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A bell-ringer on a bell tower. Ropes could be seen.

Russian Orthodox bell ringing has a history starting from the baptism of Rus in 988 and plays an important role in the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The bells in Russian tradition are rung exclusively by tolling and never by pealing. For tolling bells a special complicated system of ropes is developed and used individually for every belltower. All the ropes are gathered in approximately one point, where the bell-ringer stands. Some ropes (the smaller ones) are played by hands, the bigger ropes are played by legs. The major part of the ropes (usually - all ropes) are not actually pulled, but rather pressed. Since one end of every rope is fixed, and the ropes are kept in tension, a press or even a punch on a rope makes a clapper move.

It's also important that no melody be rung, but rather a complicated polyrhythmical sequence of sounds. These sequences have a very special harmony, since Russian bells (unlike Western European ones) are not tuned into single note. Western bells usually have an octave between the loudest upper tone (ring) and the loudest lower tone (hum). Russian bells have a seventh between these sounds. Generally, a good Russian bell is tuned to produce a whole scale of sounds (up to several tens of them).

Russian Orthodox services provide different types of bell ringing. Different ringing is used on different days (on working days, on Sunday, on holy days, during fasts, Lent, Easter etc.) Different ringing is required for different services (for morning service, service for the dead, Liturgy, etc.). Different ringing is used at different moments of the service (before the Liturgy, during the most essential parts of Liturgy etc.). There are several names for different types of bell-ringing: blagovest, perezvon, trezvon, etc.

• Tsar Bell
• Campanology: Russian Orthodox bells (a concise chapter in the general article Campanology)

• Extensive information about Russian bells: history, technology, liturgy, etc.
• A free collection of Russian bell-ringing mp3 recordings
• Photo: Consecration of a Bell
• Photo: Consecration of a Bell by a bishop