Procurator was an office initially created by Peter the Great, the first Emperor

Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...

 of the Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

, in an effort to bring the Russian Orthodox Church

Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...

 more directly under his control

Church reform of Peter I

The Church reform of Peter I introduced what some believe was a period of Caesaropapism in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, when the church apparatus effectively became a department of state.-Background:...

.

The Russian word prokuror also has the meaning of prosecutor

Prosecutor

The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...

.

Chief Procurator (also Ober-Procurator; обер-прокурор, ober-prokuror) was the official title of the head of the Holy Synod

Most Holy Synod

The Most Holy Governing Synod was the highest governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church between 1721 and 1918, when the Patriarchate was restored. The jurisdiction of the Most Holy Synod extended over every kind of ecclesiastical question and over some that are partly secular.The Synod was...

, effectively the lay head of the Russian Orthodox Church, and a member of the Tsar's cabinet. Konstantin Pobedonostsev

Konstantin Pobedonostsev

Konstantin Petrovich Pobyedonostsyev was a Russian jurist, statesman, and adviser to three Tsars...

, a former tutor of both Alexander III

Alexander III of Russia

Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...

 and Nicholas II

Nicholas II of Russia

Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...

, was one of the most powerful men to hold this post.

General Procurator (Procurator General) and Ober-Procurator were major supervisory positions in the Russian Governing Senate

Governing Senate

The Governing Senate was a legislative, judicial, and executive body of Russian Monarchs, instituted by Peter the Great to replace the Boyar Duma and lasted until the very end of the Russian Empire. It was chaired by the Ober-Procurator...

, with their meaning changing over time. Eventually "Ober-Procurator" became the title of the Chief of a department of the Senate.