What is the history of the usage of bells in the church?

The custom of using bells in divine services is very ancient. Little bells were mentioned in the book of Exodus, where they were enumerated among the ornaments of the high-priest’s ephod, in order that their sound might be heard whenever he goes in and comes out of the sanctuary (Ex. 28:33–35). Besides these golden bells, larger ones were also used, called Megeruphita .¹²⁷⁸ Of these, the Mishnah¹²⁷⁹ says that when they were struck, their noise was so deafening that you could not hear a person speak in all Jerusalem. They were sounded principally for three purposes:

• a. To summon the priests to service.

• b. To summon the choir of Levites to sing.

• c. To invite the people to bring the unclean to the gate called “Nicanor.”

“For the first three or four centuries of the Christian Church’s existence, the faithful were compelled to assemble at divine service with as little noise as possible, for fear of attracting the attention of their pagan enemies, and thus bringing about fresh persecution; hence we must not expect to find bells in use during those days.”¹²⁸⁰ They were introduced to the church by St. Paulinus of Nola (around 400 A. D.), even though his letter, which gives a detailed description of the church building, did not have any reference to bells. Thus, the claim made for him seems to be doubtful. It is worth noting that in the West, bells were originally thought of as originally pagan, so they used to baptize bells in a special ritual to renew them. Later, however, they considered this blessing of the church bells as a way of asking God to use their sounds to summon the hearts of the people to worship Him.

1277 The Pastor of Hermas (or Shepherd of Hermas) 1.3.2 (ANF 2:13).

1278 John O’Brien, A History of the Mass and Its Ceremonies in the Eastern and Western Church (Catholic Publication Society, 1879): p. 146.

1279 Mishnah is the oral law of the Hebrews, consisting of various traditions respecting the Law of Moses. The Mishnah and Gemara (a commentary on the mishanah) form the Talmud, of which there are two versions, i.e., that of Jerusalem and that of Babylon.

1280 John O’Brien, A History of the Mass and Its Ceremonies in the Eastern and Western Church (Catholic Publication Society, 1879): pp. 146–147.