Tiflis Gubernia Religious Records

Digital Copies of Religious Records in the FamilySearch Catalog
Watch for digitized copies of religious records to be added to the collection of the FamilySearch Library. Some records might have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a FamilySearch Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations. To find records you will first need to know the town closest to where your ancestor lived that had a church or other religious institution:
 * 1. Search for the town name in the FamilySearch Catalog.
 * 2. Then click on Places within  and a list of towns will appear.
 * 3. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish or location of the religious institution which served your town or village.
 * 4. Click on the "Church records" or "religious records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * a. 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.

'''Please note that some of the religious records for Tiflis Gubernia have not yet been made available by town through the FamilySearch Catalog. If you do not see your town listed in the catalog using the above instructions, use the instructions below to see if records for the town of interest are available.'''

Armenian Apostolic Church
This collection is primarily for Armenian Apostolic Church records, but also includes some records for other religious denominations such as Armenian Catholics and Russian Orthodox

1. Use the Locality List for Armenian Parish Registers, listed by historic name and former Russian Empire jurisdictions. Partially in Russian.

2. Use the fond, opis, and item number(s) (see the two far-right columns from the link above) to locate the records in the FamilySearch catalog: The red link in the FS catalog to the digital records is incomplete. Scroll to the list of microfilms to view the digital images.
 * State Historical Archive of Armenia: Fond 47 or Fond 62
 * State Historical Archive of Armenia: Fond 53 or Fond 357. (Example: fond 53, opis 2, file 109 = Ֆ: 53՝ ց: 2՝ մ: 109)

Caucasian Calendar / Кавказский календарь
Among other things, the Caucasian Calendar provides dates for religious holidays. Digital copies for several volumes created between 1845 and 1916 are available. Background on the publication can be found here: link. Text in Russian.
 * 1846 | 1847 | 1848 | 1849 |
 * 1850 | 1851 | 1852 | 1853 | 1854 | 1855 | 1856 | 1857 | 1858 | 1859 |
 * 1860 | 1861 | 1862 | 1863 | 1864 | 1865 | 1866 | 1867 | 1868 | 1869 |
 * 1870 | 1871 | 1872 | 1873 | 1874 | 1875 | 1876 | 1877 | 1878 | 1879 |
 * 1880 | 1881 | 1882 | 1883 | 1884 | 1885 | 1886 | 1887 | 1888 | 1889 |
 * 1890 | 1891 | 1892 | 1893 | 1894 | 1895 | 1896 | 1897 | 1898 | 1899 |
 * 1900 | 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 |
 * 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 |

Historical Background
As of 1886, the Armenian Apostolic Church was the second most common Christian religion in the former Tiflis province of the Russian Empire. Members of this faith lived in all districts of the Tiflis province.

The forms below reflect a typical church record form for the Armenian Apostolic Church, but there will be some variation in column headers over time.

Baptism Record Format
See an example from 1895, Սուրբ Հակոբ parish in Davalu, Ėrivan (district), Ėrivan (province), Russian Empire

Marriage Record format
See an example from 1891, Սուրբ Հակոբ parish in Davalu, Ėrivan (district), Ėrivan (province), Russian Empire

Burial Record Format
See an example from 1900, Սուրբ Հակոբ parish in Davalu, Ėrivan (district), Ėrivan (province), Russian Empire

Catholic Church Records
In 1914, the Tiraspol diocese had 11 dean's offices, 100 parishes, 179 priests and 350,000 believers of the Latin rite [Roman Catholic], as well as 50 parishes, 75 priests and 40,000 believers of the Armenian rite [Armenian Catholic].



Historical Background
The Armenian Catholic church in the Transcaucasian region had four deaneries within the Diocese of Tiraspol, two of which included areas within modern Armenia:
 * Aleksandrapolʹ (previously part of the Ėrivan province of the Russian Empire, now in Armenia)
 * Lori (previously part of the Tiflis province of the Russian Empire, now split between Georgia and Armenia)

This diocese was originally created on 3 July 1848 and was called the Diocese of Kherson until 1852. Prior to 1848 the area belonged to the Archdiocese of Mohilev.

Armenian Catholics in the Ėrivan province of the Russian Empire lived primarily in the Aleksandrapolʹ district (uyezd).

The forms below reflect a typical church record form for the Armenian Catholic Church, but there will be some variation in column headers over time.

Historical Background
Roman Catholics in Armenia belonged to the Tiflis deanery which was also in the Diocese of Tiraspol.

Based on information from 1873, Roman Catholics in the Ėrivan province of the Russian Empire lived primarily in the Sharur-Daralagyoz district (uyezd).

Historical background
Both Shiite and Sunni Muslims lived within all districts the Ėrivan province of the Russian Empire.

The FamilySearch Library does not have religious records for these groups from this area, but tax lists for some of their settlements within the Ėrivan province of the Russian Empire are available. See village lists on the Ėrivan Gubernia Taxation page.

Historical Background
As of 1873, those of the Russian Orthodox faith who lived in Ėrivan province of the Russian Empire lived primarily in the districts of Ėrivan and Aleksandrapolʹ. A few also lived in the districts of Novobayazet, Ėchmiadzin, and Nakhichevan.

Historical Background
Article: The Molokans in Armenia

The FamilySearch Library does not have religious records for these groups for this area, but tax lists for some of their settlements within the Ėrivan province of the Russian Empire are available. See village lists on the Ėrivan Gubernia Taxation page.

As of 1873:


 * Doukhobors lived in the Nakhichevan district of Ėrivan province.
 * Molokans lived in the following districts (listed by concentration): Novobayazet district, Aleksandrapol district, Ėrivan district, and Nakhichevan district within Ėrivan province.
 * Pryguny lived primarily in the districts of Aleksandrapol and Novobayazet.
 * Subbotniks lived in Novobayazet district with a few in the districts of Aleksandrapol and Nakhichevan.