When Ernest Hemingway was completing his novel about the Spanish Civil War, he was not sure as to the title it should have. Incidentally he came across a line from a 17th century British poet John Donne:

“…Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee”.

Thus, the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, arguably among the best ever written by Hemingway, came to life. It is well-known in Russia for a number of reasons (which we hope to discuss on these pages sometimes); however, no Russian would necessarily associate bell tolling with a funeral or have a slightest doubt that every bell tolls for him!

Over half a century ago the Orthodox Church in America became completely independent from her mother Church, the Patriarchate of Moscow. However, not only the common Orthodox faith, but also a wide range of customs, practices, usages, and other “supporting elements” for our Christian life links the Orthodox believers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Is it possible for an Orthodox Christian to do without bells? – Sure, it is. Our grandfathers behind the barbed wire did not hear the bells tolling; yet so many of them have been canonized by the Church as the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Communist Era. Should this be counted as evidence against the presence of bells in Christian worship and Christian life?

The San Francisco Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Orthodox Church in America has published an exhaustive overview on bells and their usage in the Russian Orthodox Christian tradition. Here we find historical and technical issues, theological and devotional considerations, and most thoroughly – description of bell-ringing in various styles and forms for particular purposes, in connection with various liturgical events.

A large chapter is devoted here to the funeral bell-ringing rite as well… But quite apart from that, when you read the piece, you will certainly agree with John Donne: no matter where, when or in which manner the church bells are tolling, they toll for you!