Bell ringing became one of the most characteristic elements of the Russian Orthodox worship... From the time of Ancient Rus the fateful events in the history of our Fatherland, our Church are marked by the ringing of bells. The ringing of bells accompanied each person all his life, this sound was as natural for everyone, as, for example, sunlight or a blow of wind.

Bells are one of the essential accessories Orthodox church.

Bell ringing is used to:
1. Summon believers to worship,
2. Express the triumph of the Church and her worship,
3. To announce to those who are not present in the church about the time of the especially important parts of the service.

There are several types of ringing:

Blagovest - single strikes on a large bell. The gospel announces the imminent beginning of the divine service.

Ringing- several bells ringing at the same time.

This ringing can be done in one step, in two or in three (depending on which service of the daily circle it is intended for). Before Vespers, the ringing is performed in one step. Before Matins, since this is the second service, there is a ringing in two stages. Before the Liturgy - at three.

In addition, there are varieties of pealing called "red ringing" and "ringing in two". "Red" refers to the ringing, distinguished by its beauty and variety, creating a feeling of intense triumph and jubilation. The ringing "in two" is performed before the Small Vespers, the Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts, on Holy Wednesday after Matins and on other occasions when it is desirable to use ringing, but the rules do not allow ringing in a festive way. They ring "in two" by striking the hour and the next largest bell in turn.

Chime- alternate beats (from one to seven in each bell) from large to small.

In liturgical practice, such a ringing is made in order to emphasize the importance of the upcoming service or action. Thus, the ringing of large bells was performed on the days of large processions from the Moscow Kremlin to the churches celebrating the patronal day, before the rite of coronations, before consecration to bishops.

The chime with the use of all bells, from the largest to the smallest, is performed before special events, for example, before the removal of the Shroud. When this ringing is used at the rite of consecration of water, it symbolizes the descent of God's Grace on the sanctified water. When it was performed in the rite of the Great Heel, it signified the exhaustion of the forces of the Savior crucified on the cross. Three times a year, on the Week of the Cross, on the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord and on the day of Genesis Honest Trees- carrying the Cross to the middle of the church is also accompanied by a special solemn chime.

Brute force- one beat in each bell from small to large.

Overkill - death knell. Despite its simplicity, it has certain varieties. At the burial of priests, hieromonks, abbots, archimandrites, before the search, the largest bell is struck 12 times, then one blow is made to each bell from small to large, symbolizing human life in her development and maturation. When burying "worldly people", first, all bells are enumerated from small to large (as in the first case, but without 12 beats), and at the end of each "circle" of enumeration, they are struck once at all simultaneously, symbolizing the interruption of earthly life.

Bell names:

Party bell - the heaviest in weight, used on the days of great holidays and in some other, especially solemn, occasions.

Sunday - the smaller one used for Sunday services.

Polyeleo - on the days of the middle, when the polyeleos is performed.

Just a day or Everyday - on ordinary days, not holidays.

Lean - during the period of Great Lent.

Hourly - before reading the Lenten Hours.

In addition to the names directly related to liturgical practice, the bells can have arbitrary names or nicknames: Broad, Swan, Ram (here it is guessed a brief description of timbre coloring of their sound); Korsunsky, Nemchin, Rostovsky (here, most likely, their origin was the reason for the names).

In practice, the church bell ringing is divided into two main types: 1 - evangelism and 2 - the ringing itself.

The most ancient canonical ringing Orthodox Church- this is the gospel, that is, the good, good news about the beginning of the Divine service, which is measured blows on one of the large bells in order to call the faithful to prayer in the temple.

Appearing at a time when churches could have at least one bell, this type of ringing continued to exist along with others, more complex. Since then, the only thing that has changed is that the role of the announcing bell, according to the rituals, began to be performed by various (usually the largest) bells. They are often called evangelists.

The evangelism is carried out as follows: first, three rare, slow, lingering blows are made (until the sound of the bell stops), and then measured blows follow. If the bell is very big size, then these measured strikes are made with a swinging tongue in both edges of the bell. If the bell is relatively small, then its tongue is pulled with a rope quite close to its edge, a board is placed on the rope and blows are made by pressing the foot.

The pace of evangelism, as well as the choice of strikes (one or both sides), depends on the ringer, the size of the bells and the ringing system. With the evangelism in a small bell, it is possible to adjust the tempo, but if the tongue is connected with a rope to the pedal, the ringing is made only at one edge. For large lingual bells and bells, the tempo does not depend on the ringer's desire. In the first case, it is set by the frequency of movement of the pendulum tongue, and in the second, by the speed of the collision of the bell itself with the tongue.

If there are several large bells at the temple, and this happens at cathedrals, laurels, large monasteries, then large bells (evangelists), in accordance with their purpose, differ as follows:

• - festive - the largest and heaviest in weight bell, which was announced on the twelve and great holidays, as well as some other especially solemn occasions;
• - Sunday - the second largest bell used during Sunday services;
• - polyeleos - the third bell, for evangelism on the feasts of the apostles and saints, as well as saints, to whom the polyeleos service is served according to the statute;
• - daily or weekday - the next largest, for ringing on weekdays;
• - Great Lent - a bell that preaches the gospel during Great Lent.

The weight of the bells intended for the same occasion, but located on different bell towers, was different. For example, a bell similar in weight to polyeleos or everyday bells in one bell tower could be festive in another, etc.

Of course, not every bell tower had and still has such a complete set of evangelists. Usually, in parish churches, there are no more than two large bells: the first served as a festive, Sunday and polyeleos, and the second - everyday and Lenten. Or even one at a time, which can be observed on the bell towers of the Novgorod churches of St. Apostle Philip and St. righteous Lazarus of the Four days at the Western cemetery.

In addition to the names directly related to liturgical practice, the bells can bear names or nicknames. For example, in pre-revolutionary times there were several evangelists on the belfry of St. George's of the Novgorod monastery. The "Burning Bush" bell (1838, 2100 pounds) was used as a "festive" bell, the "Sunday" bell was called "Cross" (1838, 1140 pounds), the "polyeleos" bell was "George" (1827, 523 pounds) , For “everyday” - “Archangel Gabriel” (1828, approx. 267 pounds), and as “Lenten” could be used “Nicholas the Wonderworker” (1838, 134 pounds) or “Holy Prophet Nathan” (1838, approx. 63 poods).

It should be noted that the names and nicknames of the bells are not significant for the rules of ringing, they are used only in the context of the names in the descriptions or other cases not directly related to their status.

Depending on the rite of the service, large evangelistic bells, in accordance with the Church charter, are used for the following types of evangelism: festive, Sunday, everyday three degrees of solemnity and lenten.

The festive evangelism befits during the celebration of the twelve holidays, and its ringing is carried out by frequent strikes on both sides of the largest bell ("highway"). Sunday - on Sundays and on the eve of large church holidays in the second largest bell ("sub-large"). The message of the All-night Vigil is first placed in a large bell slowly and for a long time, and on large holidays it is more solemn and longer. Polyeleos - performed by a polyeleos saint, as well as in some other cases. Everyday, the least solemn evangelism, is appointed for Little Vespers, Compline, Midnight Office and the clock and beats it with beats of a moderate frequency every day in the smallest of the large bells or medium. The Lesser, or Lenten, Gospel is used in the ringing of the services of Great Lent and at the beginning of the Lesser Supper, and is reproduced with rare beats. If there is only one large bell in the temple, then it is the only evangelism and is used in all cases.

Another type of bell ringing is the ringing itself, when all the bells or several bells are rung at once. The ringing of all the bells differs in ringing, two-ringing, ringing, busting. Let's take a closer look at them.

Ringing is the most complex and polyphonic type of bell ringing and is ringing all bells, then a small break and the second ringing of all bells, again a small break and ringing all bells for the third time, that is, ringing all bells three times or ringing in three steps ...

The ringing in its form is not limited by the Church Rite and therefore can be different in the composition of the bells, in the form of performance, in rhythm. Its character is different depending on the size of the bass bells that set the pace of the ringing. If they are very large, then the pace will be moderate, and the ringing will turn out to be stately, solemn and strict. On the contrary, if the bass bells have the ability to give a more mobile tempo, then the ringing will turn out to be alive.

Depending on the number of bells used, the ringing bells can be: small (small and medium bells), medium (all, but without the largest) and great ("in all sorts of things"). In our time, pealing began to be called not only ringing all bells three times, but ringing all bells in general.

Two-ringing is ringing two or more bells twice (in two steps). The leading function of the two-ringing is the notification of the beginning of the second part All-night vigil- Matins, expressing the joy of the Nativity of Christ.

Chime - ringing, which consists of alternately striking each bell (one or several strikes in each), from the largest to the smallest. In different traditions, the chime can end with a chord in all the bells. Exists different varieties chimes. Each bell ringer has its own variety of chimes, established in a certain sequence or form, originality and beauty depend on the performer's imagination and talent. The chime can be used as an introduction to the main chime or as a link between its various parts.

In church practice, the most common are rare, or slow, and frequent chimes.

Slow chimes are slow, single beats, one to each bell, starting with the largest, most powerful sound, and gradually progressing to the thinnest and highest sound of a small bell. According to the established tradition, such a chime is made twice a year: at Holy Week- on Good Friday and Holy Saturday... It symbolizes the "exhaustion" of the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of all Christians.

Frequent chimes are characterized by frequent and quick repeated strikes (from 3 to 7 times) in each bell. It was installed for the rite of consecration as a bishop and for the consecration of water. In the water-blessing ringing, rather frequent and strong blows to the large bell are picked up by the next largest bell, thus reaching the smallest one, and when the cross is immersed in the water, the ringing is performed.

Busting is a funeral, wired, or funeral ringing that expresses sadness and grief about a deceased person. According to the classical canons, it is performed in the reverse order than the chime, i.e. consists of a slow, alternate, one time ringing in each bell, starting from the smallest to the largest, followed by striking all the bells. Nevertheless, in church practice there are cases when the execution of the search is carried out randomly.

The slow fingering of bells from the smallest to the largest symbolizes the increasing human life on earth from cradle to maturity, and the simultaneous sound of bells means the suppression of earthly life by human death, in which everything that a person acquired for this life is abandoned. The search necessarily ends with a short pealing, symbolizing the joyful Christian faith in the resurrection of the deceased. Thus, when the deceased is carried to the funeral service in the temple, a mournful search is made, and when he is brought into the temple, a ringing sound is made. After the funeral service, when the deceased is taken out of the church, a bust is made again, which also ends with a pealing.

Especially popular among the people are festive ringing, among which stands out the so-called red ringing, which is performed in all bells ("in all bad"). In the Church Rule, this is the name given to ringing all bells without a large one during Holy Week and from St. Thomas to the week of All Saints. As a rule, red ringing occurs at cathedrals, laurels, monasteries, i.e. where there are a large number of bells. Red ringing can be performed by one or several bell ringers. First of all, it is used to designate a beautiful, festive ringing with a concordant selection of bells, performed on days of major holidays, during joyful and solemn events in the life of the Church and society. Usually bell ringers call their best bell ringing red and make sure that this bell, glorifying God, is red and splendid.

However, the above types do not exhaust the whole variety of bell ringing. Classic ringing became the basis for the appearance of a whole constellation of various bell ringing: everyday, wedding, all-day and others. So, the whole-day ringing was practiced on especially important occasions - on Christmas, Easter, during the celebration of an event of state significance (enthronement of the patriarch, accession to the throne, birth of an heir, etc.), and depending on this had its own characteristics. Easter ringing, along with ringing all the bells during the procession around the church on Easter, is also viewed as ringing made throughout Easter week by anyone who dares to climb the bell tower and try himself as a bell ringer.

In the history of bell ringing, there are also counter ringing. They were performed along the way of a high official, including a spiritual one, in all passing churches and were of an upbeat festive character.

Falling in love with the church bell ringing, the Russian Orthodox people united with it all their solemn and sad events. Therefore, the Orthodox bell ringing serves not only as an indication of the time of the service, but also serves as an expression of joy, sadness and triumph. This is where different kinds ringing and each of them has its own name and meaning.

Church bells are divided into two main types: the gospel and the ringing itself.

By the Good News are called measured beats in one big bell. With this ringing, believers are called to the temple of God for worship. This ringing is called a bell because it proclaims the good, good news of the beginning of the Divine service.

The evangelism is carried out as follows: first, three rare, slow, lingering blows are made (until the sound of the bell stops), and then measured blows follow. If the bell is very large or huge, then these measured strikes are made with a swinging tongue in both ends of the bell. If the bell is relatively small, then in this case its tongue is pulled quite close to its edge by a rope, a board is placed on the rope and blows are made by pressing the foot.

The message, in turn, is of two types:

1. Ordinary or frequent- produced by the largest bell;

2. Lean or rare- is made by a smaller bell, on the weekdays of Great Lent.

If there are several large bells at the temple, and this happens at cathedrals, large monasteries, laurels, then the large bells, in accordance with their purpose, are distinguished by the following bells: 1) festive; 2) Sunday; 3) polyoleonic; 4) common or everyday; 5) fifth or minor bell.

Usually in parish churches there are no more than two or three bells.

Actually ringing ringing is called when all the bells are rung at once or several bells.

It can be of several types:

1. Ringing- this is ringing all the bells, then a small break, and the second ringing of all the bells, again a small break, and the third time ringing all the bells, that is, ringing all the bells three times or ringing in three steps.

The ringing expresses Christian joy and triumph.

In our time, pealing has come to mean not only ringing all the bells three times, but, in general, ringing all the bells.

2. Two-ringing- this is ringing all the bells twice, in two steps.

3. Chime- this is ringing in turn in each bell (one or several beats in each bell), starting with the largest one to the smallest one, and this is repeated many times.

4. Brute force- this is a slow ringing in turn in each bell, once, starting with the smallest and ending with the largest, and after striking the large bell, they strike all the bells together at once, and this is repeated many times.

1. General information

Today in Christendom there are three types of bell ringing, each of which has its own requirements for the bells.

1. Orthodox chime - it is based on a rhythm with its inherent dynamics and interaction of timbres. Therefore, in bells, euphony (goodness) and richness of timbres are valued first of all, and the absolute value of the main tone does not play a role here. The number of bells in the belfry is usually from 5 to 12. The ringing is carried out by swinging the tongue, to which certain requirements are imposed. The euphony is achieved by the competent selection of bells and the skill of the bell ringer.

2.Catholic chime - it is based on single or double strikes of a lightened tongue on a swinging or rotating bell, which is usually equipped with a counterweight so that the center of gravity passes through the axis of rotation. The number of bells in a belfry is usually from 2 to 6. According to tradition, the bells are selected or cast for a specific a fundamental tone with a limited number of overtones. Hence, the ringing itself is not so rich and depends on the number of bells, as well as the amplitude of their swing or rotation speed, so the qualification of the bell ringer does not really matter. In some countries, along with the traditional ringing, ringing by swinging the tongue is also practiced.

3. Cariol ring - it is based on the performance by the bell ringer of melodies from notes using a set of bells that make up a scale of 2 - 5 full octaves. Ringing, as a rule, is carried out by a keyboard device (reminiscent of an organ keyboard). It sets in motion the tongues or hammers of the bells through mechanical links or electromagnetic drives. Bells are usually sharpened exactly to the note, while trying to remove unnecessary overtones and reduce the time of its sounding to 4 - 5 seconds, otherwise it will interfere with the performance of the melody. If the carillon is equipped with an automatic program management in the form of a drum or electromagnetic device then it turns into chimes.

Carillon music has nothing to do with church ringing ..

Knowing the main differences between Orthodox and western traditions bell ringing, it is easy to understand how different requirements they put forward for the casting and selection of bells to create a solid ringing.

2. Basics of Orthodox ringing

Carpets are one of the essential accessories of an Orthodox church. Church bells are used to:

• to summon believers to worship.

• express the triumph of the Church and her services.

• to announce to those who are not present in the church about the time of the especially important parts of the services.

The Orthodox ringing serves not only for the purposes of divine services, but is also an expression of the joy, sadness and triumph of the people. Hence, various types of bell ringing appeared.

The church distinguishes 4 canon jingles: evangelism, bust, chime and ringing.

Blagovest - one of the most ancient bells of the Orthodox Church and is called so because it carries the Good, joyful news of the beginning of the Divine service. This ringing also announces the celebration of the sacrament of the Eucharist at the Liturgy and the reading of the Gospel in other services. The evangelist can sound both independently and as part of other bells.

Brute force - or the funeral (funeral, wire) ringing expresses sadness and grief about the deceased and consists of two parts: directly canonical (as such busting) and free (pealing).

Chime - more difficult compared to evangelism and brute force. It also consists of two parts: canonical (i.e. the chime itself) and free (pealing). Classically, chime is a ringing of each bell in turn (one or several times each), starting from the largest to the smallest (sometimes with a full blow), and this is repeated many times.

Ringing - the most complex in comparison with other canonical ringing, but it is also the most vivid expression of the bell ringing in musical terms, since the ringing in its form is not limited by church rules and therefore is different both in the composition of the bells used, and has a varied form of performance, rhythm, texture and instrumentation.

3. Groups of bells

In many churches there are usually several bells, and they differ among themselves in the magnitude and strength of the sound, and are united according to these signs into three main groups:

Group I - BASS

• Evangelist

• Festive

• Polyoleonic

• Sunday

• sentry

Group II - TENOR AND ALT (Subsonic)

III group - TRIOL (ringing)

In many temples, the following bells are distinguished:

• Festive

• Sunday

• Polyoleonic

• Just a day (everyday)

• Small (or fifth)

However, the bell ringing - one of the most striking features of Russian life - had more than just liturgical significance. They were greeted by distinguished guests, gathered people at the veche, announced recruiting, announced a wedding, death or execution, warned of the approach of the enemy and fire, showed the way to travelers, gave time signals. The bells were "blizzard", "spoloshny", "veche", "siege", "call signs", "military" ...

4. Ringing Healer

Bell Ringing Healing - Elena Zadubovskaya in her book “Bell Ringing Treatment” notes: “Russian researchers in the 70s of the last century established that such ailments as unreasonable anxiety, fears, nervousness and insomnia are perfectly healed by bell ringing.

The conclusions drawn (but not appreciated by the state) were simply amazing. It turns out that the audio recording of the raspberry ringing has a calming effect even on the most nervous. And listening musical works performed on bells, heals the most severe types of depression and other mental illnesses. Perfectly cures insomnia and crimson church ringing. "He highly recommends healers, and all people who care about their spiritual well-being, to use the bell ringing!

In general, it has been noticed that when a bell is regularly used in a church, the number of parishioners increases by 2-3 times! The curative cleansing effect of such a service also increases significantly!

Album: Bells of Russia(Bell Ringing Healing)

Year of issue: 2009

Format: MP3

Quality: 320 kbit / s

Total time: 48 min

Total size: 108 MB

1. Annunciation and everyday bell ringing
2. Variations on the theme of the play by R. Fripp “ Sermon on the Mount". M.Kapranov, A. Ivanov, D. Petrov
3. Sunday bell ringing of V. Kaichuk
4. Ringing A. Ivanov
5. Call M. Kapranov
6. Ioninsky Akimovsky bell ringing (K. Kiyantseva)
7. Bell ringing of the Peter and Paul Cathedral (Petersburg, Red and Georgievsky)
8. Bell ringing of the Rostov Kremlin (Vodosvyatny, Budnichny, Yegoryevsky)
9. Festive bell ringing number 1
10. Festive bell ringing No. 2
11. Festive bell ringing of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery
12. Festive bell ringing of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville
13. Preobrazhensky D. Petrova
14. Rostov Red Bell Ringing
15. Wedding bell ringing
16. Etude D. Petrov

It is impossible to imagine Russia without temples, the singing of the church choir, temple painting, bell ringing. This unique fusion of faith, art and way of life was created by Orthodoxy, which influenced all aspects and the way of life of our people.

Church bells are not for concerts! This has been the case for a long time: bells are a spiritual testimony to the whole world, a symbol in bronze, and their ringing is a symbol in sound. It is not for nothing that bells are called "the voice of the Church", and this voice calls for spiritual Renaissance and Repentance. And it is useless for church bells to broadcast idly from the bell towers (bell-ringers do not even have the right to rehearse in the bell tower, to ring after hours or for the entertainment of the public).

Bells are ringing only by church canons: at a certain hour, in a certain way. But there is one week in the year when (not simultaneously with church service) it is allowed to call enough, for the joy of the whole world. This is Easter Bright Week... It should be remembered that a church bell is a shrine that must be protected and honored at all times. Ringing is the decoration of the temple (cathedral, church), and may it always be magnificent!

More information about bells can be found on the website About Bells

A large collection of bell ringing can be downloaded and listened to