16 thoughts on “Greece 2019 – Church Books in Villages of Laconia Digitized”

1. Who should we contact to view records in Greece? It seems when my parents visited the village and made contact with the Priests in the village they didn’t have the records. My 2nd great grandfather was a Priest in Georgitsi (died 1913) so I would think there would be records from his time. I’m also interested in records for Pardali since that is where his wife’s family was from. My cousin has an upcoming trip in May so trying to figure out who to contact to set up visits while he is visiting.

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2. This is an incredible project. Congratulations. Is there anyway to access these digital records? I’m seeking more information for my family tree and my paternal Grandparent’s villages are both on this list, Douraly & Bezani.

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3. Brilliant work Carol. It reminds me of my first research visit to Parish Church St. Nikola in the village of Jezevica, now monastery, which served as Parish church for my ancestors (my father’s father side) back in XIX century. That village is located on mountain Jelica, near Cacak, my birth town, in Western Serbia. My ancestors came to village Lipnica (name was given by linden tree), next to Jezevica, back in 1809. Church itself was built in XIII century and few times destroyed and rebuild. Church Records Books in Serbia began in 1837. I am not aware how priests entered records before that. In the monastery there are three Record Books – Births and Baptisms 1837- 1853, Deaths 1837-1855 and Marriages 1837-1862. Later Church Parish Books (until 1910) are located at Local Historical Archives Cacak, and Book from 1910 are in Local Municipality Office.

   I asked iguman German from Monastery to allow me to look and take photos of first three Books, and he gladly agreed. Books were old and in very bad condition – moisture was evident. It took four-five hours to look only half of one book. When I finished Fr. German smiled at me and said: “Fr. Ivan, this could be done in easier way. I see you have USB stick, please hand it over.” I was shocked, and then he told me: “Fr. Jovan Radosavljevic and one archivist made great effort and spent few weeks and made Excel spreadsheet with all data from those books entered. Unfortunately, we are only one who has it, this way in our Eparchy.”

   Tomorrow the same Fr. Jovan Radosavljevic will chose the name of new Patriarch of Serbia here in Belgrade.

   Fr. Ivan Delic
   Belgrade, Serbia

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   • This is a fascinating story! How wonderful and important it is that the books have been preserved. I have been curious to know about records kept in monasteries. Your experience proves that there is vital information kept by the monks and priests. Thank you for sharing this 🙂

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4. Thank you for your hours and hours of hard work and dedication to complete this work that so many will benefit from!

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   • Thank you! It is a privilege to do this work.

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5. Thank you to everyone for all their hard work!! In the past years, all your hard work has allowed me to connect with my family trees. May God grant you much strength in your continued work. Fr. George P, Pappas

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6. Pingback: If These Books Could Talk | Spartan Roots (Σπαρτιατικές Ρίζες)

7. The hard work preserving genealogical records in 139 villages in Laconia,Sparti by Carol Kostakos,Gregory Kontos,and others,an very important endeavor!

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   • Thank you – it was a privilege to do this work.

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8. THAnk you for your efforts to produce and save this timeless information.

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   • Thank you for your kind words!

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9. Thank you, thank you! When and how will we have access to individual village records?

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   • Records will be made available at MyHeritage.com but with restrictions due to privacy concerns for living people. Also, it will take some time for the records to be processed and name-indexed.I will write a post when they are online 🙂

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     • Thank you sooo much.
       I just spent time in 2 of the villages that my parents were born in. A few elders had data unknown to me.
       Sadly, my grandmother born in 1880, and a walking encyclopedia of family lore, was someone we could have learned from…our interest was not there.
       Today I am so angry at myself for not jotting down the names. She lived until 1974🤦🏻‍♀️
       My mother also, born in 1902, I neglected to question.
       Thank you again!!
       I’ll be in Sparta again next summer, Lord willing🙏

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10. Brilliant work, Carol! Our deepest gratitude to the forward-thinking Bishop Efstratios and the priests who made your work possible. ❤️

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