FamilySearch Wiki

Russia Church Records: Difference between revisions

Page Talk

Russia Church Records (view source)

Revision as of 16:45, 23 November 2011

1,228 bytes added ,  23 November 2011
Major edit to eliminate previous copyright issues
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
(Major edit to eliminate previous copyright issues)
Line 12: Line 12:


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.  
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.  
 
<br>
=== Parish Names and Lists of Microfilms  ===
 
*http://www.sggee.org/research/parish<br>LDS microfilms for Russian-Polish regions are indexed according to provincial boundaries as they were in modern Poland pre 1975. Since most of our research covers the time before WW I, a summary of parishes in the regions applicable to that time frame, with direct links to the microfilm numbers, would be a major help to researchers. The following links provide that for you.
 
=== Russian Orthodox Church Records  ===
=== Russian Orthodox Church Records  ===


Line 27: Line 23:
=== Roman Catholic Church Records  ===
=== Roman Catholic Church Records  ===


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. There were five dioceses in 1900: Tiraspol (located in Saratov), Zhytomyr (Zhitomir), Mogilev, Vilnius (Vilno), Kaunus (Kovno).  
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.&nbsp; After the defeat of Napoleon, the Polish regions governed by Russia were given semi-autonomy.&nbsp; They therefore continued to keep the records, with minor 1826 variations, in the old Napoleonic paragraph form.&nbsp; They were in the Polish language until 1867 when Russian Cyrillic was mandated by the government.&nbsp; More information can be found on the Poland resources pages.


=== Lutheran (Evangelical) Church Records  ===
=== Lutheran (Evangelical) Church Records  ===


In 1832 Russia mandated keeping these records. 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 transcripts in St. Petersburg for 1832-1885 have been microfilmed.  
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 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.&nbsp; They are as follows:<br>
 
[http://www.odessa3.org/collections/stpete/ Germans from Russia Indexing] - 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.<br>
 
[http://www.sggee.org/research/StPeteBirth.html 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.&nbsp; A list of Lutheran Records for these regions along with relevant microfilm numbers can be found on the [http://www.sggee.org/research/parishes/church_parishes/LutheransInVolhyniaKievPodolia.html SGGEE website].<br>


Included with all of the people who lived in Russian Poland, a significant number were of German ancestry. Most were also of the Evangelical (or Lutheran) faith. These people moved into Russian Poland from the German states and Prussia at least as early as the late 18th century, and somewhat continuously in large numbers until at least the 1870s. By about 1900, many of these people had left this area to move to present-day eastern Poland, Volhynia, or other places. It appears that a significant number never left Poland until at least World War II.  
The unique situation for Russian Poland also applies to the Lutheran records.&nbsp; The vast majority of Lutheran Church members were Germans who had migrated there during the Partitions of the late 1700s.&nbsp; The records were also in Polish Napoleonic paragraph format until 1867 and Russian Cyrillic after that.&nbsp; It is important to note that registration of b/m/d was a civil obligation.&nbsp; Therefore, prior to the establishment of&nbsp; a Lutheran Church Parish in a given region, Lutherans would register their events at the nearest Roman Catholic Parish.


Handwritten records were kept for all births, marriages and deaths that were reported to the Lutheran Church. If an event occurred before the establishment of a Lutheran parish, the record is most likely in a nearby parish that was already established before the time of the event. In some cases, even though the event was for a person of the Evangelical (or Lutheran) faith, the event may be recorded in the Catholic Church records for that area.  
A list of Lutheran Parishes along with relevant microfilm numbers for Russian Poland can be found on the [http://www.sggee.org/research/parishes/church_parishes/LutheransInRusPoland.html SGGEE website].&nbsp; Many of these (especially from times prior to the introduction or Cyrillic) are being indexed in a Master Pedigree Database.&nbsp; It contains over 500,000 line items and is only available to members.<br>


Family History Library filming generally ends with about the 1880s records, because the remaining records were not yet 100 years old at the time of filming. Because records after about 1869 are in the more difficult (to us) Russian Cyrillic, the Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe will, at this time, limit the translation of Lutheran parish indexes to 1869.  
Additional information about Lutherans in Russian Poland can be found on the Poland resource page.<br>


=== Old Believer Church Records  ===
=== Old Believer Church Records  ===
Line 47: Line 51:
Civil registration was mandated in 1879. Two copies, one in the provincial administration and the other in the regional police headquarters - ''uezdnoye politseiskoye upravleniye''.  
Civil registration was mandated in 1879. Two copies, one in the provincial administration and the other in the regional police headquarters - ''uezdnoye politseiskoye upravleniye''.  


Included with all of the people who lived in Russian Poland, a significant number were of German ancestry, some of whom were of the Baptist faith. These people moved into Poland from the German states and Prussia at least as early as the late 18th century, and somewhat continuously in large numbers until at least the 1870s. By about 1900, many of these people had left this area to move to present-day eastern Poland, Volhynia, or other places. It appears that a significant number never left Poland until at least World War II.  
No Baptist Church records are known to exist for Volhynia or other parts of modern day Ukraine, formerly part of Russia.&nbsp; Some limited Baptist Records for Russian Poland have been found as indicated on the [http://www.sggee.org/research/parishes/church_parishes/BaptistInRusPoland.html SGGEE website].<br>


=== Muslim Records  ===
=== Muslim Records  ===
Jerryfrank
19

edits

Retrieved from "https://integration-ru.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/815573"