Libya Church Records

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Libya

Church Records

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

Historical Background

About 97% of the population in Libya are Muslims, most of whom belong to the Sunni branch. There are small foreign communities of Christians. Coptic Orthodox Christianity, which is the Christian Church of Egypt, is the largest and most historical Christian denomination in Libya. There are about 60,000 Egyptian Copts in Libya. Copts in Libya are Egyptian. There are three Coptic Churches in Libya, one in Tripoli, one in Benghazi, and one in Misurata. There are an estimated 40,000 Roman Catholics in Libya who are served by two Bishops, one in Tripoli (serving the Italian community) and one in Benghazi (serving the Maltese community). There is also a small Anglican community, made up mostly of African immigrant workers in Tripoli; it is part of the Anglican Diocese of Egypt.

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 Family History Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations. To find records:

a. Click on the records of Libya.

b. Click on Places within Libya 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 Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.

Catholic Church Records

Writing to a Local Parish

To locate the mailing address or e-mail address for a local parish, consult:

• The Catholic Directory: Libya

SAN FRANCESCO PARISH The Parish community of San Francesco Tripoli, is in fact made up of various PERSONAL PARISHES because of the different nationalities and language groups of the faithful, living in that area. PERSONAL PARISHES, according to the Language groups, are assigned to the following Parish Priests:
Vicar Apostolic GEORGE BUGEJA OFM
Responsible for the African and Filippino Communities
In charge of Caritas

FR. MAGDY HELMY OFM
Guardian of the Franciscan Fraternity
Parish Priest of the Arab speaking French Community
Assistant of Italian Community
Mobile: +218925203109
eMail: magdyyyy@hotmail.com

BR. HERMIE VILLASON OFM, Medical Doctor
Assistant to the Pastoral Care of the Christian Communities in Sebha Regions
Mobile: +218922964667

Historical Background

Christianity has been present in Libya since Roman times. Saint Francis of Assisi brought his faith to Tripoli in the Middle Ages. The Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Our Lady of the Angels) in the Old City - Medina of Tripoli was founded in 1645 and, with the permission of the Sultan of Constantinople, the Church of the Immaculate Conception was founded in Benghazi in 1858.

Before World War II the number of Catholics increased in Libya due to its status as an Italian colony, but the Catholic Cathedral of Tripoli (built in the 1920s) was converted to a mosque in the 1990s by Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

There are around 50,000 Catholics in Libya, comprising less than one percent of the population. Among the Catholics are Italian Libyans and Maltese Libyans. Thousands of Filipino Catholic nurses moved to Libya during the 1980s and 1990s. The Italians were the majority of the Catholics in Libya until their expulsion in 1969 by Colonel Gaddafi.

There are no dioceses in Libya, but there are four territorial jurisdictions - three Apostolic Administrations and one Apostolic Prefecture.

• Apostolic Vicariate of Benghazi
• Apostolic Vicariate of Derna
• Apostolic Vicariate of Tripoli
• Apostolic Prefecture of Misrata

Anglican (Episcopal) Church Records

Writing for Records

• [ Google Maps search results for Anglican churches in Libya]

Coptic Church Records

Writing for Records

They are currently three Coptic Orthodox Churches in Libya: one in Tripoli, Libya (Saint Mark's), one in Benghazi, Libya (Saint Antonios — two priests), and one in Misrata, Libya (Saint Mary and Saint George).

Historical Background

Historically speaking, Christianity spread to the Pentapolis in North Africa from Egypt. The Coptic congregations in several countries were under the ancient Eparchy of the Western Pentapolis, which was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church for centuries until the 13th century.