Seychelles Church Records

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

Online Resources and Websites
'''Ancestry.com, findmypast.com, and MyHeritage.com can be searched free of charge at your local family history center or the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Historical Background
Christianity is the largest religion in Seychelles, with Roman Catholics having the most adherents. The 2010 government census estimated that the population of Seychelles is 76% Roman Catholic and 6% Anglican. There are other Christian groups, including Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, Assemblies of God, the Pentecostal Church, the Pentecostal Assembly, Nazarites, Orthodox Church and Jehovah's Witnesses. The initial settlers in Seychelles were Roman Catholics, and the country has remained so, despite ineffective British efforts to establish Protestantism in the islands during the nineteenth century. Approximately 6% of Seychellois are Anglicans most coming from families converted by missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th century. Evangelical Protestant churches are active and growing, among them Pentecostals and Seventh-day Adventists.

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 of Seychelles'''.
 * b. Click on Places within Seychelles 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 French Letter Writing Guide for help with composing letters.

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Anglican churches in Seychelles

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Assembly of God churches in Seychelles

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Baptist churches in Seychelles

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: Seychelles

Historical Background
The Catholic Church in Seychelles is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope. The initial settlers in Seychelles were Roman Catholics, and the country has remained so. There are around 70,000 Catholics in the Seychelles - almost 76.2% of the total population. Seychelles forms a single diocese - the Diocese of Port Victoria.

Historical Background
The presence of Orthodox Christians in the republic is recent as Orthodox Christians became citizens of Seychelles without any organized Orthodox Christian communities. Srdjan Janosevic, a Serbian by birth and a naturalized Seychelles citizen, who retired in 2008 after working with the airline industry in the republic for 23 years, became interested in the spiritual work of the Orthodox Church. In 2009, Metropolitan Dimitrios (Zaharengas) of Irinoupolis, whose jurisdiction the Metropolis of Tanzania and Seychelles is in, visited Seychelles and established a parish. He also asked Srdjan to enter the priesthood. After he was ordained deacon in Tanzania later in 2009, Deacon Srdjan traveled to Greece for further study and was ordained a priest in Greece in December as the first resident priest of Seychelles.

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Jehovah's Witnesses churches in Seychelles

Writing for Records

 * Google Maps search results for Pentecostal churches in Seychelles
 * Facebook
 * Yellowbook listing United Pentecostal Church of Seychelles
 * Yellowbook listing Pentecostal Assembly Church

Writing for Records

 * SDA Directory Seychelles
 * Google Maps search results for Seventh-day Adventist churches in Seychelles