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Egypt Church Records


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For information about records for non-Christian religions in Egypt, go to the Religious Records page.

Online Resources and Websites

See Digital Copies of Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog below. Greek Orthodox records in particular are available digitally following those instructions.

Armenian Apostolic Church

  • 1843-1981 Parish registers, 1843-1981(*); Armenian Apostolic Church. Surp Boghos ew Bedros (Alexandria, Egypt) at FamilySearch Catalog-images
  • 1864-1893 Parish registers, 1864-1893(*); Armenian Apostolic Church. Surp Astvadzadzin (Zagazig, Egypt) at FamilySearch Catalog-images
  • 1893-1981 Parish registers, 1893-1981(*); Armenian Apostolic Church. Surp Krikor Loossavorich (Cairo) at FamilySearch Catalog-images

Armenian Catholic Church

Armenian Evangelical Congregational Church

Chaldean Catholic Church

Church of England

Coptic Catholic Church

Greek Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

United Arab Republican



Historical Background

Of the Christian population in Egypt, over 90% belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, an Oriental Orthodox Christian Church. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Evangelical Church of Egypt and various other Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Cairo and Alexandria, such as the Syro-Lebanese, who belong to Greek Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Maronite Catholic denominations.

Ethnic Greeks also made up a large Greek Orthodox population in the past. Likewise, Armenians made up the then larger Armenian Orthodox and Catholic communities. Egypt also used to have a large Roman Catholic community, largely made up of Italians and Maltese. These non-native communities were much larger in Egypt before the Nasser regime and the nationalization that took place. [1]


Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Latin Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church.[2]

Information Recorded in the Records

Different denominations, different time periods, and practices of different record keepers will effect how much information can be found in the records. This outline will show the types of details which might be found (best case scenario):

Baptisms

In Catholic and Anglican records, children were usually baptized a few days after birth, and therefore, the baptism record proves date of birth. Other religions, such as Baptists, baptized at other points in the member's life. Baptism registers might give:

  • baptism date
  • the infant's name
  • parents' names
  • father's occupation
  • status of legitimacy
  • occasionally, names of grandparents
  • names of witnesses or godparents, who may be relatives
  • birth date and place
  • the family's place of residence
  • death information, as an added note or signified by a cross

Marriages

Marriage registers can give:

  • the marriage date
  • the names of the bride and groom
  • indicate whether the bride and groom were single or widowed
  • their ages
  • birth dates and places for the bride and groom
  • their residences
  • their occupations
  • birthplaces of the bride and groom
  • parents' names (after 1800)
  • the names of previous spouses and their death dates
  • names of witnesses, who might be relatives.

Burials

Burial registers may give:

  • the name of the deceased
  • the date and place of death or burial
  • the deceased's age
  • place of residence
  • cause of death
  • the names of survivors, especially a widow or widower
  • deceased's birth date and place
  • parents' names, or at least the father's name



How to Find Records

Various church records including Orthodox and Coptic church records are available in archives across Egypt. These include births, marriages, and deaths, and span from the 1600s or earlier to the present. They document the local population and Europeans.

Digital Copies of Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog

Watch for digitized copies of church records to be added to the collection of the FamilySearch Library. Some records might have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a FamilySearch Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations. To find records:

a. Click on the records of Egypt.
b. Click on Places within Egypt and a list of towns will appear.
c. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
d. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
e. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the record is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the records.

Writing for Records

You will probably need to write to or email the national archives, the diocese, or local parish priests to find records. See Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.


Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria

222 Ramsis, El-Abaseya, St,

Cairo Governorate, Egypt

  • Website
  • Email: info@copticorthodox.church

Christian churches in Egypt (Google Maps) Notice that there are many more churches listed in the left drop-down list than there are icons on the visual map.

Catholic Church Records

Jurisdictions of the Coptic Catholic Church

Writing to a Local Parish

Earlier records can be held at the diocese, with more recent records still kept in the local parish. To locate the mailing address or e-mail address for a diocese or local parish, consult:

Historical Background

The Catholic Church in Egypt is considerably small as compared to the rest of the Christian population in Egypt, which is a significant minority among (mainly Sunni) Muslims. The Catholic population in Egypt is said to have begun during the British control of Egypt. However, many returned to Europe after the 1952 Revolution in Egypt, which also caused the overthrow and exile of King Farouk of Egypt. Catholics in Egypt belong to seven distinct ritual Particular Churches sui iuris, the largest being the Coptic Catholic Church, led by its Patriarch of Alexandria.

The majority of the Christians in Egypt are members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. The number of Catholics (less than 200,000) in Egypt makes up much less than 1% of the total Egyptian population, which is roughly 75 million people. Many of Egypt's Latin Catholics are of Italian or Maltese descent, while Egypt's Melkite Greek Catholics and Maronite Catholics are predominantly of Syro-Lebanese descent.[3][4]

Catholic Church Archdiocese

Dioceses and Archdiocese of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria and of All Africa

Archdiocese included in Egypt:

  • Archdiocese of Cyrene
  • Archdiocese of Ptolemais
  • 1 - Archdiocese of Alexandria
  • 2 - Archdiocese of Pilousion
  • 3 - Archdiocese of Lentopolis
  • 4 - Archdiocese of Memphis
  • * Archdiocese of Ermoupolis; jurisdiction over the Arabic-speaking Orthodox Christians of Egypt











References

  1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Egypt", in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt, accessed 14 March 2020.
  2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Religion in Egypt", in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Egypt, accessed 14 March 2020.
  3. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Religion in Egypt", in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Egypt, accessed 14 March 2020.
  4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Catholic Church in Egypt", in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church__in_Egypt, accessed 14 March 2020.
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