Every church has bells. They are placed either on the roof, in the
turrets of the cupolas, or at the entrance above the porch, in the so-called
“bell-chamber,” or else next to the church in specially erected structures
called “belfries.” If the bell-chamber is made in the shape of a tall turret
above the porch, it is also usually called a belfry.
The bells are used to call the faithful to divine service, to
express the triumph of the Church, and to announce the principal acts of the
service to those Christians who are not present at it, in order that they may
join mentally in the common prayers of the worshippers. There are three ways of
ringing the bells, according to the object for which they are rung:
1)
One bell is struck several
times at short intervals. This is done before the beginning of the service, to
announce that it is about to begin, and is called the toll. In the same way is
announced the moment of the Liturgy when the Great Mystery is accomplished, and
sometimes the reading of the Gospel in other services. Where there are many
bells, different ones are used on different days, and then they have different
names — such as the “feast bell,” the “Sunday bell,” the “weekday bell,” the
“small bell.”
2)
Several bells are struck
together three different times, in a “peal” (Russian, trezvón).This
is usually done at the beginning of solemn services (the Liturgy, Vespers and Matins),
after the single-stroke toll. On high feast-days the bells are rung in this way
all day.
3)
Every bell is struck once in
turn, and after having gone over all the bells in this way two or three times,
they are struck all together. This is called a carillon, and is reserved for
special occasions, such as the bringing out of the Cross and the Sepulcher on
Holy Fridays and during processions.