Participant name: Vitaly Mochalov
Age (birthday): 1.01.1987
Job: priest, monk (inhabitant) of St. Paphnutyev Borovsky Monastery, hieromonk
Family: not married, no children
Mentor: Grigory Leps
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Vitaly Mochalov plays music with school years. He attended school for vocal and piano lessons, sang in the school choir, and was a soloist.
WITH early years I dreamed that I would become a composer, write music and songs. At that moment, when my voice “broke” in adolescence, I began to attend church school, where I immediately became a member of the church choir.
Having completed 9 classes high school, went to study at music school per department music theory . But he studied there for only a year, because he and his family had to move to permanent residence in the city of Kaiserslautern (Germany). But even in a foreign country, he continued to study music, learning to play the organ.
Three years later he returned to Russia, where he entered service in a monastery. He took monastic vows and became Hieromonk Photius. But he still remained partial to music.
Photius studied with Viktor Tvardovsky, he took his original course and was able to tune his voice.
As for his personal life, Photius serves in church every day. His associates claim that he has a very complex character.
While in the monastery, he had to make a decision about serving in the army. Photius decided to go to the service, but this did not happen, since he has vision problems.
Speaks excellent English and German language. Performs songs in Italian, Serbian, Georgian, Japanese.
He noted that he came to the show to undergo a special test for himself, however, the mentors did not quite understand how to deal with the hieromonk if he wins.
Grigory Leps turned out to be right when he turned to Photius, he chose him for his team and led him to victory. Photius admitted that he initially wanted to go to Gradsky, since he was closer to academic performance.
Hieromonk Photius did not sing jazz, rock, or fast compositions on the project. Despite this, he managed to gain large number audience votes.
Photos of Photius
Photius constantly posts photographs from tours and travels. Takes pictures with fans and their gifts. He often takes selfies.
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 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 for you 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. Pafnutevsky Monastery in 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 invited him to try his hand, but Photius only decided to season four. 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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"on Channel One.Hieromonk Photius born in Gorky. Since childhood, he loved singing, but they didn’t want to take him to music school because of his crooked fingers. As a result, he graduated from school with a degree in piano, but did not finish his studies at the music school due to moving to Germany. At the age of 20, he decided to go to a monastery, for which he moved to Borovsk. Sings in the church choir. Hobbies include learning languages and photography.
Hieromonk Photius on the show The Voice season 4
Hieromonk Photius to participate in vocal competition Channel One was blessed by the archimandrite. According to Photius, it was possible to obtain this from the hierarchy with the help of the organizers of the show, who made an official request to the head of the Kaluga Metropolis, on whose territory the Borovsky Monastery is located.
Grigory Leps turned to Photius, whose team included an unusual contestant. Photius admitted that he did not count on Leps’s favor at all, but assumed that he would turn to him Gradsky. However, Gradsky did not deprive Father Photius of his attention during the project and even performed Lensky’s aria from the opera “Eugene Onegin” with him.
Hieromonk Photius together with Era Kann (Basta's team), Mikhail Ozerov (Alexander Gradsky's team) and Olga Zadonskaya (Polina Gagarina's team) made it to the finals of the show " The Voice Season 4", which viewers saw on air on December 25, 2015. In the finale, Hieromonk Photius once again performed the composition Per te("For you").
76% of TV viewers voted for Hieromonk Photius, and the singer became the winner of the show “ The Voice Season 4" As a gift to Photius received a car. Hieromonk Photius heartily thanked all the spectators, and noted in his final speech that his victory was perhaps not very deserved, because real professionals performed next to him on the project.
“I came to “The Voice” first of all as a simple person, to really realize myself somehow, to show the gift that the Lord gave me. This desire was not entirely mine - friends played a big role; I wanted to get into the second season of the project, but then I couldn’t get a blessing,” said the hieromonk.
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 let anyone in 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 most of his time to the service, but leaves a couple of hours 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 will sound blasphemous, but it was the show “The Voice” that glorified the priest 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 sidelong 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 total number 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 it’s not easy for a man at a young age without the woman he loves. 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 and notice female 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 masculine 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 to do 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 High school music to the organ department, 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 spoil. Cheese is brought to concerts. And they give it after the performance.
The hieromonk often receives guests in the monastery refectory. And he loves different cheeses very much. 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 free time I like to go for a walk fresh air, wander through the forest. It's calming. You walk as if through a village, there are a lot of wooden houses, a river, woods.
- Invention chemical element Was “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 delicate 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 a childish question, the answer to which I will already know. 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 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.
Chorister of the Holy Paphnute Monastery, Hieromonk Photius (Mochalov)
That is why, having enlisted the support of his brothers, he risked trying his hand at the vocal television project “The Voice”. The singer's sincerity and sincerity so sank into the souls of the judges and television viewers that, based on the results of the final voting, he managed to gain a record number of votes and become the winner of the fourth season.
The childhood of Hieromonk Photius
Vitaly Mochalov (future Hieromonk Photius) was born on November 11, 1985 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 playing the piano quite well and good voice. He received basic skills at a local music school, which long time I didn’t 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.
Vitaly Mochalov (Fotiy) in childhood
To improve his skills, the guy joined the school choir, and also at every opportunity sang along with his mom. 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. Having completed 9 classes, Vitaly applied to a music school, where he hoped to gain new knowledge.
Hieromonk Photius in his youth
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 your 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 that an 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.
Father Photius
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. In a relatively short time, he managed to perfectly master English and German. In addition to this, he is able to perform almost any song in Japanese, Italian and Georgian.
Hieromonk Photius plays a role in the production “Our Fatherland - Holy Rus'”
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 monastic vows, and 3 years later he officially became a hieromonk.
Hieromonk Photius and the show “The Voice”
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, because 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.