Hieromonk Fotiy was recognized as the winner of the 4th season of the Russian super-popular show "The Voice" - together with his mentor G. Leps, he interrupted an absolutely unbeaten run of various pupils of A. Gradsky. It should be noted that the aforementioned Voice show, which is aired on Channel One, is a kind of Russian version of The Voice format and the most popular music competition on Russian television.
Thirty-year-old father Photius (in the world it is Mochalov Vitaly) - a resident of the present-day St. Pafnutiev Borovsky monastery; he is the choir director of the monks, and before the official submission of the application for participation in the competition, he received the proper blessing from his abbot. As a winner, he also signed a contract with Universal Music Russia and received a brand new Lada XRay SUV.
In total, only four musicians performed in the final of the 4th "Voice". Photius was opposed here by O. Zadonskaya from Gagarina's team, A. Gradsky was represented by M. Ozerov, and Basta was represented by E. Kann, a young student of Gnesinka. As a result, Cannes took 4th place, Zadonskaya - 3rd, and only singers reached the super final. For Father Photius, three quarters of the show's viewers gave their votes.
According to the producer of this show, Y. Aksyuta, they received 940 thousand calls and SMS from the audience. All raised funds will be transferred to the Orthodox service "Mercy", and some of them will be sent to the K. Khabensky charitable foundation.
Representatives of churches have already won similar competitions. Last year nun Christina won the Italian version. The video with her performance gained incredible popularity on YouTube, she even recorded a cover of Madonna's song "Like A Virgin", and then released an album called "Sister Cristina", which managed to reach 17th place in the charts in Italy.
However, the main result of the 4th season was not the victory of the team of G. Leps, but the loss of Mr. Gradsky. The point here is that in the previous 3 seasons on the Golos, only its pupils won. The trend seemed so alarming to the producers of the show that they decided to update the entire coaching staff - in the hope that one of the newcomers would be able to argue with the master. Gradsky stayed, according to his personal admission, to demonstrate the continuity of generations and pass on all the accumulated experience to them. As a result, G. Leps, who went to the Eurovision Song Contest, P. Gagarin, and rapper Basta, made Gradsky's company.
This step of the producers of the TV channel looked controversial and immediately drew sharp criticism. But it must be admitted: the participating pupils of all coaches without exception had great chances of winning. And even though Ozerov and Fotius were considered favorites before the final, they could not count on an indispensable victory. So, for example, the pupil of rapper Basta Era Kann showed herself very well in the previous rounds. And Olga Zadonskaya from the team presented by Gagarina turned out to be the only one to whom all the members of the jury turned to at the "blind auditions" and who managed to reach the final.
Then only the chair in which Leps was turned to Father Photius. Before the final, Leps admitted: "I can't even call myself his mentor - I'm just a servant of God, and he is a father."
However, each finalist can feel like a winner. 150 performers were admitted to the "blind auditions", but only 57 made it to the next round, which made up four teams of mentors. Well, then - through the fights, those who were first singled out by the coaches from one and a half hundred applicants, and only then from the personal team, reached the final.
After summing up the results of the fourth "Voice", the head of the music broadcasting of the First Channel, Y. Aksyuta, did not at all announce the 5th season of the show, as it was one year ago, when it was announced live about the continuation of the show and the change of mentors directly.
Prigogine: Hieromonk Photius must definitely continue to speak.
The specialists of the publication "Birzhevoy Leader" inform that the famous producer I. Prigozhin believes that Hieromonk Photius must certainly continue to perform in front of the audience.
"For me personally, as a manager, the story with the young hieromonk Photius is completely understandable. Actually, I see him as a real" music pastor ", a person to whom God's word is nowadays, sings some lyrical beautiful songs. Why not? created music and gave us all the opportunity to feel it. Photius can simply gather the halls, go out and at the same time speak the right words to the audience, carry the word of God, can sing the word of God, "Prigogine said in an interview with the media.
According to the eminent producer, he would personally record an album for the hieromonk, "where the songs will certainly have a meaning - a word." "A man with pure thoughts and a clear look came and won, which means that this win has definitely come to him for some reason, he must dispose of it correctly. It would be wrong to hide somewhere, God helped him here," added Mr. Prigozhin. According to the producer, for Leps, who is the mentor of the hieromonk in the TV program, in a sense it was also God's providence. "For Grisha, this is an incredibly serious victory within himself. Photius is too individual, he does not resemble others, and this is exactly the kind of purification, you can sincerely believe in it, but you can not at all," Prigozhin said.
"I had a personal cat Bunny, but he interfered with everyone."
I was invited to his home. He has a large collection of icons, like in the Tretyakov Gallery.
- Were you impressed by this collection, or did you find it wrong to collect icons as a collection?
Grigory Leps is a believer, he has many questions, he is a seeker. I don't think he just collects icons without faith.
- Did you somehow influence his spiritual growth?
He is a self-sufficient person, and I have no right to somehow influence him. I avoided in every possible way the moments when one could read some moralizing. I think that Grigory Leps already understands everything perfectly, just his way of life does not always allow him to be pious. And why be godly for show? After all, everything should be in your heart, this is your personal relationship to God.
- But another mentor, Basta (Vasily Vakulenko), for example, took your blessing.
Yes, I took it all the time. He, too, once served at the altar, is spiritually savvy. I had good, friendly relations with all the mentors. Alexander Gradsky, for example, tried in every possible way to help, treated me objectively, said that I did not have the best voice on the project, but in general my image is pleasant to the viewer - and they will vote for me.
- Did you have any favorites among the participants?
I was rooting for Renata Volkievich, who came to the competition from Poland. She has very good vocal skills. We became friends with her. I also really liked Vitold Petrovsky and Armen Avdzhan, who also had great chances to get to the final.
- Could you refuse to perform a song?
I could. But I didn’t refuse, I took everything for granted. Since such a song was given, it means that it is the will of God. Although many of the songs were not in my usual genre.
The last three performers on the project were awarded certificates for a trip for two to France. Are you planning to use it?
It lies with me. The trip is designed for three days, but it needs to be coordinated with the Metropolitan.
- If you decide who you will take with you on the trip, maybe a friend, Father Macarius?
He will also need to write a petition. This will complicate matters. Maybe I'll go alone, or maybe I'll take my mother with me.
- You received the keys to the new car as a gift. Have you already brought it?
The car has not yet rolled off the assembly line. The program included her presentation.
- Will this be your personal car?
I took a vow of non-covetousness, so if they call me to give it to the monastery, I will do so. They won't call, I will use it, I have a license to drive a car.
- Father Photius, what are you dreaming of?
My dreams are quite realizable. Once upon a time I dreamed of a piano, a car, and also a ride around America. All this is being fulfilled ...
We are staying for the evening service. The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, built by Tsar Fyodor back in 1586, has excellent acoustics. The monastery choir sings. The voices of the monks, reflected from the ceiling, envelop each of the worshipers. AND external world disappears somewhere.
One of the parishioners, nodding at Father Photius, says quietly: "From the abundance of the heart, I speak my mouth." Is it not because Russians differ from Europeans because they vote not for a shocking woman with a beard, but choose a modest priest with an angelic voice?
The fourth season of the show "The Voice" - the Russian version of the international format The Voice and the most popular music competition on Russian television, has ended on Channel One.
The winner of the season was Hieromonk Photius, representing the team of Grigory Leps.
30-year-old father Photius (in the world Vitaly Mochalov) - inhabitant of St. Pafnutev Borovsky monastery; he is the director of the monastery choir, and before applying for participation in the competition, he received the blessing of his abbot. As the winner, he received a contract with Universal Music Russia and the keys to the new Lada XRay SUV.
In total, four musicians performed in the final of the Voice. Photius was opposed by Olga Zadonskaya from Polina's team, Alexander was represented by Mikhail Ozerov, and Basta was a student of Gnesinka Era Cannes. As a result, Cannes got the fourth place, Zadonskaya - the third, and only singers reached the superfinal.
According to the producer of the show, Yuri Aksyuta, 940 thousand calls and SMS were received from viewers. The collected funds will be transferred to the Orthodox service "Mercy", and some of them will be directed to a charitable foundation.
Representatives of the church have already won such competitions. In 2014, the nun Sister Christina won the Italian version of The Voice. The video with her performance gained popularity on YouTube, she recorded a cover of famous song Like A Virgin, and then released the whole album, Sister Cristina, which peaked at number 17 on the Italian charts.
However, the main result of the fourth season was not even the victory of the team of Grigory Leps, but the loss of Gradsky. The fact is that the three previous seasons (the competition has been held since 2012) at the "Voice" were won only by the pupils of Alexander Borisovich. The trend seemed so alarming to the producers of the show that they decided to update the coaching staff - in the hope that at least one of the newcomers would be able to argue with the master. Gradsky, by the way, stayed, by his own admission, to show the continuity of generations and pass on the accumulated experience.
And Gradsky was accompanied by Polina Gagarina and rapper Basta, who went to Eurovision-2015.
This move by the channel's producers looked controversial and caused a flurry of criticism. But it must be admitted: the pupils of all the coaches had a chance to win. And although Ozerov and Fotius were considered favorites before the final, they could not count on an unconditional victory. So, Basta's pupil Era Kann showed herself very well in the previous rounds, and the rapper knows how to motivate. “We have no choice but to win,” he pumped up Eru before performing in the final. And Olga Zadonskaya from Gagarina's team was the only one to whom the entire jury turned to at the “blind auditions” and who managed to reach the final.
Then only the chair in which Leps was sitting turned to Fr. Photius.
Before the final, Leps confessed embarrassedly: "I can't even call myself his mentor - I am a servant of God, and he is a father."
However, each of the finalists can feel like a winner. Recall that 150 performers were admitted to the "blind auditions", and only 57 made it to the next round, who made up teams of mentors (14 people each and 15 from Gradsky). And then - through fights, quarters and semi-finals - only those who, for some reason, singled out the coaches first from one and a half hundred applicants, and then from their team, reached the final. The distance was long.
The head of the music broadcasting of Channel One, after summing up the results of the fourth "Voice", did not announce the fifth season of the show, as it was a year ago, when the continuation of the show and the change of mentors were announced live. For now, viewers have been invited to cheer for the participants in the third season of "Voice. Children", which will begin in February 2016.
Hieromonk Fotiy (Vitaly Mochalov) from the team of Grigory Leps became the winner of the Voice-4 show.
(in the world - Vitaly Mochalov) was born in Gorky.
From childhood he loved to sing, but in music school They did not want to take it because of the crooked fingers. As a result, he graduated from school in piano, and 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. He is fond of studying languages, photography.
Archimandrite Photius blessed Hieromonk Photius to take part in the vocal competition of Channel One.
Final of the show "Voice-4"
Before the final, it was from the team of Grigory Leps that he was considered the main contender for the victory.
In addition to him, the top four were Mikhail Ozerov(team of Alexander Gradsky), ward of Basta Era of Cannes(Irina Brucheeva), as well as a representative of the team of Polina Gagarina Olga Zadonskaya.
The first to perform were Era Kann and Basta with the composition "I or You".
Olga Zadonskaya and Polina Gagarina - Cuckoo
After them Ozerov and Gradsky performed the hit of Alexandra Pakhmutova "How Young We Were".
Mikhail Ozerov and Alexander Gradsky - How young we were
And the first block was completed by Hieromonk Photius with Grigory Leps - the song "Labyrinth".
Hieromonk Photius and Grigory Leps - Labyrinth
The solo part of the final show was opened by the Era of Cannes with a song from the times of the Great Patriotic War"Dark Night" with a modern twist.
Zadonskaya sang Gloria Gaynor's hit "I Will Survive", Ozerov - "Unchained Melody", and Hieromonk Photius - "For You" in Italian.
After that Era Cannes dropped out of the final.
The final song of Olga Zadonskaya was the composition of Konstantin Meladze "The play is over".
Olga Zadonskaya - The play is over
Mikhail Ozerova performed "Face pressed to glass".
Mikhail Ozerov - Leaning his face to the glass
Hieromonk Photius finished his performance on the project with the hit of Grigory Leps " Goodnight, gentlemen. "
Hieromonk Photius - Good night, gentlemen
As it turned out, it was the winner.
30-year-old Hieromonk Photius won very confidently - 76% of viewers voted for him!
"Both contestants showed their high human qualities in this show. This is even more important than professional skills," Alexander Gradskiy summed up the results of the competition.
We add that last year the Sicilian nun Christina Scuccia, who participated in the show with the blessing of Pope Francis, won the Italian analogue of the show.
And the last thing. The income of Channel One and other partners, collected during the audience vote on December 25, will be transferred to the Orthodox help service "Mercy", which unites 25 projects to help children, adults, the elderly, the disabled, and the homeless.
These people are assisted by sisters of mercy, social workers, lawyers, doctors and other specialists of the "Mercy" service.
Hieromonk Photius is the only clergyman in Russia who managed to become famous thanks to a television project. Despite all his devotion to his monastery, music and love of singing occupied a huge place in his soul from childhood.That is why, having enlisted the support of his fellows, he ventured to try his hand at the vocal television project "The Voice". The singer's sincerity and sincerity sunk into the souls of the judges and viewers so much that, as a result of the final vote, he managed to gain a record number of votes and become the winner of the fourth season.
The childhood of Hieromonk Photius
Vitaly Mochalov (in the future Hieromonk Photius) was born on November 11, 1985 in a city called Gorky, which was eventually renamed Nizhny Novgorod. From an early age, the boy was fond of music and deeply in his soul knew that his life would be connected with creativity.At the age of 7, the young man could boast of a good piano playing and a good voice. He received basic skills at a local music school, which long time did not want to teach a talented young man, motivating it by the fact that he had the wrong fingers. Having coped with all the difficulties, he still managed to graduate from school in the piano class.
To improve his skills, the guy enrolled in 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. 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 to sing in the choir. The days flew by, the boy grew up and farther and farther away from his classmates. After finishing 9 classes, Vitaly applied to the music school, where he hoped to gain new knowledge.
After studying for only 1 year, he was forced to leave school and move with his parents to the German city of Kaiserslautern. In order not to lose what he 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 was 20 years old, he returned to Russia and entered the service at the Holy Pafnutiev 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 did not even try to convince their son. 
Once in church, the guy continued to make music and even more, made a lot of efforts to improve his voice. In this he was helped by the honored teacher Viktor Tvardovsky, who spoke very flattering about the guy. He considered him a kind, bright and intelligent young man with a strong character.
In addition to music, Photius is also fond of photography and the study of 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 Russia"
After completing his studies with Tvardovsky, Fotiy studied vocals for a long time, using special exercises that were developed by a respected teacher. And only in 2010, the guy took monastic vows, and after 3 years 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, as he believed that the 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 contest, and only then a TV show. Collecting his thoughts, he went to a serious conversation with confessors and metropolitans in order to convince them to let him go to the competition. In general, it took him 2 years, because he dared to reapply only 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 his faith helped him cope with all the difficulties, and perhaps the numerous prayers of the rectors 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 improve themselves through music.
Having appeared on the big stage for the first time, the hieromonk did not lose his head and sang an aria from Eugene Onegin in a gorgeous manner. Unfortunately, his work impressed only Grigory Leps, because it was he who turned to the participant.
Hieromonk Photius "Good night, gentlemen" "(Final - Voice)
As Photius himself later admitted, he dreamed of getting into the team of Alexander Gradsky, but fate decreed otherwise. Despite this, his idol still paid attention to him and even agreed to perform with him Lensky's aria from the opera Eugene Onegin.
At first, the jury did not even know that the clergyman would be able to reach the final, but deep in their hearts they were happy about it. In the final of the project, Grigory Leps was very proud of his ward, as he managed to meet all his expectations. Four contestants were lucky to compete for the main prize of the Voice show: Ere Kann (Basta's team), Mikhail Ozerov (Alexander Gradsky's team), Olga Zadonskaya (Polina Gagarina's team) and Hieromonk Fotiy (Grigory Leps's team).
In December 2015, the priest sang the song Per te ("For you") and won over all viewers with it. During live broadcast more than 900,000 TV viewers voted for him. As a result, he won a phenomenal victory with 75% of all votes. Having officially become the winner, he was handed the keys to a brand new car.
In his last speech, he noted that he may not deserve to be called a winner, since there were a lot of talented and truly professional singers next to him on the project. Despite this, for the first time a priest became the winner of the 4th season of the project "Voice". In honor of such a significant event, the hieromonk was congratulated by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill himself.
Personal life of Hieromonk Photius
As it is not difficult to guess, the personal life of Photius is the ministry of the church. Despite his sociability, he is a very shy and kind person. 
At one time, being already a clergyman, the guy dreamed of repaying his debt to the Motherland and becoming a serviceman. Unfortunately, doctors discovered vision problems and refused him. Since then, he devoted all his free time to music and church.
Perhaps it was thanks to his perseverance and dedication that he managed not only to win the show, but also to teach a lesson to all people who doubt their abilities.