The paper is devoted to historical and sociological analysis of the staff of the Holy Synod in K. P. Pobedonostsev era. Being the head of the Department of Orthodox confession for 25 years, Pobedonostsev played a huge role in nomination of Russian bishops. The paper treats the point of who were the Russian bishops, members of the Synod; is it correct to speak about them only as Chief Prosecutor's “silent supernumeraries”, who was seen by contemporaries as a “secular mentor” of the Church.