BELLS. Bells have been used in religious worship from a remote period. They have been found among Buddhists and Brahmans and in the Shinto() temples of the Sun goddess in Japan. Bells are mentioned in the English translation of the Bible, but the words 90 trans lated do not seem to denote bells in ous• sense of the word. The Mohammedans object to the use of bells. In front of the porch before the door of a temple dedi cated to Siva (q.v.), Monier-Williams noticed three long rows of bells. Whenever a worshipper entered the shrine, he rang one of the bells. In the shrine itself " there was a constant ringing of small portable bells and clapping of bands, as if to draw the attention of the deity worshipped to the prayers muttered by his worshippers." In the Hindu ceremony called Pafic`ayatana one of the sacred objects of worship is a small bell. At the adora tion of the bell, the worshipper says : " 0 bell, make a sound for the approach of the gods, and for the departure of the demons. Homage to the goddess Ghauta (bell). I offer perfumes, grains of rice, and flowers, in token of rendering all due homage to the bell." Among the Lfimas of Tibet a bell forms part of the sorcerer's equip ment (see L. A. Waddell). The bells already referred to were hand-bells. It is not known when exactly the large church-bells in Christian churches were introduced. It is possible that when in the early days of the Church basilicas or halls of justice were used as places of wor ship, the bells belonging to them were rung to call the people to divine worship. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola in
Campania, however, is reputed to have introduced their use. In France they seem to have been used before the seventh century; and they were in use elsewhere in the ninth century (e.g., in the Greek Church). In Germany and Switzerland they came into use in the eleventh cen tury. In the tenth century the custom arose of giving them names. In the eleventh century we begin to bear of " the baptism of a bell." This is a popular expression for the ceremony of consecration, which is still observed in the Roman Catholic Church. " The bishop washes the bell with blessed water, signs it with the oil of the sick outside, and with chrism inside, and lastly places under it the thurible with burning incense. He prays repeatedly that the sound of the bell may avail to summon the faithful, to excite their devotion, to drive away storms, and to terrify evil spirits." It is explained that " this power of course is due to the blessings and prayers of the Church, not to any efficacy superstitiously attributed to the bell itself. Thus consecrated, bells become spiritual things, and cannot be rung without the consent of the ecclesiastical authorities " (Addis and Arnold). Small bells are also in use in the Roman Catholic Church. A bell is rung during Mass at the Sanctus and at the Elevation of the Host. See Oath. Diet.; Chambers' Encyci.; Monier-Williams, Brahmanism.