Birthday anniversary of the Holy Synod Chief Procurator Peter Petrovich Izvolsky

14 (26) February 1863, in Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk), into a noble family, was born Peter Petrovich Izvolsky, the Russian public, social figure and church leader, chief procurator of the Holy Synod (1906-1909), chamberlain of the Imperial Household (1912) .

In 1886 Izvolsky graduated from the History & Philology Faculty of St. Petersburg University as a candidate and was admitted to the civil service in the Department of Home Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and from 1891 worked in the office of the Ministry of Public Education. In 1892-93, the official headed a department of the Russian Red Cross Society in the Tula Province, controlled the food supply to the starving population. In 1893 he was sent to Palestine and Syria for the inspection of schools of the Orthodox Palestine Society, and upon the return, published a book about educational institutions of the Society (1894).

In 1894-99 Izvolsky served as a district inspector in the Kiev academic district, and later – as an assistant district trustee. In 1900 he was a member of the commission of heterodox schools, was a trustee of Riga (1902-04) and St. Petersburg (1904-05) academic districts. In 1905, the official called for radical reforms of the Russian education system. In November 1905 Izvolsky was appointed Deputy Minister of Education of Ivan Tolstoy, was in charge of scientific institutions and universities, as well as in charge of the affairs of the Department of General Affairs: participated in drafting the statutes of the university, supervised the drafting of new personnel for universities and the provisional rules on universities.

In July (August) 1906, at the suggestion of his brother, Foreign Minister Alexander Izvolsky, Peter was appointed Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod. In this position Izvolsky focused his efforts on improving the financial position of the Orthodox clergy and the development of religious education. He was a supporter of the right to religious freedom while maintaining the privileged position of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose influence, according to the chief prosecutor, was to increase due to the legal regulation of the parish’s activities.

In 1907 Izvolsky opposed the publication of the circular banning officials to join anti-government party, and in May 1907, at the Council of Ministers, called for the dissolution of the State Duma of the second convocation and for a suspended publication of a new electoral law. Together with the Minister of Education P. von Kaufmann, Izvolsky supported the autonomy of universities and protested against the use of repression against the student movement. He also advocated the maintenance in effect of the laws of 1905 on tolerance development and defended the preservation of the dominant Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1908, in a report to Emperor Nicholas II, the chief prosecutor Izvolsky argued that the anticipation by the clergy of the convocation of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church and the restoration of the canonical elements in the Church undermined the authority of the Synod, and led to the decline of church discipline and intervention of the church hierarchy in state affairs. In this regard, the chief prosecutor insisted on the need to postpone the convening of the Local Council for an indefinite period. In protest against the Synod’s decision to abolish the autonomy of the theological academies, the official resigned. He believed that the solution to this problem should have been postponed until the approval of a new charter of the academies.

In 1909 Izvolsky was a member of the State Council on the appointment, and also served in the commissions for the introduction of universal primary education (1911-1912), for private schools (1912-1913), for the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the reign of the Romanovs (1913), for the increase of salaries for employees in the girls’ schools and other projects on national education (1914-1916). He advocated the involvement of the state in the Zemstvo schools funding, the defense of parish schools and the increase of allocations for them, for equal rights for admission to universities graduates from high schools and other secondary schools; took part in the discussion of various special projects for public education.

In January 1917 Izvolsky was freed from the presence at the State Council, in May of that year - withdrawn from the staff, and in December – dismissed from service. In 1917-1920, he lived in Yalta, where he emigrated from with his family to Constantinople, then moved to Europe.

Izvolsky was the only former Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod, who took the priesthood. In 1922 he was ordained to the diaconate, then - to Archpriests, becoming a prior of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Brussels, under which, in 1924, he opened a parish school. From 1923, the former chief procurator had been a Belgium-Dutch rural dean.

In the emigration Izvolsky enjoyed great prestige among the parishioners, created a Russian parish school in Brussels, assisted to Russian immigrants, was a board member of the Russian Committee for Aid to the Disabled, the founder and director of educational & charitable St. Nicholas & St John circle. Izvolsky also contributed to the construction of several churches in various European countries.

In 1928, Peter Izvolsky moved to France and died shortly thereafter. He was buried in the cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois near Paris.

Lit.: Извольский П. П. Свод постановлений и распоряжений о специальных испытаниях на учительское звание. Киев, 1898; Он же. Учебные заведения Императорского Православного палестинского общества в апреле и мае 1893. СПб., 1894; Никулин М. В. Извольский Пётр Петрович // Большая российская энциклопедия. Т. 10. М., 2008. С. 750-751; Трубецкой Г. Н. Протоиерей Пётр Извольский // Вестник РСХД. 1929. №. 1-2; Шилов Д. Н. Извольский Пётр Петрович // Государственные деятели Российской империи. Главы высших и центральных учреждений. 1802-1917. Биобиблиографический справочник. СПб, 2001. С. 270-272.

Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:

Извольский П. П. К вопросу о соединении церквей. Мюнхен, 1922.