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A church bell is a bell in a Christian church building designed to be heard outside the building. It can be a single bell, or part of a set of bells. Their main function is to call worshippers to the church for a service of worship,[1] but are also rung on special occasions such as a wedding, or a funeral service. In certain Christian traditions, such as Catholicism and Lutheranism, church bells signify to people both inside and outside of the church that a particular part of the service (such as the recitation of the Lord's Prayer or consecration of Holy Communion) has been reached.[2][3] The ringing of church bells thrice a day occurs in congregations of certain Christian denominations as a call to prayer, reminding the faithful to pray the Lord's Prayer or the Angelus Domini.[4][5]
The traditional European church bell (see cutaway drawing) used in Christian churches worldwide consists of a cup-shaped metal resonator with a pivoted clapper hanging inside which strikes the sides when the bell is swung. It is hung within a steeple or belltower of a church or religious building,[6] so the sound can reach a wide area. Such bells are either fixed in position ("hung dead") or hung from a pivoted beam (the "headstock") so they can swing to and fro. A rope hangs from a lever or wheel attached to the headstock, and when the bell ringer pulls on the rope the bell swings back and forth and the clapper hits the inside, sounding the bell. Bells that are hung dead are normally sounded by hitting the sound bow with a hammer or occasionally by a rope which pulls the internal clapper against the bell.
A church may have a single bell, or a collection of bells which are tuned to a common scale. They may be stationary and chimed, rung randomly by swinging through a small arc, or swung through a full circle to enable the high degree of control of English change ringing.
Before modern communications, church bells were a common way to call the community together for all purposes, both sacred and secular. In some Christian traditions bell ringing was believed to drive out demons.[7][8][9]
- ^ "Order of Worship: Liturgy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark" (PDF). Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark. 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
Prior to the service the church bells are rung three times. At the end of the third time, three times three strokes of the bell are heard, calling to prayer.
- ^ Church Words: Origins and Meanings. Forward Movement. August 1, 1996. ISBN 9780880281720. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
There are two sorts of liturgical bells in the history of the Christian Church-church bells in spires or towers used to call the faithful to worship, and sanctuary bells used to call attention to the coming of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
- ^ Weedon, William (June 22, 2022). ""Smells, BELLS, and Yells"…oh my". Gottesdienst. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
The widespread custom in the Church of the Augsburg Confession [Lutheran Church] of ringing the church bell during the singing of the Our Father is a survival of this ancient custom, transferred to another element in the Service after the custom of a celebration of Holy Communion every Sunday and major Holy Day unhappily fell into desuetude." (p. 28) Thus, the use of bells during the consecration is a free ceremony that has Luther's approbation, is evidenced in Lutheran practice throughout the age of Orthodoxy, and particularly in Saxony, which is the primary heritage of our Synod, and serves to invite the attention of the people to those most beautiful and important words: "My body…My blood…for you, for the remission of sins."
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Dryerwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ St. Vincent's Manual. John Murphy & Company. 1854. p. 426.
The church bells toll three times a day, in the morning, at noon, and about sunset, by which all the people are warned, whatever they are doing, to stop their employment and for a moment, and give praise to God by repeating the Angelus Domini.
- ^ Adato, Joseph; Judy, George. The Percussionist's Dictionary. Alfred Music. p. 11. ISBN 9781457493829.
- ^ Booth, Mark (February 11, 2014). The Sacred History: How Angels, Mystics and Higher Intelligence Made Our World. Simon and Schuster. p. 274. ISBN 9781451698589.
Church bells would be rung to drive away demons.
- ^ Cohen, I. Bernard (1990). Benjamin Franklin's Science. Harvard University Press. p. 119. ISBN 9780674066595.
The practice of ringing church bells to dissipate lightning storms and prevent their deleterious effects had a long tradition in Europe and had been a concomitant to the general belief in the diabolical agency manifested in storms. ... Typical inscriptions on church bells described their power to "ward off lightning and malignant demons"; stated that "the sound of this bell vanquishes tempests, repels demons, and summons men," or exhorted it to "praise God, put to flight the coulds, affright the demons, and call the people"; or noted that "it is I who dissipate the thunders."
- ^ Lewis, James R. (2001). Satanism Today. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576072929.