Yemen Church Records

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Yemen

Church Records

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

Online Resources and Websites

• British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, Aden, Yemen, index & images ($)
• British India Office Births & Baptisms, index
• British India Office Marriages, index ($)

• British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, Aden, Yemen, index & images ($)
• British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials at Findmypast - index & images ($)
• British India Office Deaths & Burials, index ($)
• India, Bombay, Aden, Church of England, Christ Church, church records,(*); British Library at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• India, Bombay, Aden, Church of England, church records,(*); British Library at FamilySearch Catalog - images
• India, Bombay, Aden, Church of England, Diocese of Bombay, church records,(*); British Library at FamilySearch Catalog - images

Historical Background

Yemen is an Islamic society. Nearly all Yemenis are Muslims, with approximately 56% belonging to the Shafi'i Sunni school of thought and approximately 45% belonging to the Zaydi Shia school of thought. There are also approximately 1,000 Christian citizens and 50 Jews.

According to one 2008 estimate, there are 3,000 Christians in Yemen, most of whom are foreign nationals and temporary residents. There are about 4,000 Catholics in Yemen, who belong to the Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia. The World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, Volume 1, states the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church as largest denominations in Yemen. In Aden, there are three Catholic churches and one Anglican church. In San'a there are weekly Protestant services. Christian missions from several countries are active in Yemen. There are hospitals that belong to foreign Christian institutions.

Protestants make up less than 1% of the population of Yemen. An American Baptist congregation is affiliated with a hospital in Jibla. The Anglican Church runs two charitable clinics in Aden.

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 Yemen.

b. Click on Places within Yemen 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. Use Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters. The, use an Arabic translation service.

• Maps.me Church Listings for Yemen
• Google Maps search results for churches in Yemen

Catholic Church Records

Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (including Yemen)

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: Yemen

Historical Background

The Catholic Church in Yemen is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are three thousand Catholics and four parishes in the country, which forms part of the Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Arabia which also includes several other countries in the Arabian peninsula. Most Catholics are temporary foreign workers living in the country with their families. There are four Catholic parishes in Yemen:

• Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Hodeidah
• St. Francis of Assisi Church, Aden
• St. Mary Help of Christians Church, Sana'a
• St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Church, Taiz

Orthodox Church Records

Writing for Records

• St. Mary's Orthodox Church, Sana'a, Yemen Facebook
• 15 April 2020: Google and Google Maps only have one link for one Orthodox church at this time.

Anglican (Episcopal) Church Records

Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East (including Yemen)