Georgia (country) Church Records

For information about records for non-Christian religions in Georgia (country), go to the Religious Records page.

Parish registers
Research use: Uniquely identifies individuals based on their vital data and connects them to the previous generation.

Record type: Church records kept by parish priests of births/baptisms, marriages, and deaths/burials; term also used to mean religious vital records of denominations without parishes.

General: The material was created after the establishment of the Georgia-Imeretia Orthodox Synod in 1814. In registers before 1875, multiple parishes are filed for each year. After 1875, there are multiple years for the same parish.

Time period: 1817-1921.

Contents: Names of the person and other family members, residence, relationships, dates and place of birth and baptism, marriage, death and burial. Baptisms include names of godparents; marriages include the ages of the bride and groom; burials include the age of the deceased and cause of death.

Location: Most centralized at the National Archive in Tbilisi.

Percentage in Family History Library: 100% (1817-1921).

Population coverage: 55% coverage for early periods; 80% coverage for the 19th century.

Reliability: High.

Catholic Church
Roman Catholics in Georgia belonged to the Tiflis deanery within the Diocese of Tiraspol. This diocese was originally created on 3 July 1848 and was called the Diocese of Cherson until 1852. Prior to 1848 the area belonged to the Archdiocese of Mohilev.