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

Historical Background

 * African Orthodox Church records, 1880-1974 Archival Material or Manuscripts at Pitts Theology Library at Emory University

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 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1810-1829 Cape Town, St. George's Cathedral Baptisms at FIBIS; index
 * Anglican Church Registers at Historical Papers Research Archives, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
 * Baptismal Records at eGGSA

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
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:
 * Catholic History Bureau
 * 35 Road No. 3
 * Victory Park
 * Johannesburg
 * 2194
 * South Africa
 * Mailing Address
 * P.O. Box 44029
 * Linden
 * Johannesburg
 * 2104
 * South Africa
 * Telephone: +27 (0)11 782 4935
 * Fax: +27 (0)11 888 3939
 * Email: npadmin@omi.org.za npadmin@omi.org.za

Online Resources and Websites
Also at MyHeritage ($)
 * 1660-1970 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1690-2011 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1700s-1900s South Africa, Birth and Baptism Records, 1700s-1900s Ancestry; index ($)
 * 1838-1991 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1848-1956 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1856-1988 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & 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
 * Telephone: +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
 * Telephone: +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
 * Telephone: +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
 * Telephone: +27 (0)12 322 8885
 * Fax: +27 (0)12 322 7909
 * E-mail: hervormd@pixie.co.za


 * 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
 * Telephone: +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 at Ancestry; index ($)
 * 1822-1996 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; index & 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.
 * Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa at Wikipedia

Zion Christian Records
The Zion Christian Church was founded in 1924 and spread throughout southern Africa.
 * Zion Christian Church at Wikipedia

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