The Charter of Religious Community Registration as a Source for Genealogical Research

Immediately after the October Revolution, the Bolshevik government, better known as the Sovnarkom (Council of People's Commissars), began rapidly implementing projects for radical reform not only of state but also of public life in the territories under its control. These transformations were expressed through the adoption and implementation of decrees — special laws.

One of them was the Decree "On the Separation of Church from State and School from Church" dated January 23 (February 5, New Style), 1918. According to it, the Church lost its legal entity status, property rights, and the function of registering civil status acts. However, despite the state policy of imposing atheism, the authorities legislatively declared freedom of conscience.

By 1929, the struggle against religion intensified. On April 8, 1929, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR issued the resolution "On Religious Associations," which regulated the establishment and activities of religious communities. According to it, registration of religious communities became mandatory. To open a prayer house, a petition signed by at least 20 people had to be submitted to the executive committee of the district or city council of workers' deputies. The committee, in turn, reviewed the application and forwarded it "up the hierarchy" to the Council of People's Commissars (after 1946—the Council of Ministers). As a result, some communities were permitted to establish small parishes to fulfill their "religious needs."

The Statute on Registration of Religious Communities as a Genealogical Source

The statute on the registration of a religious community is a rather specific genealogical source, which is used in cases when it is difficult to bypass a certain obstacle in genealogical research by other means or when it is necessary to learn additional details from the lives of ancestors. However, it is necessary to understand some nuances related to working with this type of documents:

Charter of the registration of the religious community of the village of Zhidovskaya Greblya, Tarashcha County (since 2016 — Kalynove). From the State Archive of the Kyiv Region.

1.   Number of signatures – To register, it was necessary to collect a minimum of 20 signatures, but preferably more, since the fewer the applicants, the higher the likelihood that the petition would be rejected without explanation.

2.   Duration of the procedure – The decision was reviewed on three levels: from submission to the district executive committee, through its review, to the final decision by the Council of People’s Commissars.

3.   Availability of premises – The community was required to have a building for worship, which the authorities could confiscate at any time under a pretext, for example, “an emergency condition posing a threat to the safety of citizens.”

4.   Risk of persecution – It is no secret that the state policy of militant atheism frightened believers. Many people reasonably feared registration. On the other hand, participation in an unregistered (“catacomb”) community was punishable by fines, arrests, criminal charges, and the liquidation of the place of worship.

This source allows one to find out whether ancestors belonged to a particular religious community, as well as to obtain information about their patronymics and approximate age. However, it should be taken into account that charters are not fully informative sources and serve primarily an auxiliary function.

List of members of the religious community.

Where to search?

Charters on the registration of religious communities are usually kept in the collections of district and regional executive committees in state archives.

The researchers at Family Chronicler have experience working with this type of document and will be happy to assist you in exploring your family history.