, Hieromonk Photius gained a total number of votes of 139.2% Listen to the song “Monologue” performed by Father Photius
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February 24, 2016We visited the monastery to visit the priest and found out how his life changed after the victory
We visited the monastery to visit the priest and found out how his life changed after the victory.
Photo: Mikhail FROLOV Hieromonk Photius is only 30 years old. He is a monk of the St. Paphnutiev Borovsky Monastery, that is, he permanently lives in the monastery and obeys the local charter. This should not be confused with a recluse who has vowed not to leave his cell. But last year, after Father Photius won the fourth season of the show “The Voice,” the Internet burst out with “righteous anger”: since he’s a pop, then why did he go on stage? And if he came out, then why does he need a cassock? And in general this is a secular show. We went to visit Father Photius.
The St. Paphnutius Borovsky Monastery stands 120 kilometers from Moscow, on the outskirts of Borovsk (Kaluga region) - on the banks of the Protva River. Father Photius meets us in the monastery editorial office, where he usually works himself. They even have their own publishing house: the creative priest helps with the design and layout of paper publications - the monastery newspaper “Vestnik”, the children’s magazine “Korablik”, books.
The hieromonk gets up, as is customary in the monastery, before dark, prays in his cell - he doesn’t allow anyone there, then attends the liturgy and meets guests here - in lately after Father Photius’s victory on the “Voice” show, the number of pilgrims to him almost exceeds the number of tourists and believers. The hieromonk usually invites guests to the teahouse. The monks do not seem to pay attention to the hype around their brother - Photius gives interviews almost every day, and recently even Timur Kizyakov came to the monastery with the program “While everyone is at home.” But a tense or even unusual aura around Father Photius is still felt - even here, seemingly among his own people, he seems to be different. It turns out that it has always been this way.
Father Photius devotes himself to the service most of time, but there are a couple of hours left to communicate with friends and fans. Photo: Mikhail FROLOV “Compliments and flattering reviews are an inoculation”
- Father Photius, two months ago you... Has your life changed after this? At least partially.
— In a global sense, of course not. There is less time left for rest. I began to devote more time to the fans that appeared. I communicate a lot with the press. There are concerts and meetings with people. It's physically tiring. Otherwise everything is the same.
— That is, flattering reviews, gifts, compliments and other temptations do not undermine spiritual work on oneself?
- Let's just say this is exercise for me. There is no need to be afraid of it or cut it off. Otherwise, spiritual immunity will never develop. It's like a flu shot. Every eloquent review flatters me, but I am aware that this is not my merit. And God's will. As a monk, I have almost learned to take praise and criticism evenly. Of course, I can be offended by a comment on the Internet. But I deliberately leave such opinions - angry, sober, often objective. They dilute the molasses that is poured on me in the responses.
- It was a little embarrassing. But I tried not to give anyone the opportunity to confuse me. I just did my job, that's all. Like eating a reed shaken by the wind. Either it touches the ground, then it rises up. If I were to dissipate my attention to the negative, to submit to influence, I would destroy my individuality. I would cease to be a person. But I didn’t want that.
— made complaints to you personally?
“He spoke to me quite gently. On the one hand, he respected me as a clergyman, because he himself is a believer. And he said that he had friends among the clergy - Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, for example. But, on the other hand, he viewed me as a singer from the height of experience and age. Of course, he talked about shortcomings. But he didn’t insult me or force me to leave the project or change my mind about participating in “The Voice.” This did not happen.
For some it may sound blasphemous, but it was the show “The Voice” that made the priest famous throughout the country. Photo: Ruslan ROSCHUPKIN“Sometimes I find out that people speak unflatteringly about me behind my back.”
— The Patriarch was one of the first to congratulate you on your victory in “The Voice.” There was no personal conversation after that?
— We didn’t communicate personally. But such a meeting could happen soon.
— The Internet is filled with criticism of you. They call you both a “hierophistic singer” and a “pop artist.” How do the brethren react to your secular popularity? Is there really not a single sideways glance?
- Everything happens. So far this is not on a large scale, thank God. Among my acquaintances, brethren and clergy there are people who do not agree with what I am doing. There were even bishops who told me about this during the service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior (January 25, Tatiana’s day, after the liturgy, he sang for students in the main church of the country. - Author). But they are one percent of the total number of people. Some, on the contrary, want to take a photo with me. There was one priest who honestly said to his face: “I do not protect you and do not support what you are doing.” Perhaps this was an exception. In other cases, I find out from friends that they speak unflatteringly about me. What can you do... this was to be expected. I think that everyone is right: both white and red (smiles).
"I didn't want to be a priest"
— On February 21, you went to. How did you convince the Church leadership that you could do this?
“I didn’t have to convince anyone.” Information about this in the media was misinterpreted. The fear was that they wouldn’t take me into circulation and carry me around the whole country like a monkey: “Look what a singing priest we have.” This is exactly what the metropolitan feared (the spiritual “boss” of the hieromonk, Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk Clement. - Author). And then they explained to him that no one would derive any benefits from the tour, he agreed. Participation in the tour is a condition of the contract with Universal Music, which I signed following my victory in “The Voice”. And the task of the tour is to show a living person, a non-fictional image. You can meet and talk with him, this is not a PR project of Channel One or the Russian Orthodox Church. That's the goal. People need to see that everything is honest and real.
“I have such a sin,” the priest answered the host of “The Voice” Dmitry Nagiyev when asked about his love for selfies. Photo: vk.com — Do the obligations of the rank of hieromonk contradict such a career?
— This rank implies being in a monastery, taking monastic vows and serving as a priest. Hieromonks and monks are popularly called “black” clergy because they cannot marry. The “white” clergy are ordinary priests, priests with families. There are no other peculiarities - being silent, being unsociable, not leaving the cell, and so on - no.
— I wouldn’t like to transfer the conversation to the level of physiology, but still a man in at a young age It’s not easy without the woman you love. How did you come to this decision?
“The course of my life dictated this choice to me. There was probably a predisposition towards monasticism. My unconventional worldview set me apart from others. I have always been a black sheep and was very different from my peers - in kindergarten, school. All this led to monasticism. A thoughtful and logical step.
I was called names and teased. I didn't fight. And they didn’t understand how to react to it
— How was the non-standard manifested?
- They called me names, teased me and saw that my reaction was not entirely predictable - I was silent and did not fight. They didn’t understand, didn’t know how to react, they continued to mock - this amused them. The herd effect was at work - the entire class began to be bullied and squeezed out of the team. As a result, even those who were more or less drawn to me turned away under the influence of the majority.
- So, they were persecuted only for humility?
— If you mean relationships with the female sex, then there was and is no unusual behavior here. I have always fallen in love and still see, notice feminine beauty, no matter how strange it may sound for a monk. True, after so many years of living in a monastery, you begin to get used to loneliness. A certain insensitivity develops: it’s already difficult for me to be tempted.
— Isn’t there an internal contradiction in this: nature struggles with the weight of the vow? You are a living person.
- Of course there is. I am a man of flesh and blood. Various thoughts come to me. Therefore, you need to think and pray all your life. There will never come a moment when a person will live in absolute goodness and sinlessness. Without “extra” thoughts. They say that one demon follows a layman, a hundred follow a monk to lead him astray.
- Ordinary mortals have a plan: plant a tree, build a house, raise a son. What about you?
— There is room to grow. But I achieved the main thing: I became a hieromonk. When I came to the monastery for the first time, I did not want to be a priest. The confessor told me: go to seminary and become a priest. This is the highest level. I don’t want to hold any positions, because with increasing rank comes more obligations and responsibilities. Perhaps this is not for me. I'm not an organizer. Other people do this very well.
Father Photius is interested in photography, and sometimes he doesn’t mind taking part in historical reconstruction. Photo: vk.com — Did your parents accept your decision right away? It turns out that the masculine gender has ended with you.
“Such a loss was not easy for them. It's hard for any mother to lose her blood. But at the same time, she feels great joy and pride for me. I have a brother, which means I have the opportunity to continue the family line. Dad blessed me on this path.
— You were born in Nizhny Novgorod, and then you and your parents ended up in Germany. How long have you lived in Europe?
— We emigrated to Kaiserslautern in 2002, I lived there for three and a half years.
— Was it difficult to adapt?
- I liked everything. At first it was a bit difficult with the language, but then I got better. I made many friends, especially among musicians. The only thing that caused embarrassment was that I didn’t know how to earn money.
— There are good unemployment benefits in Europe.
— Yes, but for this you need to go around many authorities, register, look for a job and show your signature at the labor exchange that you couldn’t get a job. I wanted to be a musician, and it wasn't easy. All that remained was to earn extra money in churches: he played Protestant churches on the organ (Father Photius has been involved in music since childhood and is proficient in instruments. - Author). Then he was going to enter the Higher School of Music to the department of organ, but just at that moment he decided to go to the monastery.
“It would be interesting to give an answer to Conchita Wurst.”
— On your Instagram page you often publish photos with postal boxes and parcels. What do your fans send you?
— Letters, congratulations, drawings, crafts. They are trying to help, help out, take care. Once I mentioned that I went out into the cold without gloves. So they sent gloves. Although I already have them (smiles).
— What is your favorite cheese too?
— If you don’t send it in a parcel, it will get spoiled. Cheese is brought to concerts. And they give it to you after the performance.
The hieromonk often receives guests in the monastery refectory. And he really loves different cheeses. Photo: Mikhail FROLOV — And recently you photographed your favorite types of perfume...
“I thought for a long time whether it was worth doing this.” Because I assumed it would cause a resonance. But I wasn't afraid. Although I am a priest and can cause confusion among people, we must understand that it is necessary to show the real image of a person. So that people can see: they have the same needs as everyone else. Since I have an Instagram account and I'm trying to, let's say, imitate famous people who post photos about their lives, I don’t see anything reprehensible in this.
— Do monks have ways of worldly relaxation? Take care of the cat, play chess or football.
— Our monastery is located in a picturesque place on the river bank. Almost a nature reserve. In my free time I like to take a walk in the fresh air and wander through the forest. It's calming. You walk as if through a village, there are a lot of wooden houses, a river, woods.
— Was the invention of the chemical element “Photia,” the image of which you have on Instagram, invented by fans?
- This is my joke. I came up with it myself. And this was prompted by rumors that for Gela Guralia (finalist of the second season of “The Voice” - Author) people remade the periodic table under his name: helium and so on. So I decided to troll a little.
- This year . Next time, when the Russian representative is determined by the Channel One jury, you will have good chances for a business trip. Are you ready to compete?
- Yes. After “The Voice” I’m not afraid of anything. Although, I think the Patriarch will be against it. Although this is a sensitive matter, it would be interesting to give an answer and show that there are singing priests. From a moral point of view, reorient Eurovision.
— Final question in the style of Marcel Proust. What would you like to ask God when you meet?
- From God?
- Yes.
“When you meet God, there are no questions.” They just fall away. Whatever I ask it will be children's question, the answer to which will already be known to me. I would say, “Lord, forgive my sins.” The most important thing is to ask God for mercy. Each of us falls, gets up and moves on. The main thing is not to reject God and stay with him, no matter how life turns out. You need to humble yourself, but not consider yourself hopeless: “Okay, I’m a sinner, I can’t fix it, I’ll continue to drink and have fun.” Such conceit does not lead to repentance, but to the reverse process. There is no need to turn away from God - he never turns away from us. And he loves everyone.
Personal matter
(Vitaly Mochalov) was born in Gorky on November 11, 1985 in a non-religious family. He studied at a music school and sang in a church choir. He entered a music school, but at the age of 17 he moved with his family to Germany. He made money by playing the organ. In 2005 he returned to Russia and was accepted into the brethren of the St. Paphnutiev Borovsky Monastery. In the monastery publishing house he is engaged in design and layout. In 2015 he won the show “The Voice”. At the decisive stage, Mikhail Ozerov from the team of Alexander Gradsky won with a stunning margin: 76% to 24%. As a result of “The Voice”, he signed a contract with the recording company Universal Music.
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Saturday/21.30, First
Hieromonk Photius is the only Russian clergyman who managed to become famous thanks to television project. Despite all his devotion to his monastery, music and the love of singing occupied a huge place in his soul from childhood.
Childhood
Vitaly Mochalov (future Hieromonk Photius) was born on November 11, 1987 in a city called Gorky, which over time was renamed Nizhny Novgorod. WITH early age the boy was fond of music and deep in his soul knew that his life would be connected with creativity. At the age of 7, the young man could boast of good piano playing and a good voice. He received basic skills at a local music school, which for a long time did not want to teach the talented young man, citing the fact that he had unsuitable fingers. Having coped with all the difficulties, he still managed to graduate from school in piano.
To improve his skills, the guy joined the school choir, and also sang along with his mother at every opportunity. By the way, she graduated from the same music school at one time. While doing what he loved, Vitaly did not even suspect that very soon his voice would begin to “break.” As soon as this happened, he decided to attend church school and continue singing in the choir. Days flew by, the boy grew up and moved further and further away from his classmates. After finishing 9 grades, Vitaly applied to a music school, where he hoped to gain new knowledge.
After studying for only 1 year, the parents decided to move to the German city of Kaiserslautern. In order not to lose what he had learned, the guy continued to study music and singing, but this time instead of the piano he chose the organ. At this time, Photius began to actively perform at concerts, and also often took part in church services, thus earning his first money. Years passed, but the young man could not get used to a foreign country, so in 2005 he decided to return to his homeland.
Hieromonk Photius and the church
In 2005, when the young man turned 20 years old, he returned to Russia and entered service at the St. Pafnutevsky Monastery in the Kaluga region. It was during this period of his life ordinary guy, whom his parents named Vitaly, turned into Hieromonk Photius. He made the decision on his own, so his family didn’t even try to convince their son.
Once in the church, the guy continued to study music and even more, he put a lot of effort into improving his voice. In this he was helped by the honored teacher Viktor Tvardovsky, who spoke very flatteringly about the guy. He considered him a kind, bright and intelligent young man with a strong character. In addition to music, Photius is also interested in photography and studying various foreign languages. For comparatively little time he managed to master English perfectly and German language. In addition to this, he is able to perform almost any song in Japanese, Italian and Georgian.
After completing his studies with Tvardovsky, Photius studied vocals for a long time, using special exercises that the respected teacher developed. And only in 2010 the guy took Ionic tonsure, and 3 years later he officially became a hieromonk.
Hieromonk Photius was supposed to participate in the “Voice” project back in 2013, he was even invited to the casting, but at that time he was not ready to go for a blessing. In fact, he did not immediately dare to send an application, since he believed that a worshiper had no place on such a show.
After some time, the guy rethought everything and realized that “The Voice” is, first of all, a talent competition, and only then a TV show. Having gathered his thoughts, he went to have a serious conversation with confessors and metropolitans to convince them to let him go to the competition. In general, it took him 2 years, because he only dared to apply again in 2015. Once on the show, Photius tried in every possible way not to tarnish the honor of the monastery and the dignity of the entire church. Perhaps faith helped him cope with all the difficulties, and perhaps numerous prayers of abbots and spiritual fathers. In fact, when he came to the show, the guy did not want fame and universal recognition, but rather to push and encourage all people to self-improvement through music. Finding yourself for the first time big stage, the hieromonk was not at a loss and brilliantly performed an aria from Eugene Onegin. Unfortunately, his work impressed only Grigory Leps, because it was he who turned to the participant.
As Photius himself later admitted, he dreamed of joining Alexander Gradsky’s team, but fate decreed otherwise. Despite this, his idol still paid attention to him and even agreed to perform Lensky’s aria from the opera “Eugene Onegin” with him. At first, the jury members did not even know that the clergyman would be able to reach the finals, but deep in their hearts they were glad of this. At the end of the project, Grigory Leps was very proud of his ward, as he managed to meet all his expectations. Four contestants were lucky enough to compete for the main prize of the “Voice” show: Era Kann (Basta’s team), Mikhail Ozerov (Alexander Gradsky’s team), Olga Zadonskaya (Polina Gagarina’s team) and Hieromonk Photius (Grigory Leps’ team). In December 2015, the clergyman sang the song Per te (“For you”) and captivated all television viewers with it. During live broadcast More than 900,000 viewers voted for him. As a result, he won a phenomenal victory, receiving 75% of all votes. Having officially become the winner, he was given the keys to a brand new car.
In his last speech, he noted that he may not be worthy of being called the winner, since there were a lot of talented and truly professional singers next to him on the project. Despite this, for the first time the winner of the 4th season of the “Voice” project was a clergyman. In honor of this significant event The hieromonk was congratulated by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'.
Personal life
As it is not difficult to guess, Photius’s personal life is a service to the church. Despite his sociability, he is a very shy and kind person.
At one time, already a clergyman, the guy dreamed of giving back to his homeland and becoming a military man. Unfortunately, doctors discovered problems with his vision and rejected him. Since then, he devoted all his free time to music and church. Perhaps it was thanks to his perseverance and determination that he managed not only to win the show, but also to teach a lesson to all people who doubt their abilities.
Hieromonk Photius today
In February 2016, Timur Kizyakov, the host of the TV program “While Everyone is Home,” came to visit Hieromonk Photius. The meeting took place in the tea room of the St. Paphnute Monastery. During the tea party, Hieromonk Joseph, Photius and his entire support group, who helped cope with all the difficulties on the “Voice” show, were sitting at the table.
