Belarus Church Records: Difference between revisions

| link1=[[Belarus Genealogy|Belarus]]

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*[https://www.epaveldas.lt/main '''ePaveldas Lithuanian Cultural Heritage Collection'''], contains records for a few select places now located in modern-day Belarus, [[Media:1-ePaveldas Records Online-Instruction.pdf|click here for instructions]] on how to use the site.

==Introduction==

==== Russian Orthodox: Belarusian Exarchate ====

The first Belarusian diocese was founded in Polotsk in 992; Turavsk was established as Belarus's second diocese in 1005, both part of the main church headquartered in Kyiv. During the 1300s, both dioceses were moved under the Orthodox Church headquartered in Moscow. These dioceses both ceased to exist in 1596; in 1632, an Orthodox church diocese was reestablished in Mogilev in 1632. As the Russian empire acquired sovereignty over the territory of Belarus, the diocese of Minsk was created; the 1800s saw the establishment of three additional dioceses. At the beginning of World War I (1914), there were 3,552 churches within the 5 Orthodox dioceses in Belarus. <ref> Wikipedia, "Беларуская Праваслаўная Царква", in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,'' https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%9E%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%A6%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B0, accessed 18 October 2022. </ref>

==== Roman Catholic ====

The first Roman Catholic diocese located in Belarus was established in Turov between 1008 and 1013. Catholics was the dominant religion of the Belarusian nobility and much of western Belarus. During the Russian Empire time period, there was tension between the minority Catholics and the majority Russian Orthodox Church. As of today, there are four Catholic dioceses in Belarus: Minsk-Mohilyov, Pinsk, Hrodna, and Vitebsk.

Belarus's Catholic minority is concentrated in the western part of the country, especially around Hrodna, and is made up of a mixture of Belarusians and the country's Polish and Lithuanian minorities.  

In a statement to the media regarding Belarusian-Vatican ties, President Lukashenko stated that Orthodox and Catholic believers are the "two main confessions in our country".<ref> Wikipedia contributors, "Belarus", in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,'' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus, accessed 16 April 2020. </ref>

==Locating the Parish==

Metrical records (also commonly referred to as church records) were kept in the local parish of the church. To use metrical records, you must know both your ancestor's religion and the town where he or she lived. You must also determine in which parish the town was located. Parishes are local congregations that may have included many neighboring villages in their boundaries. Locating the parish your ancestor belonged to is important as this is the location in which metrical books, or church records of vital events such as birth, marriage, or death, were kept. Because not every town had a parish, you’ll want to use a gazetteer to help you locate the nearest parish. The following gazetteers may help you locate the parish. For additional, detailed instructions on how to use these resources, see '''[[Belarus Gazetteers]].'''

===Digital  Copies of Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog ===

:::b. Click on '''Places within Belarus''' and a list of states will appear. Clicking on a state will bring up a list of counties. Clicking on a county will bring up a list of towns.<br>

==Records in National Archives==

'''National Historical Archive of Belarus in Minsk''' provides [http://niab.by/arhiv/uslugi/ '''Research Services for Fees.''']<br><br>

==Writing to a for Local Church for Records==

<span style="color:darkviolet"> You may need to write to or email a local parish priest to find records. See [[Russian Letter Writing Guide|'''Russian Letter Writing Guide''']] for help with composing letters. This might come up initially translated into English. Then you will need to return it to its original form. </span>

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