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How can I get a "church book" if I know the name of the church I want to get it from?

I've been doing genealogy for about a year and a half and I know what Church records are. I know that you can order microfilm of certain years for certain things like baptisms, marriages, burials, etc. through Family History Centers (I've done it plenty of times), but I get confused on how to get a "church book." Are there books that contain all the records for a certain church that are reproduced and sold? If so, how do I start the process of ordering one? Who do I contact? How much do they cost?

Public Comments

1. All you have to do is send me 20 bucks and say 3 Hail Mary's.
2. Mico film and fiche of the parish record books are sold and can be viewed however I don't believe paper copies are, although nothing stops you asking on the sites which sell the film/fiche or buy the fiche, print off the pages and bind.....I have many like this I have done You can order parish record fiche from the LDS to view once they have it it stays there so you and anyone else can view it..if you are familiar with the LDS centre then that is the place to ask.
3. The books you are talking about are Parish Registers which are issued to churches for the recording of baptisms, marriages and burials. These are not published and therefore you cannot obtain copies of them in book form. When the Parish Register book is filled up it is often deposited with the state or county archives for safekeeping. The archive centre films the registers to make them available to researchers and avoid wear and tear of the original books. When they have been filmed you can obtain copies of the microfilm or microfiche, as you know. If the parish registers are still with the church you will have to make an appointment with the church office to see them, unless they have been transcribed or indexed and made available in this form. In England, Family History Societies transcribe and index parish registers for their area and these are published and sold, either through the FHS concerned or at the County Record Office or local studies library. Here is a link to the Federation of Family History Societies http://www.ffhs.org.uk/ The relevant County Record Office in the UK can be located via this website http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/ If it is US parish registers that you are interested in, this is the Rootsweb Guide to Church Records http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rwguide/lesson17.htm