Russia Church Records: Difference between revisions

The keeping of metrical books was mandated by a 1722 decree of Peter the Great. A format of three parts, christenings, marriages, deaths, was established in 1724, a printed format in 1806, and in 1838 a format that prevailed until the revolution. The consistory copy was considered official record. A Russian diocese - ''eparkhia'' was coterminous with a Russian state - ''guberniya''. The registers of each parish - ''prikhod'' in an country- ''uyezd'' were commonly filed together for a single year. Confession lists are often interfiled with parish registers. Each Orthodox Christian was to confess and partake of the sacrament at least once a year. The principal time for confession was Lent. Children of both sexes in obligatory fashion were taken to confession, beginning from their seventh year. The form of confession lists was established in 1737: the sequential number of the household, surname, given names of all children at least a year old, sex, ages, whether or not the person attended confession, and if not, why (rarely noted).

Research use: Identify family groups and ages.  They are easier to use than the revision lists because they include all classes of society.  They are also a metrical book substitute.