Bulgaria Church Records

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

Historical Background
Church records were recorded by church clergymen and include baptism, marriage, and burial registers. Bulgarian church records are primarily from the Bulgarian Orthodox and Roman Catholic religions. Most date back usually to the 1850s when the Bulgarian Church broke away from the Greek Orthodox. Some Catholic books date back to at least 1797.Church records in Bulgaria range from the 1700s to the present, although most date back to the mid-1800s. They have a comprehensive coverage of the entire population.

Accessing the Records
Administratively, Bulgaria is divided into twenty eight districts. Each has an archive where civil registration and some church records are preserved. A few parish registers have been gathered into state archives or the national museum. Many church records are located in the parish churches or monasteries. Some researchers have accessed the registers in these parishes, but access probably will vary depending on the disposition of the local clergy or the guidance of central church authorities. Some pre-1872 registers are in Greece because during this period the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was subordinate to the Patriarchate in Greece. Records are kept under various storage conditions and are subject to natural catastrophes and human neglect. There are no vital records in the National Historical Archive in Sofia.
 * Bulgaria Historical Archives: Scroll to the bottom for links to the archives for each district (mistranslated as state).

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 Bulgaria.
 * b. Click on Places within Bulgaria 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. Then, use a Bulgarian translation service.
 * Maps.me Church Listings for Bulgaria
 * Google Maps search results for churches in Bulgaria

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

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.

Historical Background
Hungarian-born Mischa Markow was a prominent early missionary to the Balkans. While working in Constantinople, he met Argir Dimitrov, a Bulgarian who had begun learning about the Church. Markow invited Dimitrov to join him in proselyting in Romania. While there, Dimitrov was converted and was baptized by Markow in July 1899. Dimitrov was likely the first Bulgarian convert, and certainly the first Bulgarian missionary. Markow visited Bulgaria in the summer of 1900, where he registered with the police and received permission to preach. Several ministers allowed him to address their congregations. Soon he was challenged by a Protestant minister who paid for newspaper ads warning people not to attend Markow’s scheduled lectures. The result was overflow meetings and enthusiastic interest. A group of clergymen soon became alarmed at Markow’s popularity. They had him arrested on charges that he falsified his registration form by listing himself as a minister of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rather than as a Mormon minister. Despite many appeals, Markow was banished from the country.

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve (the second highest governing body of the Church) and Elder Hans B. Ringger of the Seventy (one of the highest governing bodies of the Church) visited Bulgarian leaders in October 1988 hoping for an opportunity to become established there. Their efforts did not meet with success because government policies did not allow the establishment of new religious groups. Elders Nelson and Ringger returned in February 1990 after the fall of the Communist regime and were cordially greeted by officials of the new government. In September 1990, six missionaries under direction of the Austria Vienna East Mission entered the country.

On July 1, 1991, the Bulgarian Sofia Mission was created. Also in July 1991, the Mladost and Sofia Central branches (small congregations) were created in Sofia. Nine days later, on 10 July 1991, the Church was formally recognized by the Bulgarian government. In 1993, pediatricians, ophthalmologists, audiologists and others working through the Europe Area Presidency and Church Humanitarian Services went to Bulgaria to help train doctors and nurses to improve health care of children. Rapid growth of Church membership in the capital city of Sofia necessitated created of six more branches between November 1991 and November 1992. Beginning in the mid 1990s, branches were begun in other Bulgarian cities including Burgas, Varna, Shumen, Ruse, Veliko Turnovo, Blagoevgrad and Dobrich. Total Church Membership: 2,440. Congregations: 7.

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Eastern Orthodox churches in Bulgaria

Historical Background
By far the dominant religion in Bulgaria is Eastern Orthodox Christianity, professed by the prevalent ethnic group, the Bulgarians, who are adherents of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Approximately 60% of the Bulgarians belonged to the church as of 2011. Other Orthodox churches represented in the country by minorities are the Russian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Romanian Orthodox Church and Greek Orthodox Church.