Voice of Orthodoxy (radio)

The idea of ​​creating a radio station belonged to Elena and Evgeny Pozdeev . Initially, the broadcast went from their apartment in Munich, where one of the rooms, upholstered with felt and filled with equipment, was equipped as a studio. The first broadcast took place in 1979 ^[2] . The radio station received support from the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute and St. Vladimir Theological Seminary in the United States ^[1] . Soon the radio station moved to Paris. It is noteworthy that the Pozdeevs themselves did not lead the religious station themselves and invited Boris Bobrinsky as editor-in-chief ^[2] .

Initially, the Pozdeevs dreamed of a live broadcast of a monastery around the clock. Services, sermons, conversations would make listeners included in church life in real time, would create the effect of presence. It was not possible to create a similar one; Programs on the creation of the world, on the Rev. Seraphim of Sarov , on the story of Leo Tolstoy “ What are people alive ”, on the feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit , catechetical , on the history of Russia (a series of 13 programs dedicated to the book of George Fedotov , began to be aired on the Voice of Orthodoxy) “Saints of Ancient Rus”, 10 programs on the All-Russian Local Council of 1917-1918 ), a separate cycle on the works of Protopresbyter Alexander Shmeman ^[2] . The Gospel was read and interpreted, church chants sounded ^[3] .

Regular broadcasting began in 1981. The radio studio was in Paris, broadcasting on short waves . Initially, 15 minutes a week on the wave of Radio Africa No. 1 ( Gabon ) ^[2] , and then for a long time the Voice of Orthodoxy programs were broadcast via Radio Trans Europe ( Lisbon , Portugal) ^[4] , which allowed covering part of the territory USSR ^[1] . On the territory of the Soviet Union, the new radio station was jammed along with other " enemy voices " ^[5] . In 1988, the suppression of the Voice of Orthodoxy was discontinued ^[6] .

The activities of the radio station found a response in the USSR among the intelligentsia, where most of the churches were closed and spiritual literature was practically inaccessible ^[7] . The Voice of Orthodoxy very soon gathered a large circle of authors and assistants ^[5] , among whom were representatives of the West European exarchate of Russian parishes , ROCOR , ROC , as well as Catholics and Protestants ^[3] . The radio station could not survive without the help of heterodox Catholics and Protestants from different countries of Western Europe. Among others, assistance was provided by Cardinal Roger Echegaray (France), the famous Swiss institute “ Faith in the Second World ” (Glaube in der 2 welt) and its head, Lutheran pastor Eugene Foss, Evangelical Church of Germany ^[2] .

To support the radio station in different countries, associations of “Friends of the Voice of Orthodoxy” were created. ” Sometimes it was an absolutely free form without any registration - just a society that attracted its friends to its activities. So it was in Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden. In France, it took the form of an association, in England - a trust, but in any case it was an organization that did not have commercial goals and was free of taxes. At the same time, there were no confessional restrictions on admission to the association; So, in such a society in Belgium there is not a single Orthodox. In order to expand the circle of interested parties, as well as to support the interest in our work of those who have already helped the Voice of Orthodoxy, printed brochures, leaflets, newsletters. All this was distributed as widely as possible, every opportunity and opportunity was used: crowded celebratory services, reports, concerts, conferences, bookstores, etc. In October 1988, the Voice of Orthodoxy Bulletin began to appear - an information bulletin that is regularly published twice a year: at Christmas and Easter ^[8] . By 1989, airtime had expanded to 3.5 hours per week ^[2] .

The radio station responded to the changes that took place in Russia. In October 1990, in a house near the Pokrovsky Monastery in Bussy-en-Haut (France), the Pozdeevs organized a seminar on the problems of the Christian mission. This seminar was also attended by Petersburgers Alexander Stepanov and Lev Bolshakov, who created in 1992 the Orthodox charity fraternity of St. Anastasia the Solvers, who was engaged, among other things, in promoting the broadcasting project in Russia ^[9] . In May 1994, an agreement was signed on the cooperation of the radio station with the brotherhood of St. Anastasia (St. Petersburg). The search and purchase of low-cost radio stations and the creation of a local recording studio began. In December of that year, broadcasting began in the wake of one of the main radio stations in St. Petersburg. An editorial office is being created, which at that time with its umbilical cord was wholly tied to Paris, to a recording studio and word processing, to compiling programs that the Voice of Orthodoxy employees worked ^{on [3]} .

Since 1995, broadcasting was carried out through the Voice of Hope (Lebanon) and then in 1998-1999 through the Deutsche Telekom transmitters in Yulich ^[4] .

In 1999, the Voice of Orthodoxy studio in St. Petersburg received a “permanent residence permit” on the embankment of Lieutenant Schmidt in the Brotherhood of St. Anastasia the Decisive. The employees of the St. Petersburg studio were engaged not only in relaying programs on the Russian radio air, but they themselves began production of new programs. The idea of ​​creating a new radio station in Russia was warmly supported by all the employees of the Voice of Orthodoxy ^[5] .

In the same year Protopresbyter Boris Bobrinsky noted: “With the advent of the post-Soviet era, people appear in Russia who are ready to replace us and continue our work, and here I would like to recall the words of St. John the Baptist about Christ:“ He must grow, and I must belittle ” / John, 3-30 /. I thank the Lord that I was involved in this missionary work from the very beginning, for how it was born, grew, matured, for seeing a living continuation of our Paris organization in the studio of St. Petersburg, which is being created and is starting to operate " ^[3] .

Since March 2000, the broadcast went from the transmitting center near Alma-Ata ^[4] . A huge territory was covered, which included the countries of the former Union and far abroad ^[5] .

At the end of March 2012, the Voice of Orthodoxy radio station went on air for the last time in connection with the closure of the broadcasting center near Alma-Ata through the broadcasting center in Kazakhstan ^[10] . Problems with relaying through this center have been observed before. It was decided not to resume broadcasting due to a sharp reduction in financial resources. After this program, Voices of Orthodoxy was only possible to listen to on the waves of the St. Petersburg radio station Grad Petrov (73.1 MHz + Internet broadcast) ^[4] .