Schuller Will Appear Monthly on Soviet TV

’ . . .We wanted someone to speak to the soul of the Soviet people.’

--Valentin Lazutkin

Television minister Robert H. Schuller will videotape once-a-month religious programs for Soviet national television for at least 12 months starting in September, it was announced this week in Washington.

The announcement by Valentin Lazutkin, vice chairman of the state broadcasting agency, Gosteleradio, culminated negotiations that began last winter by the California pastor and industrialist Armand Hammer of Los Angeles for a spot on Soviet television.

A spokesman for Schuller said a special videotaped talk by the Garden Grove pastor, which was requested by Gosteleradio and broadcast last Sunday on Soviet television, was shown uncut. Schuller has been assured that his regular 20- to 30-minute programs, scheduled for prime time on Sunday nights, will not be censored, the spokesman said.

“We chose Dr. Schuller because we wanted someone to speak to the soul of the Soviet people,” Lazutkin said at a pre-summit news conference.

Both the program and a Soviet-American foundation chaired by Schuller will be called “From Heart to Heart.” The foundation will promote television and personal exchanges between the two countries, a spokesman said.

Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral services, packaged as the “Hour of Power” on television, have the largest audience in this country for a weekly religious program. Schuller recently announced, however, that he might cut back on time purchased in 179 U.S. television markets unless he raises $3.2 million to cover deficits in his television budget.

Hammer announced at the news conference Tuesday in Washington that he has donated $120,000 toward that fund-raising campaign.