Ordinance on the Management of the Parish Archive and the Ecclesiastical Registers

Scope of Application

¹ The parish archives within the meaning of the State Ordinance on Parish Archives of April 21, 1960 include, in addition to the archives of the church parish, the rectory archives. Its content is defined in Art. 123 of the Church Order.

² Within the framework of the aforementioned legal bases, this ordinance regulates details concerning the management of the rectory archives and the ecclesiastical registers, based on Art. 124 of the Church Order.

**B. Archival Management**

¹ Classification and storage of the parish archive as well as the design and management of the archive directory are governed by the regulation concerning municipal archives and the additional guidelines of the State Archive.

² If the archives of the church parish and the rectory are housed in the same room, they must be kept separate according to their respective directories.

¹ In parishes with multiple pastoral positions, the parish council and the pastoral conference, in accordance with the Church Order, designate the archivist responsible for the parish archive and the official records.

² All other pastors shall maintain the official records for their pastoral position to the extent prescribed by Art. 123 para. 3 of the Church Order, in accordance with the applicable archival principles. A directory issued by the Church Council Chancellery as needed provides information on the scope of the official records.

¹ During its term of office, the District Church Council supervises

the parish archive and the official records of each pastor at least once.

A note to this effect must be included in the visitation report concerning the pastors.

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Management of the Parish Archive and Ecclesiastical Registers – V

2 When a pastoral position becomes vacant, a representative of the

District Church Council, in the presence of the pastor and a member of the

Church Council, must take inventory of the parish archive. The inventory protocol

must be signed by all three parties and the Church Council must be informed

of its proper condition. This regulation applies accordingly to official records. The

Church Council's Chancellery provides forms for the inventory protocol. Upon re-filling

the pastoral position, the new incumbent declares to the District Church Council,

with their signature, that they have taken over the archive or official records

in accordance with the protocol.

3 If deficiencies are found during a control of the archive or official records,

these must be rectified within a period to be set by the District Church Council

according to generally accepted principles. If uncertainties arise, the necessary

instructions are to be obtained from the State Archive.

Vacancies

Abolition

of a pastoral position

New

Parish Archives

1 Until a parish position is refilled, the Church Council

is responsible for the maintenance and continuation of the parish

archive or the official files.

2 In church parishes with two parish positions, after the departure

of one, the remaining pastor continues to manage the parish archive; in parishes with more than

two parish positions, the pastoral council must immediately designate a new responsible person.

If a parish office is abolished, the official records must be placed in the parish archive according to the valid retention principles, and outdated or otherwise worthless duplicates are to be destroyed. Usable duplicates of books or official decrees in which neither the church council nor the remaining pastors show interest are to be returned to the Church Council Chancellery.

When a parish is divided, the existing parish archive remains with the original parish, while the pastors assigned to the new parish retain their official documents. The pastors of the new parish have the right to inspect the old parish archive at any time. In cases of doubt, more detailed provisions are to be included in the division resolution. The new parish archive is opened on the date the division resolution comes into force.

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C. Ecclesiastical Registers

1 In every parish, the Rectory is responsible for the maintenance of the following official ecclesiastical registers: Baptismal Register, Confirmation Register, Converts Register, Marriage Register, and Funeral Register.

2 In small parishes, Confirmation and Converts Registers may be combined.

1 In church parishes with more than one pastor, the responsibility for maintaining the church registers lies with the pastor who manages the parish archive.

2 Every pastor who performs a church act in a church parish must report the necessary information to the person responsible for the register maintenance at the place of entry.

4 Baptisms, weddings, and confirmations are entered into the church register in the place of the church parish at the place of execution; funerals are entered into the church register of the church parish at the last domicile of the deceased.

a. Principle

3 1. Baptisms, confirmations, and weddings conducted by parish offices in institutions, parish offices with mixed sponsorship, and parish offices of the General Church Services, as well as in facilities according to § 5 para. 1 lit. b of the Ordinance on Pastoral Care in Institutions², shall be recorded in the church registers of the parish where the person concerned resides.

2. If there is no residence outside an institution or a facility according to § 5 para. 1 lit. b of the Ordinance on Pastoral Care in Institutions, or in a parish of the State Church, then baptisms, confirmations, weddings, and funerals shall be recorded in the registers of the parish in whose territory the institution, the facility according to § 5 para. 1 lit. b of the Ordinance on Pastoral Care in Institutions², the parish office with mixed sponsorship, or the parish office of the General Church Services is located.

3. The parish office at the University Hospital Zurich maintains a baptism register. The following shall be recorded therein

a. Baptisms performed by the parish office at the University Hospital Zurich,

b. Baptisms performed by a parish office in a hospital, if no entry can be made according to paras. 1 and 2.

4. No entry according to § 10 para. 1 shall be made for acts performed by pastors of a church community and recorded in the church registers of that church community.

5. Church acts performed outside the State Church, but not recorded according to the law there, may be recorded in the church registers of the parish at the residence of a community member involved in the act.

b. Exceptions

Acts subject to registration

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181.44

Management of the Parish Archive and Church Registers – V

1 In the registers of the Evangelical Reformed parishes

and the French parishes of Winterthur and Zurich,

only acts performed by a pastor or deputy authorized

to carry out ecclesiastical acts in accordance with the Church Order

are recorded.

Amendments

and Additions

Legal Effect

Excerpts

Forms,

Archiving

2 Ecclesiastical acts performed by a pastor or preacher of an Evangelical Free Church or

community shall be recorded,

provided that a member of the congregation simultaneously belonging to the State Church,

or in the case of funerals, their heirs, express such a wish.

3 For "ecumenical weddings," the directives issued by the Church Council apply.

Entries made may not be deleted. No register may be erased. If errors have occurred or subsequent changes are made, e.g., in the person of godparents or due to a legally approved change of name, etc., this must generally and in any case, at the request of those concerned, be noted by way of a subsequent entry in the form of a footnote. Space for such subsequent entries must be left at the bottom of each register page.

Acts recorded in ecclesiastical registers are presumed to have been correctly and ecclesiastically validly performed, unless the contrary can be proven.

1 Extracts are to be issued by the pastor at any time and free of charge upon request of the persons concerned.

**2 Extracts are to be provided free of charge upon request and with justification to state authorities and courts in the Canton of Zurich, as well as to parish offices and authorities of all churches affiliated with the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches.**

**3 In the case of amendments (name changes, etc.), only the most recent text of the register entry is to be included in extracts, unless the affected parties themselves or their heirs expressly request the complete text.**

For all registers, the uniform forms to be obtained from the Church Council Chancellery are to be used. Completed register volumes remain part of the parish archive.

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181.44

1 The Visitor of the District Church Council inspects the ecclesiastical registers at least once during each term of office and supervision, and refers to this in their visitation report.

2 Should they identify deficiencies, the responsible pastor must remedy them within a period to be set by the District Church Council. In cases of unclarity, necessary directives are to be obtained from the Church Council Chancellery.

D. Final Provision

2 It replaces all earlier provisions and directives that contradict it.

Entry into Force

Transitional Provisions for the Amendment of April 20, 2016

(OS 71, 283)

1 If parish offices in institutions, parish offices with mixed sponsorship, and the parish offices of the General Church Services maintain church registers, these shall be closed upon the entry into force of § 10a. § 10a para. 3 remains reserved.

2 The closed church registers shall remain in the archive of the respective parish office.

1 OS 71, 278.

2 LS 181.50.

3 Inserted by Resolution of April 20, 2016 (OS 71, 283; ABI 2016-06-10). In force since September 1, 2016.

4 Version according to Resolution of April 20, 2016 (OS 71, 283; ABI 2016-06-10). In force since September 1, 2016.

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