Dle 1903 Ivan otec byl kněz v kostele svatého KRYT v Velikie Luki, a to bylo v tomto městě, které se zúčastnili Ivan školy od 1903 do 1910.
By 1903 Ivan's father was a priest at the Church of the Holy Shroud in Velikie Luki, and it was in that town that Ivan attended school from 1903 to 1910.