Cyprus Church Records

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

Historical Background
Religion in Cyprus is characterized by two main religious beliefs and practices; Christianity makes up 73% of the population of the island. Most Greek Cypriots, and thus the majority of the population of Cyprus, are members of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox (Church of Cyprus), whereas most Turkish Cypriots are officially Sunni Muslims. There are also Bahá'í, Catholic, Jewish, Protestant (including Anglican), Maronite, Armenian Apostolic, and non-religious communities in Cyprus. In the Greek Orthodox church parish priests kept these records for the dioceses. The diocese made the official record based on information from local priests. Thus, the term “diocesan register” may be more appropriate than “parish register.” As there was no separation of church and state under Ottoman rule, the church filled the function of official registrar of vital events, at least for Christians. Dioceses were responsible for issuing marriage licenses and recording marriages (records are known to exist from 1839). Orthodox records are generally in Greek. Records of other faiths (Catholics, Maronites, Armenian, or Gregorian) may be in Greek, Latin, Armenian, or Turkish. There are many gaps in church registers between 1850 and 1920.

Time period: About 1839 to present. (It is possible that some parishes have earlier records.) Many records, however, do not begin until the late 1800s.

Population coverage: 70%.

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 [COUNTRY LINK 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
 * Google Maps search results for churches in Brazil Be sure to scroll through all the pages.  There will be several pages with 20 entries each.

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.

Writing for Records

 * [ Google Maps search results for Anglican churches in Brazil]

Writing for Records

 * [ Google Maps search results for Assembly of God churches in Brazil]

Writing for Records

 * [ Google Maps search results for Baptist churches in Brazil]

Writing for Records

 * [ Google Maps search results for Eastern Orthodox churches in Brazil]

Writing for Records

 * [ Google Maps search results for Jehovah's Witnesses churches in Brazil]

Writing for Records

 * [ Google Maps search results for Lutheran churches in Brazil]

Writing for Records

 * [ Google Maps search results for Mennonite churches in Brazil]

Historical Background
Location: All early registers were sent to Nikosia to be centralized there at the Ministry of Interior registration office. Check carefully with the Cyprus Research Center in Nikosia for materials in their Archbishopric Archive. Originals or transcripts of church records are likely kept there. This archive also holds the registers of marriage licenses and registers of names of monks and peasants relating to the Archbishopric. Parish registration notes may be in local parishes. Church records of the 1900s are likely to be in the local parishes or diocesan offices.