Background
Petrov was born in Yamburg (now Kingisepp, Leningrad Oblast) and graduated from St. Petersburg Theological Seminary in 1886 and St. Petersburg Theological Academy in 1891.
Petrov was born in Yamburg (now Kingisepp, Leningrad Oblast) and graduated from St. Petersburg Theological Seminary in 1886 and St. Petersburg Theological Academy in 1891.
From 1895 through to 1906, he served as a prior of the Church of Mikhaylovsky Ordnance Academy. While in 1902-04 he also worked as a lecturer of theology at the Polytechnical Institute. In 1899-1917, he contributed to Russkoe Slovo newspaper.
In 1901-03, he took part in various religious and philosophic meetings. The same year following his critical letter addressed to Metropolitan Antony he was banned from his ministry and sent for discipline to the Cheremenetsky Monastery. He was defrocked in 1908 and consequently was banned from living in St. Petersburg.
He traveled around the country giving lectures. Petrov welcomed the February Revolution of 1917, although his attitude towards the Bolshevik overturn was negative. In 1920, he emigrated and lived in Bulgaria and Serbia. He died in Paris and was buried in Munich.
He wrote books, brochures, and articles where he advocated Christian socialism.
In 1907, he was elected Deputy of the Second State Duma as a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party.
The son of Grigory Petrov with the blessing of his father served in the Volunteer Army and in May 1919 died near Kerch. Just before the revolution, Petrov married again, and in 1919 his daughter of the second bed was born.