History and Culture
The Country With No Bells: An Immigrant's Lament
An Orthodox immigrant reflects on the fading sound of church bells in America and the loss of a sacred rhythm that once shaped everyday life.
I grew up in a majority-Orthodox country, where time passes a little differently, despite the blessings of modernization.
The significance of certain moments is marked in a way I suspect would feel foreign to many in America. Celebrations, deaths, the liturgy, and the rhythms of church life are all announced by a very particular gift of sound: bells.
I remember my grandmother telling me about the language of the bells. When the strokes came slowly, with long pauses between them, someone had died. When they came close together, it was a happy celebration. We always made the sign of the cross, whether we were passing a church or simply hearing the bells.
