Bhutan Church Records

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

Historical Background
Christians are present in small numbers, especially in the Nepalese ethnic group. According to a 2007 report, there were no Christian missionaries in the country, although international Christian relief organizations and Roman Catholic Jesuit priests engaged in education and humanitarian activities. Christianity was first brought to Bhutan in the late 17th century by Portuguese Jesuits, but the teachings failed to gain much traction among the devout Buddhists of the Bhutanese people.

There is a relatively large Christian population in Southern Bhutan. Territorially, Roman Catholics in Bhutan belong to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Darjeeling. The majority of the country's Christians are Pentecostals. The Church of God in Christ, which claims to be the denomination supplying most gospel tracts in Bhutan, has a Pentecostal character and has about two congregations in Bhutan. The Indian New Life League is another Protestant denomination and has one congregation in Bhutan. The Diocese of Eastern Himalaya is a diocese of the Church of North India, with its seat at Darjeeling. There are other Protestant groups, like El-Shaddai, and there are also Christians who are not members of the denominational churches, who simply gather as Christians in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are called "brethren" and number about 400 in Bhutan.

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 FamilySearch Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations. To find records:
 * a. Click on the records of Bhutan.
 * b. Click on Places within Bhutan 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.
 * Maps.me Church Listings for Bhutan

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:
 * Google Maps search results for Catholic churches in Bhutan

Historical Background
The Catholic Church in Bhutan is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The Kingdom of Bhutan falls under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Darjeeling (India).

In 1627, two Portuguese Jesuits, Fathers Estêvão Cacella and João Cabral, traveling from Cochin and attempting to make a new route to the Jesuit mission in Shigatse, Tibet, visited Bhutan. While in Bhutan, these Jesuits met Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the founder and religious leader of the Bhutanese state, and spent months in his court. Zhabdrung strongly encouraged the Jesuits to stay and even allowed them to use a room in Cheri Monastery as a chapel, granted them land in Paro to build a church and sent some of his own attendants to join the congregation. With no success in conversion and despite much discouragement from the Zhabdrung against their departure, the Jesuits eventually left for Tibet.

Two religious orders – the Jesuits in 1963 and the Salesians in 1965 – were invited to the country to open schools. Christianity was only officially allowed in 1965. The Salesians were expelled in February 1982 on disputed charges of proselytism. The only Catholic missionary allowed to stay in the country – from 1963 until his death in 1995 – was the Canadian-born Bhutanese Jesuit Father William Mackey, who opened several secondary schools and the pre-university Sherubtse College. As his mission was to build up a modern educational system in the country he did not attempt any conversions.

There are thought to be about 1,000 Catholics in the country where Christians of all denominations are allegedly subject to discrimination. The Constitution of Bhutan protects freedom of religion for Bhutanese citizens, but proselytism is forbidden.

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Church of God in Christ churches in Bhutan

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Church of North India churches in Bhutan

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for El-Shaddai churches in Bhutan

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Indian New Life League churches in Bhutan

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Pentecostal churches in Bhutan