Church bells in London and Durham to ring with bells of Lviv

Church in Lviv - Photo by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash

On Sunday 20th March at 4pm, the bells of cathedrals in London and Durham will ring in an act of unity and solidarity for the people of Ukraine at the same time as the churches in the city of Lviv in Ukraine ring their bells.

The Very Reverend Dr David Ison, the Dean of St Paul's said: "We hope the people of Ukraine will see the recording of the bell ringing in London and find comfort in this act of solidarity. We continue to pray for strength and safety for the many people affected by the conflict, and for peace in Ukraine and around the world."

Rung by a team of volunteers, the bells at St Paul's Cathedral are regularly rung at Sunday services, during special services and for other occasions of celebration or remembrance.

Cast in 1878, the 12 change ringing bells form the second largest ring of bells in the world. Change ringing requires both physical and mental exertion and it takes most ringers several years to become sufficiently skilled to ring on the challenging bells of St Paul's. Each bell is given a number, from 1 - 12, and a change is a sequence of these numbers where each bell rings once. The order or sequence is changed and each bell rings again. The smallest 'treble' bell weighs just over eight hundredweights, while the largest 'tenor' bell weighs over three tons (61 cwt). The St Paul's ring is in the key of B flat.

Durham Cathedral will also ring their bells on Sunday and offer prayers for peace in solidarity.

Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, who will attend the St Paul's prayers with a number of members of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Great Britain, said: "We are grateful to the community at St Paul's Cathedral in London for this sign of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Ukraine who also will be ringing bells at the same time. This will mean so much to the mayor of the western city of Lviv, Mr. Andriy Sadovyi, who had advised that the bells in Ukraine and western Ukraine will also be ringing, giving people hope in this situation of crisis"

See follow-up report: Bells of St Paul's Cathedral ring for Ukraine + video links
Mar 20th, 2022 - www.indcatholicnews.com/news/44306

LINKS

St Paul's Cathedral: www.stpauls.co.uk/news-press/latest-news/st-pauls-cathedral-joins-with-the-ukrainian-city-of-lviv-in-bell-ringing

Durham Cathedral: www.durhamcathedral.co.uk