South Africa Church Records

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

How to Find the Records
Records for the African Orthodox Church are not available online. Some records are located at the Pitts Theology Library at Emory University.

Online Resources and Websites

 * African Orthodox Church
 * African Orthodox Church Exhibit

Historical Background
The African Orthodox Church was founded in South Africa in 1924. The church was founded by African Church priests who were dissatisfied with their Church and wanted to run an independent church for black Christians. One of the leaders of the Church, Daniel William Alexander, traveled throughout South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and elsewhere baptizing followers, training priests, and establishing parishes.

How to Find the Records
Only a small percentage of Anglican records are available online. The records are in Afrikaans and English.

Online Resources and Websites

 * 1801-2004 - index and images
 * 1810-1829 Cape Town, St. George's Cathedral Baptisms at FIBIS - index
 * Anglican Church Registers
 * eGGSA Baptismal Records

Offices to Contact
Anglican Church the Curator of Manuscripts Anglican Church Archives Wits University Library University of the Witwatersrand

Historical Background
The Anglican Church first entered South Africa in 1795 and then in 1806 with British troops, civil servants, and settlers. The first missionary arrived in 1821 and the first bishop in 1848.

Baptist Records
The Baptist Church entered South Africa in 1820 along with British emigrants. The first chapel was built in 1823. More chapels were constructed in the next decades as more Baptism emigrants entered South Africa and others joined. For information on specific Baptist denominations, see Baptist Union of Southern Africa and Nazareth Baptist Church.

Catholic Church Records
Catholic History Bureau 3 Third Avenue Victoria Park, Johannesburg South Africa P.O. Box 44029, Linden, 2104 South Africa Tel: +27 (0)11 782 4935 Fax: +27 (0)11 888 3939 E-mail: omiprovjhb@netactive.co.za
 * Most records for the Catholic Church are still kept at the individual churches themselves, but the Catholic History Bureau might be able to give some guidance. They are located at:

Online Resources and Websites

 * 1660-1970 - index and images; Also at MyHeritage ($)
 * 1690-2011 - index and images
 * 1700s-1900s South Africa, Birth and Baptism Records, 1700s-1900s ($) - index
 * 1838-1991 - index and images
 * 1848-1956 - index and images
 * 1856-1988 - images

Archives
Most of the baptismal documents of the Afrikaans community are in the custody of the Church Archives of the three Afrikaans churches. The Dutch Reformed Church Archives repositories are in different locations in South Africa. The “Nederduits Hervormde Kerk” has an Archives repository in Pretoria and the “Gereformeerde Kerk” archives is in Potchefstroom. Contact Details: The Director DR Church Archives & Management Information Services - Stellenbosch Dr Johan Froneman Tel: +27 (0)21 882 9923 x2006 Email: johanf@abid.co.za

The Archivist Dutch Reformed Church of Natal Synodal Archives Sinodale Sentrum 345 Burger Street Pietermaritzburg P.O. Box 649, PIETERMARITZBURG Tel.: +27 (0)33 345 2279 Fax.: +27 (0)33 345 2279 e-mail: argief@ngnatal.org.za

The Archivist Dutch Reformed Church Archives (Western, Northern and Eastern Cape) NG Kerk Centre, Grey’s Pass (upper Queen Victoria Street) CapeTown P.O. Box 3171 CAPE TOWN 8000 Tel.: +27 (0)21 423 2853 Fax.: +27 (0)21 423 2745 e-mail: ngcpt@iafrica.com

The Archivist Ned. Hervormde Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church Of Africa Archives Repository) Dirk van der Hoff Building 224 Jacob Maré Street Pretoria P.O. Box 2368, PRETORIA 0001 Tel.: +27 (0)12 322 8885 Fax.: +27 (0)12 322 7909 E-mail: hervormd@pixie.co.za Website: Dutch Reformed Church Of Africa Archives Repository

The Archivist Gereformeerde Kerk (Archive of the Reformed Churches In South Africa) Theological School of the Reformed Church Corner of Molen and Borcherds Streets Potchefstroom, 2531 P.O. Box 20004, Noordbrug, POTCHEFSTROOM 2520 Tel.: +27 (0)18 299 2816 Fax.: +27 (0)18 294 8952 E-mail: dtljb@puk.ac.za

National Archives Repository: Photocopies of some church registers of the Dutch Reformed Church of the Cape Colony, for the period 1665-1845, are kept in the National Archives Repository. See Inventory T203 in the Reading Room.

Historical Background
The Dutch Reformed Church was introduced to South Africa by the Dutch East India Company's settlement in 1652 at Cape Town. The Dutch Reformed Church tradition is made up of three sister churches: the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK), the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk (NHK), and the Gereformeerde Kerke (GK).

The Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk, or NGK, was first established in 1665 with the arrival of Johan van Arckel in Cape Town. The church was subordinate to Amsterdam's control and an extension of the Dutch Reformed Church. It held a monopoly over the the Cape; the Huguenots that arrived in 1688 initially were allowed to hold services in French but were eventually absorbed into the NGK. One exception was allowed - a Lutheran church was established in Cape Town to service the German employees of the Dutch East Indies Company, or VOC. The NGK kept ties to the Netherlands until the early nineteenth century. In 1795, the United Kingdom assumed control over the Cape Colony, and the church became increasingly influenced by the British. With the establishment of an autonomous synod in the Cape in 1824, all connection was severed to the Dutch Reformed Church in Amsterdam, and an independent church was set up in the Cape. Scottish Presbyterian ministers began presiding over some congregations.

The NGK was Cape-centric, and neglected the outlying areas in the interior of South Africa. Many of the boers involved in the Great Trek were distrustful of the Cape government, as well as the British-influenced NGK. In 1853, the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk, or NKH, was established, and in 1860 it became the state religion of the South African Republic, in what was later to become the Transvaal. Another schism in 1859 led to the creation of the Gereformeerde Kerke, or GK. The dispute was concerning hymnals: the main church (NGK) introduced a new hymn book and church members were threatened with excommunication for refusing new songs they considered blasphemous.

A seminary was established in the Cape, eliminating the need for overseas-trained clergymen. As Cape-born ministers began leading the church, it started to become more conservative, and embraced a newly-emerging Afrikaans identity. After the devastating Anglo-Boer War (1900-1902), the church worked to help the Afrikaners to rebuild their lives, and the church became a place for Afrikaner nationalism.

The NGK today is the largest of the sister churches in South Africa, boasting almost 1.1 million members in 1,158 congregations in South Africa, Namibia, Eswatini, and parts of Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. The NHK today has 130,000 members in 300 congregations in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The GK church has 415 congregations all over South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dutch Reformed Church was the only officially recognized Church denomination in South Africa; many white residents belonged to it. In later years, especially during the 19th century, other church denominations were created, leading to a decline in the membership in the Church.

Lutheran Church Records
The Secretary of the United Lutheran Church can be contacted at P.O. Box 873, Edenvale, 1610.

Online Resources and Websites

 * 1700s-1900s South Africa, Birth and Baptism Records, 1700s-1900s ($) - index
 * 1822-1996 - index and images

Offices to Contact
The Archivist, Wesleyan Methodist Church c/o Dept. of Divinity Rhodes University Grahamstown

Historical Background
Methodism arrived in South Africa with British soldiers in 1806. A mission in the Cape was established in 1816. More missions were established in the next decades as Methodism expanded north.

Pentecostal Church Records
The Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa is the largest Pentecostal denomination in South Africa. It was founded in 1908. Pentecostalism was brought to South Africa by American missionaries. For more information, see Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa.

Zion Christian Records
The Zion Christian Church was founded in 1924 and spread throughout southern Africa. For more information, see Zion Christian Church.

Information Recorded in the Records
Baptism registers usually list:
 * Date and place of baptism
 * Name and gender of child
 * Parents' names, including maiden name of mother
 * Parents' residence
 * Child's age or date of birth
 * Name of person who solemnized the baptism

Marriage registers usually list:
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Full name and age of groom
 * Groom's marital status, occupation, and residence
 * Full name and age of bride
 * Bride's marital status, occupation, and residence
 * Marriage by license or banns
 * Names of person(s) giving consent for the marriage
 * Names of witnesses

Burial registers usually list:
 * Name and age of deceased
 * Residence of deceased
 * Date and place of burial
 * Name of person presiding at burial