Church bell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cutaway drawing of a church bell, showing construction.

A church bell is a bell which is rung in a (especially Christian) church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service. Before mass communication they were the only way to gather a village together, so they evolved secular functions also.

European Christian church bells typically have the form of a cup-shaped cast metal resonator with a flared thickened rim, and a pivoted metal striker or clapper hanging from its center inside. It is usually mounted high in a bell tower on top of the church, so it can be heard by the surrounding community. The bell is suspended at its apex from a horizontal axle, so it can swing from side to side. A rope is tied to a pulley or lever on the axle, and hangs down to ground level. To ring the bell, the bell ringer pulls on the rope, swinging the bell. The motion causes the clapper to hit the inside rim of the bell as it swings, making the sound. Alternatively, the bell may be suspended from a stationary support, and the bell rung by pulling a rope attached to the clapper to one side.

Image:Kyrkklocka från Saleby i Västergötland med runinskrift från 1228 (ur Sverige Runinskrifter).png

Church bell from Saleby, Västergötland, Sweden containing an inscription from 1228 in the Runic alphabet

In the Roman Catholic Church and some High Lutheran and Anglican churches, the church bells are rung during the Consecration, the point in the Mass when the bread and wine are transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ. During the Sanctus, a small set of bells called the sanctus bells are rung to call attention to the Canon of the Mass. In many Catholic churches, there is a bell called the Angelus Bell, which is rung during the Angelus prayer: in the morning, at midday and in the evening.

Some church bells are electronically timed to chime automatically. Clocks generally automatically strike, but in the United Kingdom, bells for services, etc., are still almost always rung by people. Some churches use recorded or digitally synthesised bells.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church there is a long and complex history of bell ringing, with particular bells being rung in particular ways to signify different parts of the divine services, Funeral tolls, etc. This custom is particularly sophisticated in the Russian Orthodox Church. Russian bells are usually fixed, and are tolled by pulling on a rope that is attached to the clapper so that it will strike the side of the bell.

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Bell in the Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew, Dallas, Texas

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Bell in Cologne Cathedral

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Ringing the bells at Ipatiev Monastery in Kostroma, Russia

The practice and hobby of bell-ringing is known as campanology. Change ringing is a particular facet of campanology where bells are rung in mathematical sequence. Wedding cards commonly show bells: this is founded on the tradition of ringing changes as the wedding couple leave the church.