When we go to work early in the morning, we often hear a bell ringing somewhere in the distance. What does it mean? What is it for? Bells are one of the necessary accessories of an Orthodox church.
The ringing of bells spread throughout the area. Warms the soul The echo of the chime. The sound will be filled with song, How pure it is! He will turn the heart into a bright amethyst!
(Tatiana Davydova)
Bells are one of the necessary accessories of an Orthodox church
Bell ringing - needed to inform believers about the beginning of a church service
Orthodox bell ringing is needed in order to:
- notify believers before the start of a church service;
- express the triumph of the church and its services;
- to announce to people who are not present that the most important part of the service in the temple is beginning.
Previously, the sound of bells meant quite a lot. The ringing was used to call people to a public meeting, and they also used the ringing to show the way to people who were lost.
The bell notified of any danger or misfortune, for example, a fire.
In some cases, church bells convened people to defend our Fatherland. Therefore, we can say that bell ringing very often took part in the life of our Russian people. The bells were usually hung on the bell tower or otherwise called the belfry. But it is worth noting that bells began to be used not with the advent of Christianity.
In the Old Testament church, believers were called to services not by bells, but by sounds from trumpets. Since paganism was actively developed at that time, Christians could not simply openly convene believers for the beginning of worship. Divine services were held in secret. Usually it was done like this: one of the deacons or some messengers themselves announced the time of the next service, and by that time people came.
After the persecution of Christians stopped, they began to convene believers in a variety of ways. They also began to use beat and rivet. Beats are special wooden boards, and rivets are iron or copper tubes that were bent. And in this way, an improved way to call people to worship was ringing bells.
In the photo we see a beater and a rivet, that is, what was used to call people to worship services after the persecution of Christians stopped. In many monasteries this tradition has been preserved to this day.
Russian church
In any message about bells, it is worth briefly indicating how they became famous in Rus'. The first belfries began to be erected in the state immediately after the baptism. European carillons were used for several centuries, but by the 15th century new devices appeared. Throughout the area, a sound could be heard that gathered parishioners for services or notified them of an enemy attack. Local artisans cast instruments of considerable size so that they would produce a loud sound. For example, the Tsar Bell prototype weighed 208 tons.
By the beginning of the 20th century, only state factories were engaged in casting. But after the October Revolution, this business passed to the owners of private enterprises. Although production did not last long.
Due to the fact that the communists reproached religion, they stopped building churches and belfries. And therefore the bells were no longer needed. Only after perestroika the foundry business was revived.
It was assigned to only two plants - Baltic and ZIL. They made instruments of different sizes. But only three types were used in the church.
The very first bells appeared in Western Europe
The very first bells appeared in Western Europe. According to legend, they were invented by Saint Peacock, the Bishop of Holland. This happened at the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century. But this is not known for sure. There are also many legends about this. One of the legends says that in his dream Peacock saw wildflowers that looked like bells, which made very pleasant sounds. After this dream, the Bishop of Holland decided to cast bells that were shaped like these exact flowers. But, as is known, Peacock did not introduce bells into the tactics of the church, since he never mentioned these bells in his writings.
The very first bells appeared in Western Europe. According to legend, they were invented by Saint Peacock, Bishop of Holland
Around the 7th century, Pope Savinian finally managed to give bells a Christian meaning. And from that time on, bell ringing gradually began to be used by Christians.
Around the 9th century, bells had already become quite firmly established in the practice of Christian worship. And in the Greek church, bells began to be used only in the second half of the 9th century, and this happened after the Venetian king Doge Ursus sent 12 large bells as a gift to Emperor Michael. These bells were hung on the tower in the St. Sophia Cathedral.
The Venetian king Doge Ursus sent 12 large bells as a gift to Emperor Michael, which were hung on the tower in the St. Sophia Cathedral
As for Russia, bells appeared in Russia almost simultaneously with the adoption of Christianity by Vladimir in 988, that is, around the end of the 10th century. Along with bells, bells and rivets began to be used, which currently exist in some remote monasteries. But what is surprising is that, after all, Russia used bells not from Greece, but from Europe. Although Orthodoxy came to us from Greece. In church language, the word "campan" means bell, given from the name of the Roman province - the company where the first bells were cast.
There are two types of bell ringing - bell ringing and ringing itself.
When we hear the sounds of a church bell, we imagine something sublime, we are visited by some kind of solemn feeling. If the ringing of several bells is heard, which are coordinated with each other, that is, the ringing of bells, then this means that an even more majestic euphony is occurring.
There are two types of bell ringing. Types of bell ringing:
- good news;
- the actual ringing.
Blagovest is when measured strikes occur in one large bell. It is with this ringing that believers are called to the temple for worship. Why was it called Blagovest? This is because he announces the good news of the beginning of the worship service.
Blagovest is when measured strikes occur in one large bell. It is with this ringing that believers are called to the temple for worship.
Blagovest is performed in this way - first, 3 rare slow lingering blows are made, and then fairly measured blows follow. Blagovest is also divided into two types - ordinary or frequent, and lean or rare. Ordinary or frequent is produced by the largest bell, and fast or rare is produced by the smaller bell. Typically, temples have several large bells, but no more than 3.
You can listen and watch the sound of the gospel in the video of one of the parishioners of the temple:
At the very beginning, we can see and hear as the ringing begins to arise. It is very distant and one blow sounds for quite a long time. Then several bells begin to sound, merging into a single whole.
Chinese traditions
Bells are used not only in Orthodox churches. The inhabitants of Kievan Rus gleaned a lot of information about them from China. This state has ancient traditions of casting devices. Other countries have adopted them. In modern China, these instruments are considered to belong to different types of temples. Although in the center of old cities special towers were erected, where signals were given twice a day - at dawn and at sunset.
Archaeologists have discovered that there were several types of bells in China. Modern models have a traditional round shape, but they originated more from India. And in the Middle Kingdom, instruments had a transverse almond-shaped cut. They made short sounds and could play two distinct tones. And their sets covered up to five octaves at once.
Even the principles of device placement are different in China . Some of them have the sounding part at the top. These bells have a long leg on which they stand. Others have a full foot, which makes their sound different from other species. But the golden age of Chinese bell making ended immediately after the Warring States period. Later, gigantic ritual devices were made, cast from metals obtained from the weapons of conquered states.
Today, bells are used in both religious and musical spheres. They are made from different metals and can come in all shapes and sizes.
The ringing itself is divided into 4 varieties - trezvon, two-ringing, chime, busting
Actually, ringing is a ringing when all the bells ring at once. But the ringing of all bells differs in:
- ringing;
- double ringing;
- chime;
- overkill
Trezvon is the ringing of all the bells, then you can hear a short break, then a second ringing of all the bells, then again a short break and a third time of all the bells, that is, ringing all the bells three times or a sound in three steps. It is the ringing of the trezvous that conveys the good news to Christians. The ringing can be seen and heard in the following video:
The video shows in great detail how the sexton rings the bells, creating a unique melody.
Being a bell ringer is not such an easy task; you also need to have an ear for music. Ringing as a craft can be mastered without education, in 3-4 lessons, but ringing as an art can be learned throughout one’s life
Double ringing is when all the bells are ringed twice, that is, in 2 steps. Chime is when each bell is rung in turn, starting with the largest one and ending with the smallest one. The chime can be heard in this video:
You can watch how the sextons in the bell tower skillfully handle the bells.
Busting is a rather slow ringing that strikes each bell once in turn, starting with the smallest and reaching the largest. It is often said that such a ringing is a death knell. You can listen to how such a ringing sounds in the following video:
Bells are divided into 3 main groups - large, medium and small
What is the bell made of? Any bell consists of a yoke, crown, head, belt, waist, sound ring, lip, mouth, tongue and shoulder pads. In the photo below you can see the structure of the bell. What types of bells are there? What is the name of?
In this photo you can see the structure of the bell and its details
In the Russian Orthodox Church, bells are divided into 3 main groups:
- the big ones are evangelists;
- middle - bell;
- small ones are ringing.
Large bells are:
- festive - they are used on twelve holidays, for example, on the Feast of the Holy Trinity;
- Sunday - they are used on Sundays;
- Guards - they are usually used during Lent;
- Weekday - they are used on weekdays of a regular week.
This is what large bells look like - evangelists.
Ringing bells - used to decorate the ringing. There can be any number of them.
Ringing bells are intended for performing certain parts or moments of worship.
This is what small ringing bells look like
Historical information
Small Chinese instruments are considered the prototype of modern bells. They were made in the 23rd–17th centuries BC. e. The masters of the Celestial State used them for music. Such devices became the prototype for the carillon, known in Europe.
The Old World for a long time prohibited the use of these instruments, as it associated them with paganism. Although in the Middle Ages, bells began to symbolize religion and churches. Their surface was covered with engravings with short parables from the gospel. And some details bore the names of parts of the human body: tongue, lip, ears, body. In Byzantium, a tradition arose to consecrate a bell. Kievan Rus also borrowed it.
All devices have a similar structure, the main details:
- clamp - the base on which the bell rests;
- crown - a kind of handle by which it is suspended;
- head - upper part;
- waist - middle of the device;
- lip - the widest part;
- language.
People believed that the chime could drive away evil spirits and even heal. Bells are found in almost all religions today. And shamans still use them to drive out evil spirits.
Bell ringing - can be heard early in the morning
What time do the bells ring? Usually the bells can be heard early in the morning, for example around 8 am. Because at 8:30 the morning hours already begin in the temple. In monasteries, the ringing of bells can be heard much earlier, for example, 6 am, because their services begin at 6:30, and sometimes at 6:00.
The ringing can be heard at any time. It depends on which church and what time the divine liturgy begins.
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