Church bell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

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.

In the Roman Catholic Church and some High 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. In some Catholic churches, there is a separate bell called the Angelus Bell, which is rung during the Angelus prayer.

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.

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.

[edit] See also


In other languages