Jordan Church Records

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

Online Resources and Websites
'''Ancestry.com, findmypast.com, and MyHeritage.com can be searched free of charge at your local family history center or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, Jordan, index and images, ($)


 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, Jordan, index and images, ($)


 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials, index and images, ($)

Historical Background
Sunni Islam is the dominant religion in Jordan. Muslims make up about 95% of the country's population.[1][citation needed] There are also a small number of Ahmadi Muslims,[2][better source needed] and some Shiites. Many Shia are Iraqi and Lebanese refugees.[3]

The country also boasts one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, coexisting with the rest of the population. They made up about 4.2% of the population when the country had 5 million inhabitants in 2005.[4] down from 20% in the 1930s, due to several reasons, mainly due to high rates of Muslim immigration into the country. More than half are Greek Orthodox. The rest are Latin or Greek Rite Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Protestants and Armenians., ibid. Jordanian Christians in a country of almost 10 million are thought to number 250,000-400,000 excluding tens of thousands of Syrian and Iraqi Christians in the country.[5] A 2015 study estimates some 6,500 Christian believers from a Muslim background in the country, most of them belonging to some form of Protestantism.[6]

There are around 20,000 to 32,000 Druze living mostly in the north of Jordan, while there are fewer than 800 Jordanian Bahá'ís mainly living in Addassia village near the Jordan Valley.[7]

There are no legal restrictions on Jews, but in 2006 there were reported to be no Jewish citizens.[8] Bahá'ís[9] and other non recognised religious minorities face several restrictions.[10] Anglicans/Episcopalians in Jordan are under the oversight of the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem. The Church of the Redeemer is the largest congregation by membership of any church in the entire Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Other Episcopal churches are in Ashrafiyya, Salt, Zarqa, Marka refugee camp, Irbid, Al Husn and Aqaba.

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:

Marriages
Marriage registers can give:

Burials
Burial registers may give:

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 Brazil.
 * b. Click on Places within Brazil 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. FHL icons.png. 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 French Letter Writing GuideLetter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.
 * Maps.me Church Listings for Brazil

Writing to a Local Parish
To locate the mailing address or e-mail address for a local parish, consult:
 * The Catholic Directory: Brazil

Online Records
Online church information is available to current members, deceased members, and immediate family members who are still living. Sign in to FamilySearch and then select Family Tree in the drop-down menu.