BELL CHIMES. IRKUTSK

Russian traditions of bell chimes will be revealed to you in Irkutsk. You’ll get the opportunity to become a rare visitor at one of Irkutsk oldest churches – the Church of the Exhalation of the Holy Cross.



From times immemorial bell chimes were a living attribute of Orthidox church services. It’s a well-known fact, that European countries started to use bells in the church since II AD, and Byzantines – since IX AD. As for Russia, first bells mentionings we find in X AD, after christianization of the country.



One can not image all those functions, attributed to bell chimes! They were known as a good incantation, bearing mystical and symbolic properties.

In Russia there were never schools teaching the art and secrets of bell ringing. There never was a need for that, as bell chimes were an inalienable element of musical surrounding, existing in all towns and villages of vast Russia. A week, when most bell-ringers were born, was a Светлая седмица, when every person, who wanted to try himself as a bell-ringer, was allowed to ring any bell he liked. An experienced bell-ringer watched the efforts of these boys, and if there were any gifted and promising young men, they were invited to study this art and bell-ringers used to have a lot of disciples.



For more than thirteen years the bell-ringer in the Church of the Exhalation of the Holy Cross is living with his favourite occupation. He personally collected all the bells for the bell tower of the church, and he also reconstructed the bell tower himself. Now he is absolutely sure, that nowhere in this part of Russia, from the Urals to Far East, you’ll be able to find deeper and clearer chimes of Russian Orthodox church.

27.05.2008

Our address

670000, Ulan-Ude,
Profsoysnaya Street, 31
Tel/Fax Ulan-Ude:
8 (3012) 216-177
664025, Irkutsk,
Rossiyskaya Street, 6. Office 2
Tel/Fax Irkutsk:
8 (3952) 342-043

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