Call to prayer , depicting prayer at the sound of the bell (in the steeple on the horizon) ringing a canonical hour.
Oriental Orthodox Christians, such as
Copts and
Indians, use a
breviary such as the
Agpeya and
Shehimo to
pray the
canonical hours seven times a day while facing in the
eastward direction; church bells are tolled, especially in monasteries, to mark these
seven fixed prayer times. In Christianity, some churches ring their church bells from
belltowers three times a day, at 9 am, noon and 3 pm to summon the Christian faithful to recite the
Lord's Prayer; the injunction to pray the Lord's prayer thrice daily was given in
Didache 8, 2 f., which, in turn, was influenced by the Jewish practice of praying thrice daily found in the
Old Testament, specifically in , which suggests "morning and evening plus at noon", and , in which the prophet
Daniel prays thrice a day. The early Christians thus came to pray the Lord's Prayer at 9 am, noon and 3 pm. of
Notre Dame de Paris on display in the nave in February 2013 before being hung in the towers of the cathedral. Many Catholic Christian churches ring their bells thrice a day, at 6 am, noon, and 6 pm to call the faithful to recite the
Angelus, a prayer recited in honour of the
Incarnation of God. Some
Protestant Christian Churches ring church bells during the congregational recitation of the Lord's Prayer, after the
sermon, in order to alert those who are unable to be present to "unite themselves in spirit with the congregation". In many historic Christian Churches, church bells are also rung on
All Hallows' Eve, as well as during the
processions of
Candlemas and
Palm Sunday; the only time of the
Christian Year when church bells are not rung include
Maundy Thursday through the
Easter Vigil. The Christian tradition of the ringing of church bells from a belltower is analogous to the
Islamic tradition of the
adhan from a
minaret.
Call to worship Most
Christian denominations ring church bells to call the faithful to worship, signalling the start of a
Mass or
service of worship. bells in England in the "up" position. In the
United Kingdom predominantly in the Anglican church, there is a strong tradition of
change ringing on
full-circle tower bells for about half an hour before a service. This originated from the early 17th century when bell ringers found that swinging a bell through a large arc gave more control over the time between successive strikes of the clapper. This culminated in ringing bells through a full circle, which let ringers easily produce different striking sequences; known as
changes.
Exorcism of demons In Christianity, the ringing of church bells is traditionally believed to
drive out demons and other
unclean spirits.
Funeral and memorial ringing The ringing of a church bell in the English tradition to announce a death is called a
death knell. The pattern of striking depended on the person who had died; for example, in the
counties of
Kent and
Surrey in England, it was customary to ring three times three strokes for a man and three times two for a woman, with varying usage for children. The age of the deceased was then rung out. In small settlements, this could effectively identify who had just died. There were three occasions surrounding a death when bells could be rung. There was the "Passing Bell" to warn of impending death, the second was the actual Death Knell to announce the death, and the last was the "Lych Bell", or "Corpse Bell", rung as the funeral procession approached the church.
Sanctus bells The term "Sanctus bell" traditionally referred to a bell suspended in a
bell-cot at the apex of the nave roof, over the chancel arch, or hung in the church tower, in
medieval churches. This bell has been rung at the singing of the
Sanctus and again at the
elevation of the consecrated elements, to indicate to those unable to see the altar that the consecration had been reached. The practice and the term remain common in many Traditional Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican churches. Sacring rings or "Gloria wheels" are commonly used by Catholic churches in Spain and its former colonies for this purpose, with modern ones made from metal instead of the traditional wood.
Orthodox Church in
Tampere,
Finland 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 stationary, and are sounded by pulling on a rope that is attached to the clapper so that it will strike the inside of the bell.
Victory Celebration The noon church bell tolling in Europe has a specific historical significance that has its roots in the
Siege of Belgrade (Nándorfehérvár at the time)by the
Ottomans in 1456. Initially, the bell ringing was intended as a call to prayer for the victory of the defenders of Belgrade. However, because in many European countries the news of victory arrived before the order for prayer, the ringing of the church bells was believed to be in celebration of the victory. As a result, the significance of noon bell ringing is now a commemoration of
John Hunyadi's victory against the Turks.
Other uses Clock chimes Some churches have a
clock chime which uses a
turret clock to broadcast the time by striking the hours and sometimes the quarters. A well-known musical striking pattern is the
Westminster Quarters. This is only done when the bells are stationary, and the clock mechanism actuates hammers striking on the outside of the sound-bows of the bells. In the cases of bells which are normally swung for other ringing, there is a manual lock-out mechanism which prevents the hammers from operating whilst the bells are being rung.
Warning In World War II in Great Britain, all church bells were silenced, to ring only to inform of an invasion by enemy troops. However this ban was lifted temporarily in 1942 by order of Winston Churchill. Starting with Easter Sunday, April 25, 1943, the Control of Noise (Defence) (No. 2) Order, 1943, allowed that church bells could be rung to summon worshippers to church on Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day. On May 27, 1943, all restrictions were removed. In the
2021 German floods it was reported that church bells were rung to warn inhabitants of coming floods. In Beyenburg in
Wuppertal the last friar of
Steinhaus Abbey rang the storm bells after other systems failed. Some church bells are being used in England for similar purposes. ==Design and ringing technique==