Metric books in imperial Russia: Church recording vs. legal proof (18th - early 20th centuries)
- Authors: Mun V.A.1
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Affiliations:
- O.E. Kutafin Moscow State Law University
- Issue: Vol 30, No 1 (2026)
- Pages: 103-120
- Section: HISTORICAL AND LEGAL RESEARC
- URL: https://journal-vniispk.ru/2313-2337/article/view/406089
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-2337-2026-30-1-103-120
- EDN: https://elibrary.ru/RBOUZX
- ID: 406089
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Abstract
The study distinguishes ecclesiastical from legal aspects in Russian Empire parish registers (metric books) spanning the 18th to early 20th centuries. These underutilized sources illuminate state-church interactions in marriage-family regulation and beyond. Analysis of legislative evolution repeals metric books’ multifaceted role: recording church sacraments (birth, marriage, baptism) while supporting military conscription, civil service, taxation, and judicial identification. Frequent errors, omissions, and corrections limited metric books’ standalone evidentiary value; courts required corroboration from additional documents and witness testimony. The research highlights scholarly debates on transferring registry management from ecclesiastical to secular authorities, alongside judicial challenges in proving birth and marriage records, and priests’ inadequate administrative support. Judicial practice established that consistory baptism certificates and clerical marriage records gained presumptive validity, insulating them from secular court challenge. Secular disputes could only concern third-party declarations recorded by clergy.
About the authors
Victoria A. Mun
O.E. Kutafin Moscow State Law University
Author for correspondence.
Email: mun.viktoriya@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3010-1094
SPIN-code: 4625-1844
Candidate of Legal Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of History of State and Law
125993, Russia, Moscow, 9 Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya strReferences
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