Karp Ivanovich Barsov, secretary of the Ryazan Clerical Consistory (1868-1876)

The article analyzes the activities of collegiate assessor Karp Ivanovich Barsov during his tenure as secretary of the Ryazan Clerical Consistory (1868-1876). He was a talented and extraordinary person. Being from a clerical family and a graduate of Novgorod Theological Seminary, he did not follow in his father’s footsteps, but chose the career of a Synod officer, for which he did have a real potential. He approved himself well as a clerical officer of the St. Petersburg Consistory and was appointed secretary to the Ryazan Consistory. He proved himself not only as a good administrator, but also as a capable reformer of the clerical part of the Consistory, improving the work of the departments for the processing of incoming and outgoing documentation. There was a significant improvement of the financial status of all the employees of the consistory, and repair work was carried out to brush up the building and interior decoration of the consistory. Barsov’s ideas could not be put fully in practice because the Ryazan Consistory did not have enough competent staff capable of achieving the tasks set by the secretary. Along with that, the secretary’s active work required tangible material inputs, thus placing a heavy burden on parish clergy who negatively perceived all additional monetary levies. It is difficult to identify the reason for Barsov’s dismissal from the secretary post, whether it was denunciations to the chief prosecutor, or Barsov’s personal initiative. But one thing is certain, Karp Ivanovich Barsov had a significant impact on the development and functioning of the Ryazan Consistory.