Egypt Church Records

For information about records for non-Christian religions in Egypt, go to the Religious Records page. =Online Resources and Websites= See Digital Copies of Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog below. Greek Orthodox records in particular are available digitally following those instructions.
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, Egypt, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, Africa at Findmypast - index & images ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, Egypt, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, Africa at Findmypast - index & images ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials at Findmypast - index & images ($)

=Historical Background= Of the Christian population in Egypt, over 90% belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, an Oriental Orthodox Christian Church. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the Evangelical Church of Egypt and various other Protestant denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Cairo and Alexandria, such as the Syro-Lebanese, who belong to Greek Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Maronite Catholic denominations.

Ethnic Greeks also made up a large Greek Orthodox population in the past. Likewise, Armenians made up the then larger Armenian Orthodox and Catholic communities. Egypt also used to have a large Roman Catholic community, largely made up of Italians and Maltese. These non-native communities were much larger in Egypt before the Nasser regime and the nationalization that took place.

Non-native Christian communities are largely found in the urban regions of Alexandria and Cairo, and are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Latin Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church.

=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:

=How to Find Records= Various church records including Orthodox and Coptic church records are available in archives across Egypt. These include births, marriages, and deaths, and span from the 1600s or earlier to the present. They document the local population and Europeans.

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 FamilySearch Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations. To find records:
 * a. Click on the records of Egypt.
 * b. Click on Places within Egypt 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 Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.
 * Google Maps search results for Christian churches in Egypt Notice that there are many more churches listed in the left drop-down list than thee are icons on the visual map.

= Catholic Church Records =

Writing to a Local Parish
Earlier records can be held at the diocese, with more recent records still kept in the local parish. To locate the mailing address or e-mail address for a diocese or local parish, consult:
 * The Catholic Directory: Egypt

Historical Background
The Catholic Church in Egypt is considerably small as compared to the rest of the Christian population in Egypt, which is a significant minority among (mainly Sunni) Muslims. The Catholic population in Egypt is said to have begun during the British control of Egypt. However, many returned to Europe after the 1952 Revolution in Egypt, which also caused the overthrow and exile of King Farouk of Egypt. Catholics in Egypt belong to seven distinct ritual Particular Churches sui iuris, the largest being the Coptic Catholic Church, led by its Patriarch of Alexandria.

The majority of the Christians in Egypt are members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. The number of Catholics (less than 200,000) in Egypt makes up much less than 1% of the total Egyptian population, which is roughly 75 million people. Many of Egypt's Latin Catholics are of Italian or Maltese descent, while Egypt's Melkite Greek Catholics and Maronite Catholics are predominantly of Syro-Lebanese descent.