Grigori

Father Grigori, voiced by Jim French, appeares throughout the Ravenholm chapter (Chapter 6) of the game. He is middle-aged, wears his hair shaved, dresses in drab clothing and Converse All-Stars sneakers. The destruction of Ravenholm and his subsequent survival within the town seem to have left him somewhat mentally unbalanced, although he never displays agression towards Gordon Freeman in their meetings.

The name Grigori (Григо́рий) is common in Russia. It derives from Greek egrḗgoroi, which means "watchful" or "vigilant". It may also be a reference to the Grigori, a mythical group of fallen angels.

His name, nationality, religion, and somewhat eccentric personality could also be a reference to Grigori Rasputin, a Russian holy man who was known as the "Mad Monk". Rasputin was also famous for his ability to survive; the circumstances in which he finally did die becoming legendary.

Role in Half-Life 2
The dishevelled, unshaven Father Grigori is seemingly the only remaining human occupant of Ravenholm. Seen as an ordinary Russian Orthodox (because of the design of his church) priest, Raising the Bar and the official Prima Half-Life 2 strategy guide indicate that he sought out to minister to the citizens of Ravenholm before the town was overrun by headcrabs when the Combine shelled it. The Prima game guide also specifies him as once being a pastor of the town church. Also, with the construction of the traps, one could speculate that Grigori had a previous experience with basic engineering and mechanical components. A statement that he once had too much free time but now he was able to devote it all to God suggests that he may not have been as religious before the headcrab shelling as he was when he was seen in Half-Life 2. He witnessed the Combine's bombardment of his town with artillery containing headcrabs, leaving most of the town's residents either dead or zombies in the subsequent devastation.

Based on a scene involving headcrab-less zombies lying on tables surrounded by med kits, it seems that Grigori had experimented on these bodies, attempting to remove the headcrabs from their hosts, though he seems to have since given up on this pursuit. He speaks enthusiastically in his Eastern European accent about "tending to his flock" while dispatching the remaining zombie inhabitants of the city, using a Annabelle shotgun and homemade traps. In between his maniacal laughing, he displays some empathy for the zombies, giving funerary blessings to the dead after killing them.

He helps Gordon Freeman intermittently in Ravenholm, both through actions, including giving Freeman a SPAS-12 shotgun, saving him from a Poison Headcrab, and giving out information, such as (vague) directions and combat tips. Eventually, Grigori escorts Freeman through a cemetery infested with zombies to show him a hidden passage to the mines out of the haunted town. After waving Gordon off, Grigori continues fighting the hordes of enemies until he retreats into a nearby tomb, which he ignites a wall of fire surrounding the tomb and disappears.