Eritrea Church Records

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Church Records

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

Online Resources and Websites

• British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, Eritrea, index & images ($)
• British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, Africa at Findmypast - index & images ($)

• British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, Eritrea , index & images ($)
• British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, Africa at Findmypast - index & images ($)

• British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials at Findmypast - index & images ($)

Historical Background

According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2010, 62.9% of the population of Eritrea adheres to Christianity. Since May 2002, the government of Eritrea has officially recognized the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (Oriental Orthodox), Sunni Islam, the Eritrean Catholic Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran church. All other faiths and denominations are required to undergo a registration process.

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

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 Eritrea.

b. Click on Places within Eritrea 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. . 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.

• Google Maps search results for churches in Eritrea

Catholic Church Records

Jurisdictions of the Eritrean 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:

• The Catholic Directory: Eritrea

Historical Background

The Eritrean Catholic Church is a Metropolitan sui iuris Eastern particular church headquartered in Asmara, Eritrea. It was established in 2015 by separation of its territory from that of the Ethiopian Catholic Church and the setting up in that territory of a new sui iuris (autonomous) metropolitan Eastern Catholic Church. Its strictly-speaking official name is "The Asmara metropolitan sui iuris Church". In 1839 Giustino de Jacobis, an Italian Vincentian priest, arrived as a missionary in the area that is now Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. In 1869, Italy began to occupy Eritrea and in 1890 declared it a colony of the Kingdom of Italy, fostering immigration of Italians. The church has a complex history of changing which jurisdiction of the Catholic church held authority over it, as the country was occupied by Italy or France. See Eritrean Catholic Church for those details. The main impact genealogically is that some records might be in Italian or French.

Eastern Orthodox Church Records

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

Eritrea is included in the Archdiocese of Aksum.

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Records

Writing for Records

• Google Maps search results for Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo churches in Eritrea

Lutheran Church Records

Writing for Records

• Google Maps search results for Lutheran churches in Eritrea

Historical Background

The E.L.C.E. was established by dedicated Eritrean deacons and priests from the Orthodox Church of Eritea and the members of the Swedish missionaries. The Swedish missionaries arrived at Imkullu near Massawa the port city of Eritrea on 15 March 1866. The missionaries did not come to preach the gospel in Eritrea. But they came to Eritrea on their way to go to ethiopia to proclaim the gospel to the Orom people. However, because of the political unrest in Ethiopia, they could not go there. Instead, in the same year in 1866 they traveled to the Kunama and Gheleb (Mensa) people in Eritrea to preach the gospel. After six years, (1872-1874) both the Eritreans and the Swedes had training and experience at Imkullu, Kunama and Mensa.

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