German and Russian terms in church books

On June 3, 1891, an order was issued in the Russian Empire that from now on Lutheran church books should also be kept in Russian. The order came into effect on January 1, 1892. German pastors now had to urgently learn Russian. The guides published at that time on Russian language terms in church books are also useful for genealogy researchers.

The Evangelical Lutheran Consistory of Kurzeme came to the aid of its pastors and issued a circular with translations of some frequently used terms, rules and advice on how to write personal names in Russian. The circular indicated that personal names in brackets should also be rendered in Latin letters. It also indicated that dates of birth, baptism, marriage or death should be written in words, not numbers.

Regulations for German pastors

The consistory's auxiliary material is as useful to the family history researcher today as it was to German pastors in the past. It can be used simultaneously to understand records written in both German and Russian.

Uee Google Lens app on your mobile phone to translate the printed text into English.

The most commonly used words in German and Russian

Most frequently used terms in German and Russian

Source: fund 4799, descr. 2., file 44, LNA LVVA