North Macedonia Church Records

For information about records for non-Christian religions in Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia/FYROM), go to the Religious Records page.

Parish Registers


 * Virtually all of the Christian population is Macedonian Orthodox.
 * Based on the pattern in Serbia, the parish registers probably exist for the period 1800-present, and they are located in churches and in the various archives.

Research use: Uniquely identifies individuals and spans generations.

Record type: Church records kept by parish priests of baptism, marriages, and deaths. The term is also used to refer to the records of denominations that had jurisdictions other than parishes.

General: Virtually all of the Christian population is Macedonian Orthodox.

Time period: 1800-present.

Contents: Name of principal, other family members, residence, relationships, dates and place of birth and baptism, marriage, death and burial. Includes ages in entries for marriage and death. Baptisms include name of the godparents. Entries sometimes identify residence for those not in the parish.

Location: Based on the pattern in Serbia, it is assumed the records are located in churches and in various archives--national, historical, and community.
 * National Archives of Macedonia Index of Holdings.
 * Department of Bitola has birth registers, weddings and deaths from 1801/1962
 * Department of Ohrid has records of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Islamic Religious Community.
 * Department of Prilep has records the religious institutions of the Orthodox Church from the church municipalities and churches (1872-1945)
 * Department of Strumica has Methodist church records back to 1882.
 * Department of Tetovo has records from the Orthodox Church (1887-1937) - bishop's offices, church communities, churches and monasteries, and the Islamic Religious Community (1930-1944) - Waqa's attorneys and imams.
 * Department of Stip has records from the Orthodox Church (1918-1948) - bishop's offices, parishes, churches and monasteries and from the Islamic Religious Community (1921-1946) - Muftis in Stip, Kocani and Radovish.


 * List of Churches in the Republic of Macedonia Macedonian is the official language and requests for records should be in that language.

Population coverage: 60% coverage of the population, but less for earlier periods.