Belarus Church Records: Difference between revisions

Belarus Church Records (view source)

Revision as of 17:26, 19 January 2023

550 bytes added , 19 January 2023

Changed Historical Background/Info sections

VisualWikitext

Elliealiese

2,030

edits

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ''For information about records for non-Christian religions in Belarus, go to the [[Belarus Religious Records|Religious Records]] page.''
-==Online Resources and Websites==
+==Online Records==
 *'''1649-1915''' {{RecordSearch|4166194|Belarus, Grodno Church Books, 1649-1915}} at FamilySearch - [[Belarus, Grodno Church Books - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images
 *'''1700-1965''' {{RecordSearch|4158550|Belarus, Minsk Church Books, 1700-1965}} at FamilySearch - [[Belarus, Minsk Church Books - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 *[https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl Polish “Archival resources online”]. [[Media:1-Polish State Archives-Instruction.pdf|'''Instructions''']].  Includes records from Polish regions now in Belarus.
 *[http://www.geneteka.genealodzy.pl/ Geneteka] [https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Geneteka_database Instructions]
-*[http://www.epaveldas.lt/patikslintoji-paieska Paveldas Lithuanian Cultural Heritage Collection], digital repository and collection of items of Lithuanian heritage and culture, includes almost 4,000 Roman Catholic Church register books. Images, no index. Incomplete.
+*[http://www.epaveldas.lt/patikslintoji-paieska ePaveldas Lithuanian Cultural Heritage Collection], digital repository and collection of items of Lithuanian heritage and culture, includes almost 4,000 Roman Catholic Church register books. Images, no index. Incomplete.
 *[http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-records/british-armed-forces-and-overseas-births-and-baptisms British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms], index and images, ($)
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 *:*'''Description''' and '''See''' are clickable links. '''See''' takes you to the images.
-==Historical Background==
+==Introduction==
+=== Metrical Books (Church Records) ===
+The Church acted as both a religious and civil agent in recording vital events and church sacraments such as baptism, marriage, and burial. Peter the Great mandated the keeping of Orthodox books in 1722 and the format was standardized in 1724. Printed forms were first introduced in 1806, and in 1838 a format was established that prevailed until 1920 when civil registration began. The priest made a transcript for the ecclesiastical court (''dukhovnaia konsistoriia'') having jurisdiction. Jewish transcripts were filed with the local town council (''gorodskaia duma''). Old Believer and Baptist transcripts were sent to the provincial administration (''gubernskoe upravlenie''). The distinction between the original and the transcript is often ignored by Belarusian record keepers.
+==== Record Coverage ====
+Population coverage is about 70% coverage for early periods, 90% from about 1830 through the introduction of civil registration and the fall of churches in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, with about 50% among minority religions and dissident groups such as Old Believers and Baptists.s.<ref name="profile">The Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Family History Record Profile: Belarus,” Word document, private files of the FamilySearch Content Strategy Team, 2002.</ref>
+Years of record coverage vary depending upon religion and location. See below for some general guidelines:
+* '''Russian Orthodox''' records began in 1722
+* '''Roman Catholic''' records began as early as 1613, with transcripts beginning in 1826
+* '''Jewish''' records were required to be kept beginning in 1835. Prior to this point, you ''may'' find them recorded in the church books of other religious denominations.
+* '''Evangelical Lutheran/Protestant''' records began as early as 1641, with transcripts beginning in 1833
+* '''Greek Catholic/Greek Orthodox''' records began in 1796
+* '''Old Believers''' records began in 1874
+== Confession Lists ==
+'''Register of orthodox parishioners taken at Easter confession:'''Attendance at confession and communion was required of the family members over the age of seven. Sometimes they are interfiled with metrical books in a record group or collection.
+'''Time period: 1723-about 1930.'''
+'''Contents:''' Lists head of household, names of family members (including children not attending confession) with their ages and relationship to head of household, residence (number of house or other identification), and whether or not they attended confession.
+'''Location:''' Central state historical archives in Minsk and Grodno. Population coverage: 10% (see preservation note). Because this is a voluminous record type, '''many have been discarded'''. The standard rule was to retain only 2% but in some cases more were preserved. Consequently, these exist for only a small percentage of parishes. The records are well preserved in good facilities. The records were little used during twentieth century.<ref name="profile" />
 According to the census of as of November 2011, 58.9% of all Belarusians adhere to some kind of religion; out of those, Eastern Orthodoxy (Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church) makes up about 82%. Roman Catholicism is practiced mostly in the western regions, and there are also different denominations of Protestantism.  Minorities also practice Greek Catholicism, Judaism, Islam and Neopaganism. Overall, 48.3% of the population is Orthodox Christian, 41.1% is not religious, 7.1% is Catholic and 3.3% follows other religions.
@@ Line 54: / Line 78: @@
 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>
-== Church Registers (Metric books) General Information  ==
-The Church acted as both a religious and civil agent in recording vital events and church sacraments such as baptism and burial. Peter the Great mandated the keeping of Orthodox books in 1722. The format was standardized in 1724. Printed forms were introduced in 1806. In 1838 a format was introduced that prevailed until 1920 when civil registration began. The priest made a transcript for the ecclesiastical court (''dukhovnaia konsistoriia'') having jurisdiction. Old Believer and Baptist transcripts were sent to the provincial administration (''gubernskoe upravlenie''). The distinction between the original and the transcript is often ignored by Belarusian record keepers.
-'''Time period: Orthodox, 1722; Greek Catholic, 1796; Roman Catholic, 1613 (transcripts begin in 1826); Evangelical/other Protestant, 1641 (transcripts begin in 1833); Old Believers, 1874; Baptists, 1879–all to about 1930.'''
-'''Population coverage:''' 70% coverage for early periods, 90% from about 1830 through the destruction of most churches in the 1930s, 50% among minority religions and dissident groups such as Old Believers and Baptists.<ref name="profile">The Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Family History Record Profile: Belarus,” Word document, private files of the FamilySearch Content Strategy Team, 2002.</ref>
-== Confession Lists  ==
-'''Register of orthodox parishioners taken at Easter confession:'''Attendance at confession and communion was required of the family members over the age of seven. Sometimes they are interfiled with metrical books in a record group or collection.
-'''Time period: 1723-about 1930.'''
-'''Contents:''' Lists head of household, names of family members (including children not attending confession) with their ages and relationship to head of household, residence (number of house or other identification), and whether or not they attended confession.
-'''Location:''' Central state historical archives in Minsk and Grodno. Population coverage: 10% (see preservation note). Because this is a voluminous record type, '''many have been discarded'''. The standard rule was to retain only 2% but in some cases more were preserved. Consequently, these exist for only a small percentage of parishes. The records are well preserved in good facilities. The records were little used during twentieth century.<ref name="profile" />
 ==How to Find Records==