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Church Records

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

Contrary to popular belief, church records were not systematically destroyed in the former Soviet Union, but they were centralized and preserved in government archives.

Locating the Church Which Kept Records for Your Ancestors' Town

Not every village and town had its own church, or a church for every religion. Learn about your ancestors' town of origin and which town would have jurisdiction over and keep the records for that town. Even to search the following online collections, you will need to know which town you need. These reference materials and church record inventories will help:

• An online guide to locating which parish your ancestor would have attended. Text is in Russian - use an online translator.
• Metrical Book (Parish Register) Inventory Russian, Ukrainian and Belorussian Archives

Online Databases and Websites

When possible search all available versions of a collection. The search engines vary in ability somewhat and can produce better results than the free version.

Lutheran Records

• 1833-1885 Russia, Lutheran Church Book Duplicates, 1833-1885 at FamilySearch. Index. Incomplete. Free.
• 1833-1885 Russia, Lutheran Church Book Duplicates, 1833-1885 at Ancestry.com. Index. Incomplete. Free.

Births and Baptisms

• 1755-1917 Russia, Births and Baptisms, 1755-1917 at FamilySearch - Index. Incomplete. Free.
• 1755-1917 Russia, Births and Baptisms, 1755-1917 at MyHeritage. ($). Index. Incomplete.
• 1755-1917 Russia, Select Births and Baptisms, 1755-1917 at Ancestry.com, ($). Index. Incomplete.
• 1755-1917 Russia Births & Baptisms 1655-1917 at Findmypast ($). Index. Incomplete.
• British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms at Findmypast, index & images ($)

Marriages

• 1793-1919 Russia, Marriages, 1793-1919 at FamilySearch - Index. Incomplete.
• 1793-1919 Russia, Marriages, 1793-1919, ($) at MyHeritage. Index. Incomplete.
• 1793-1919 Russia, Select Marriages, 1793-1919 at Ancestry.com. ($). Index. Incomplete.
• 1793-1919 Russia Marriages 1793-1919 at Findmypast ($). Index. Incomplete.
• British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, Russia at Findmypast, index & images ($)

Deaths and Burials

• 1815-1917 Russia, Deaths and Burials, 1815-1917 at FamilySearch - Index. Incomplete.
• 1815-1917 Russia, Deaths and Burials, 1815-1917 at MyHeritage. ($). Index. Incomplete.
• 1815-1917 Russia, Select Deaths and Burials, 1815-1917 at Ancestry ($). Index. Incomplete.
• 1815-1917 Russia Deaths & Burials 1815-1917 at Findmypast ($). Index. Incomplete.
• British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials at Findmypast, index & images ($)

Regional

• 1722-1930 Russia, Tobolsk, Church Books, 1722-1930 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1752-1918 Russia, Tomsk, Church Books, 1752-1918 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index and images
• 1753-1925 Church Records from Belgorod and villiage records in various uezdz of Voronezh and Kursk gubernias from 1753-1925.
• 1721-1939 Russia, Tatarstan Church Books, 1721-1939 at FamilySearch — images
• 1722-1918 Russia Tver Church Books, 1722-1918 at FamilySearch - Index. Incomplete.
  
• 1748-1934 Russia, Samara Church Books, 1748-1934 at FamilySearch — index and images. Free; Also at: Ancestry, index ($)
• 1768-1939 Russia, Simbirsk, Church Books, 1768-1939 at FamilySearch - Images, no index.
  
• Various Church books from Latvian, Estonian, St. Petersburg, and the Russian State Historical Archives.
• 1869-1917 Russia, Samara Church Books, 1869-1917 at MyHeritage. ($). Index. Incomplete.
• 1901-1905, 1907-1909 Church Books for the town of Kozlov (Michurinsk) for 1901-1905 and 1907-1909.
• Perm Oblast Church Records Images and index (Russian only site. 1.7 million+ records from parishes in the Perm region. Click Поиск to start a search.)

Germans from Russia Collections

• Germans from Russia Indexing: St. Petersburg Lutheran records Births, marriages, and deaths for German colonists in the Volhynia and Ukraine regions.
• Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe

Armenian Apostolic Church

• Astrakhan Consistory. Use the inventory on microfilm 1915181, item 7 to locate the town of interest in the collection.

Church Records

Church records are excellent sources for accurate names, dates, and places of births, marriages, and deaths. Many people who lived in Russia were recorded in church records.

Records of births, marriages, and deaths are commonly called “vital records” because they record critical events in a person’s life. Church records are vital records made by church officials. They are often called parish registers or churchbooks (Metricheskaja kniga, plural - Metricheskie knigi, Метрические книги in Russian). In 1722, Peter the Great mandated the recording of births, marriages, and deaths by the Orthodox Church. They consisted usually of 3 parts: a) births and christening; b) marriages; c) deaths and burials. Most remarkable was, that in the marriage part, like in the christening part, witnesses were mentioned, two from each side of the family.

Normally two copies were made, one (a transcript) sent annually to a central ecclesiastical or civil office. The transcript is the copy most likely to have survived the civil disruptions of Russia's past. Parish registers consist of forms filled out annually, filed, and then bound into books. Over time they were filed in any order imaginable. There are gaps in the years indicating that some materials were lost or misplaced. Quite often the records of churches in a district for a single year are bound in the same volume.

The form of Orthodox church books was for a long time unstable: it was constituted legally in 1779 and 1837. Other denominations also had church books in that form, which was dictated by the state: for catholics in 1826, for the lutherans in 1832, for jews in 1835, for old believers in 1874, and for baptists in 1879. The October revolution of 1917 has changed church books to civil registration, although in some churches these books were privately continued until the 1920s.

In addition to church books, especially when they are missing, one had the books of those who came to a confession (Ispowednye rospisi, Исповедные росписи in Russian), and books of the marriage investigations (Brachnye Obyski, Брачные Обыски in Russian). These books contain mostly agreements of parents to the marriage of their children, but sometimes also genealogical trees, when there was a question of the relation of bride and groom.

A very special source, to which we do not know analogues in other countries, were synodicals, the prayer list for certain deceased people, who were somehow related to that particular church or monastery. That could be a landlord, a priest, but also some peasants and town citizens. To get your family mentioned by such rememberings, one had to pay some money, of course. Some synodicals are very short, and tell only family name. But lots of them are a list of all deceased ancestors, which were known to the person who ordered the synodical. Synodicals of the 17th century are sometimes a unique source for ancient genealogies. Only one problem is with them, - that there was no stable algorythm of the order in which one put his ancestors. So, synodicals could be used only with a help of some information from other sources.

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

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 Russia.

b. Click on Places within Russia 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 Russian Letter Writing Guide for help with composing letters. This Wiki article might come up completely translated into English. Use your browser to return to the original. The guide will then show English requests on the left and their Russian translation on the right. Because the Russian alphabet is used, cut and paste the sentences you wish to use in your letter.

• Maps.me Church Listings for Russia
• Google Maps search results for churches in Russia Be sure to scroll through all the pages. There will be several pages with 20 entries each. You can also enter the name of your ancestors' town in Google Maps with the search terms "Churches near________".

Russian Orthodox Church Records

Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (the European part of Russia)

Dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church (Asian part of Russia)

• 1869-1917 Russia, Samara Church Books, 1869-1917 at MyHeritage - index ($)

Writing for Records

• Google Maps search results for Orthodox churches in Russia Be sure to scroll through all the pages. There will be several pages with 20 entries each. You can also enter the name of your ancestors' town in Google Maps with the search terms "Orthodox churches near________".

Metrical Books (Parish Registers)

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 - епархия (eparkhia) was coterminous with a Russian state - губерния (guberniya). The registers of each parish - приход (prikhod) in an country- уезд (uyezd) were commonly filed together for a single year.

Confession lists

Record type: Register of orthodox parishioners taken at Easter confession. Attendance at confession and communion was required of the family members over the age of seven. 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).
Time period: 1723-ca. 1930.
Location: State archives.
Population coverage: 10% (see preservation note).
Reliability: High. Comparison can be made between the returns annually for verification of reliability.

Clerical Lists

Clerical Lists, or клировые ведомости, are kept in federal archives (funds of the Synod, synodal institutions) and in regional archives (funds of spiritual consistories).

The clerical lists indicate the following (they consisted of three parts):

1. The first part included information about the building of the church, about church property and income, about the presence of a school, and whether there was an almshouse;
2. The second part included the service records of the clergy. The following information was usually included: surname, name, patronymic, date of birth (age was indicated based on birth certificates), marital status, degree of relationship, estate, education, place of service, position, awards, ownership of land and real estate, being on trial. In addition, all the children of the clergy members were included in them, even if they lived separately from the family.
3. The third part gave statistical data on income. Usually, two copies of clerical statements were kept, one of which remained in the parish, and the second was submitted to the consistory.

Some years only included records of men, while other years also included women in the lists.

Greek Catholic (Uniate) Church Records

Writing for Records

Followers of the Byzantine rite, primarily Ukrainians, that returned to union with Rome. In 1839 the Church was formally dissolved in the Russian Empire and its members considered Orthodox. The church persisted only in Galicia and Transcarpathia, then under Austro-Hungarian rule. When these areas were assimilated into the Soviet Union, this religion was outlawed. The descendants of Ukrainians may think their ancestors were Orthodox when they were really Uniate before 1839.

Roman Catholic Church Records

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: Catholic Churches in Russian Federation
• Google Maps search results for Roman Catholic churches in Russia Be sure to scroll through all the pages. There will be several pages with 20 entries each. You can also enter the name of your ancestors' town in Google Maps with the search terms "Catholic churches near________".

Russia mandated the keeping of Roman Catholic registers in 1826. Three copies made, the third for the deanery - dekanat, the level between the diocese and the parish. Aside from Russian Poland, there were five dioceses in 1900: Tiraspol (located in Saratov), Zhytomyr (Zhitomir), Mogilev, Vilnius (Vilno), Kaunus (Kovno).

The Russian Poland region is a unique situation within the old Russian Empire.  After the defeat of Napoleon, the Polish regions governed by Russia were given semi-autonomy.  They therefore continued to keep the records, with minor 1826 variations, in the old Napoleonic paragraph form.  They were in the Polish language until 1867 when Russian Cyrillic was mandated by the government.  More information can be found on the Poland resources pages.

Lutheran (Evangelical) Church Records

Writing for Records

• Google Maps search results for Lutheran churches in Russia Be sure to scroll through all the pages. There will be several pages with 20 entries each. You can also enter the name of your ancestors' town in Google Maps with the search terms "Lutheran churches near________".

In 1832 Russia mandated keeping these records. Aside from Russian Poland, there were eight diocesan offices, one in St. Petersburg, one in Moscow, and six in the Baltic states. The registers were kept in German, until law of 1891 required that they be kept in Russian. The priests came from Finland and Sweden. The books were written in Finnish, Swedish and German. The transcripts in St. Petersburg for 1832-1885 have been microfilmed.

A significant portion of the St. Petersburg records have been indexed by independent sources, especially covering the southern part of that Diocese in what is now Ukraine. They are as follows:

• 1833-1885 Russia, Lutheran Church Book Duplicates, 1833-1885 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1833-1885 Russia, Lutheran Church Book Duplicates, 1833-1885 at Ancestry.com. Index. Incomplete. Free.

• Germans from Russia Indexing: St. Petersburg Lutheran records - In the 1990s, several Germans from Russia groups with dozens of volunteers indexed a large number of the St. Petersburg Lutheran records specifically applicable to Ukraine and Moldova regions of today. They can be browsed at this link. These indices contain numerous errors and should be used with caution. In spite of that, this is a valuable resource as it contains well over a hundred thousand b/m/d records.
  

• Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe - This Society has taken the St. Petersburg Lutheran indices for Volhynia (today northwestern Ukraine regions) originally compiled by the Germans from Russia group referenced above and added new ones for Podolia and Kiev regions. They are also working at correcting errors in the original Volhynia index. They have also added new indices for Lutheran Parishes for Volhynia where the originals are held in Warsaw Archives rather than St. Petersburg. These regions were all part of Russia prior to WW I. The Volhynia portion alone of this index contains over 70,000 entries. That number does not include the additional records indexed as found in Warsaw Archives.  A list of Lutheran Records for these regions along with relevant microfilm numbers can be found on the SGGEE website.
  

The unique situation for Russian Poland also applies to the Lutheran records.  The vast majority of Lutheran Church members were Germans who had migrated there during the Partitions of the late 1700s.  The records were also in Polish Napoleonic paragraph format until 1867 and Russian Cyrillic after that.  It is important to note that registration of b/m/d was a civil obligation.  Therefore, prior to the establishment of  a Lutheran Church Parish in a given region, Lutherans would register their events at the nearest Roman Catholic Parish.

A list of Lutheran Parishes along with relevant microfilm numbers for Russian Poland can be found on the SGGEE website.  Many of these (especially from times prior to the introduction or Cyrillic) are being indexed in a Master Pedigree Database.  It contains over 500,000 line items and is only available to members.

Old Believer Church Records

Writing for Records

Dissenters from Orthodoxy who refused to accept alterations of religious rituals and prayers. Civilian registration of birth and marriage by police mandated in 1874 for those who were born into Old Believer families. One copy was made and kept in the provincial administration - gubernskoye pravleniye.

Baptist Church Record

Writing for Records

• Google Maps search results for Baptist churches in Russia Be sure to scroll through all the pages. There will be several pages with 20 entries each. You can also enter the name of your ancestors' town in Google Maps with the search terms "Baptist churches near________".

Civil registration was mandated in 1879. Two copies, one in the provincial administration and the other in the regional police headquarters - uezdnoye politseiskoye upravleniye.

No Baptist Church records are known to exist for Volhynia or other parts of modern day Ukraine, formerly part of Russia.Some limited Baptist Records for Russian Poland have been found as indicated on the SGGEE website.