Editing Bell tower (section)

==Purpose==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="245px" widths="170px">
File:Elizabeth Tower 2014-09-21 205MP.jpg|[[Elizabeth Tower]], [[London]] completed in 1859; better known as [[Big Ben]].
File:Italy - Pisa - Leaning Tower.jpg|The [[Leaning Tower of Pisa]], campanile of the [[Duomo di Pisa]], Italy
File:Venezia - Panorama 010, Campanile San Marco.jpg|[[St Mark's Campanile]], [[Venice]]
</gallery>
Bells are rung from a tower to enable them to be heard at a distance. Church bells can signify the time for worshippers to go to church for a communal [[Church service|service]], and can be an indication of the [[Fixed prayer times#Christianity|fixed times]] of daily [[Christian prayer]], called the [[canonical hours]], which number seven and are contained in [[breviary|breviaries]]. They are also rung on special occasions such as a [[wedding]], or a [[funeral]] service. In some religious traditions they are used within the liturgy of the church service to signify to people that a particular part of the service has been reached.<ref name="Church Words: Origins and Meanings">{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XSOyfy061SQC&pg=PA76 |title= Church Words: Origins and Meanings|publisher=Forward Movement|date=1996|access-date=16 August 2012|quote=There are two sorts of liturgical bells in the history of the Christian Church-church bells in spires or towers used to call the faithful to worship, and sanctuary bells used to call attention to the coming of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.|isbn= 978-0880281720}}</ref>

[[File:Ball-state-university-bell-tower.jpg|thumb|left|[[Shafer Tower]] at [[Ball State University]] in [[Muncie, Indiana]]]]
A bell tower may have a single bell, or a collection of bells which are tuned to a common scale. They may be stationary and chimed, rung randomly by swinging through a small arc, or swung through a full circle to enable the high degree of control of English [[change ringing]]. They may house a [[carillon]] or [[chime (bell instrument)|chimes]], in which the bells are sounded by hammers connected via cables to a keyboard. These can be found in many churches and secular buildings in Europe and America including [[college]] and [[university]] campuses.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.carillon.org/|title=The World Carillon Federation (WCF)|publisher=Carillon.org|access-date=2012-02-19}}</ref>

A variety of electronic devices exist to simulate the sound of bells, but any substantial tower in which a considerable sum of money has been invested will generally have a real set of bells.
[[File:Clocher_d'Ivan_le_Grand.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ivan The Great Bell Tower]] in the [[Kremlin]] in [[Moscow]], built in 1508]]

[[File:Iglesia de Santo Tomás - Campanario y cúpula2.jpg|thumb|upright|The Santo Tomás parish church in [[Haro, La Rioja]] has an [[Conjuratory|exconjuratory]] for weather prayers in its bell tower.]]
Some churches have an [[exconjuratory]] in the bell tower, a space where ceremonies were conducted to ward off weather-related calamities, like storms and excessive rain. The main bell tower of the [[Cathedral of Murcia]] has four.

In [[Christianity]], many churches ring their church bells from belltowers three times a day, at 9 am, 12 pm and 3 pm to summon the Christian faithful to recite the [[Lord's Prayer]];<ref name=Dryer>{{cite book |author= George Herbert Dryer|title=History of the Christian Church|publisher=Curts & Jennings|year=1897|quote= …every church-bell in Christendom to be tolled three times a day, and all Christians to repeat Pater Nosters (The Lord's Prayer)}}</ref><ref name=Honig>{{citation |author= Joan Huyser-Honig|title=Uncovering the Blessing of Fixed-Hour Prayer|publisher=Calvin Institute of Christian Worship|year=2006|quote=Early Christians prayed the Lord's Prayer three times a day. Medieval church bells called people to common prayer.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Church bells |url=https://wels.net/faq/church-bells/ |publisher=[[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]] |accessdate=8 August 2020 |language=English |date=25 July 2017}}</ref> the injunction to pray the Lord's prayer thrice daily was given in ''[[Didache]]'' 8, 2 f.,<ref name=KF>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BqnmVGo6jA8C&pg=PA225 |title=Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Volume 8|author=Gerhard Kittel|author2=Gerhard Friedrich|page=224|publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]]|year=1972|accessdate=26 October 2012|quote=The praying of the Lord's Prayer three times a day in Did., 8, 2 f. is connected with the Jewish practice --> 218, 3 ff.; II, 801, 16 ff.; the altering of other Jewish customs is demanded in the context.|isbn=978-0802822505}}</ref><ref name=Beckwith>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVCUZ7BTD2gC&pg=PA193 |title=Calendar, Chronology, and Worship: Studies in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity|author=[[Roger T. Beckwith]]|page=193|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|year=2005|accessdate=26 October 2012|quote=The Church had now two hours of prayer, observed individually on weekdays and corporately on Sundays – yet the Old Testament spoke of three daily hours of prayer, and the Church itself had been saying the Lord's Prayer three times a day.|isbn=9004146032}}</ref><ref name=Standing>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m_OShrBh0I0C&pg=PA91 |title=Matthew: A Shorter Commentary|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year=2005|accessdate=16 August 2012|quote= Moreover, the central portion of the Eighteen Benedictions, just like the Lord's Prayer, falls into two distinct parts (in the first half the petitions are for the individuals, in the second half for the nation); and early Christian tradition instructs believers to say the Lord's Prayer three times a day (''Did''. 8.3) while standing (''Apost''. ''const''. 7.24), which precisely parallels what the rabbis demanded for the Eighteen Benedictions.|isbn=978-0567082497}}</ref> which, in turn, was influenced by the Jewish practice of praying thrice daily found in the [[Old Testament]], specifically in {{bibleverse||Psalm|55:17|KJV}}, which suggests "evening and morning and at noon", and {{bibleverse||Daniel|6:10|KJV}}, in which the prophet [[Daniel (biblical figure)|Daniel]] prays thrice a day.<ref name="KF"/><ref name="Beckwith"/><ref name=White>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MURUzRlz-hoC&pg=PT104 |title=Introduction to Christian Worship, 3rd ed.: Revised and Enlarged|author=James F White|publisher=[[Abingdon Press]]|date=2010|accessdate=12 October 2012|quote=Late in the first century or early in the second, the ''Didache'' advised Christians to pray the Lord's prayer three times a day. Others sought disciplines in the Bible itself as ways to make the scriptural injunction to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) practical. Psalm 55:17 suggested "evening and morning and at noon," and Daniel prayed three times a day (Dan. 6:10).|isbn=978-1426722851}}</ref><ref name=CCC>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cymM4xEM76wC&pg=PA588 |title=Catechism Of The Catholic Church |publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group]]|year=1999|accessdate=2 September 2014|isbn=0-860-12324-3|quote=Late in the first century or early in the second, the ''Didache'' advised Christians to pray the Lord's prayer three times a day. Others sought disciplines in the Bible itself as ways to make the scriptural injunction to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) practical. Psalm 55:17 suggested "evening and morning and at noon," and Daniel prayed three times a day (Dan. 6:10).}}</ref> The early Christians thus came to pray the Lord's Prayer at 9 am, 12 pm and 3 pm;<ref name="Beckwith2005">{{cite book |last1=Beckwith |first1=Roger T.|author-link=Roger T. Beckwith |title=Calendar, Chronology And Worship: Studies in Ancient Judaism And Early Christianity |date=2005 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-14603-7 |language=English |quote=So three minor hours of prayer were developed, at the third, sixth and ninth hours, which, as Dugmore points out, were ordinary divisions of the day for worldly affairs, and the Lord's Prayer was transferred to those hours.}}</ref> as such, in Christianity, many [[Lutheran]] and [[Anglican]] churches ring their [[church bell]]s from belltowers three times a day: in the morning, at noon and in the evening calling Christians to recite the Lord's Prayer.<ref name=Dryer/><ref name=Honig/><ref>{{cite web |title=Church bells |url=https://wels.net/faq/church-bells/ |publisher=[[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]] |access-date=8 August 2020 |language=en |date=25 July 2017}}</ref> Many Catholic Christian churches ring their bells thrice a day, at 6{{space}}a.m., noon, and 6{{space}}p.m., to call the faithful to recite the [[Angelus]], a prayer recited in honour of the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|Incarnation of God]].<ref name=Anderson>{{cite book|author=John P. Anderson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XVktuDe1aHUC&pg=PA93 |title=Joyce's Finnegans Wake: The Curse of Kabbalah, Volume 2 |publisher=Universal Publishers|year=2009|accessdate=16 August 2012|quote= The Angelus is a Christian devotion in memory of the Incarnation. Its name is derived from the opening words, Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ. It consists of three Biblical verses describing the mystery, recited as versicle and response, alternating with the salutation "Hail Mary!" and traditionally is recited in Catholic churches, convents and monasteries three times daily, 6:00 am, 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm, accompanied by the ringing of the Angelus bell. Some High Church Anglican and Lutheran churches also use the devotion.|isbn = 978-1599429014}}</ref><ref name=Anglican>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jN4wspXqHBkC&pg=PA728 |title=The Anglican Service Book: A Traditional Language Adaptation of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, Together with the Psalter Or Psalms of David and Additional Devotions|publisher=Good Shepherd Press|date=1991|accessdate=16 August 2012|quote= The Angelus: In many churches the bell is run morning, noon, and evening in memory of the Incarnation of God, and the faithful say the following prayers, except during Eastertide, when the Regina coeli is said.|isbn=978-0962995507}}</ref> [[Oriental Orthodox Christian]]s, such as [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Copts]] and [[Indian Orthodox Church|Indians]], use a [[breviary]] such as the [[Agpeya]] and [[Shehimo]] to [[Christian prayer|pray]] the [[canonical hours]] seven times a day while facing in the [[ad orientem|eastward direction]]; church bells are tolled, especially in monasteries, to mark these [[Fixed prayer times#Christianity|seven fixed prayer times]] (cf. {{Bibleverse|Psalm|119:164|KJV}}).<ref>{{cite web |title=What is the relationship between bells and the church? When and where did the tradition begin? Should bells ring in every church? |url=https://www.suscopts.org/q&a/index.php?qid=1484&catid=386 |publisher=Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States |accessdate=8 August 2020 |language= |date=2020}}</ref><ref name="Amherst1906">{{cite book |author1=[[Mary Cecil, 2nd Baroness Amherst of Hackney]] |title=A Sketch of Egyptian History from the Earliest Times to the Present Day |date=1906 |publisher=Methuen |page=399 |language= |quote=Prayers 7 times a day are enjoined, and the most strict among the Copts recite one of more of the Psalms of David each time they pray. They always wash their hands and faces before devotions, and turn to the East.}}</ref>

The Christian tradition of the ringing of church bells from a belltower is analogous to [[Islamic]] tradition of the [[adhan]] (call to prayer) from a [[minaret]].<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XSOyfy061SQC&q=church+bell+ring+anglican&pg=PA76|title= Church Words: Origins and Meanings|publisher= Psychology Press|date=1996|access-date=2012-08-16|quote= But even for Muslims who pray infrequently, the adhan marks the passage of time through the day (in much the same way as church bells do in many Christian communities) and serves as a constant reminder that they are living in a Muslim community.|isbn= 978-0880281720}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780761479260|url-access= registration|page= [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780761479260/page/77 77]|title= Islamic Beliefs, Practices, and Cultures|publisher= Marshal Cavendish|date= 2009|access-date=16 August 2012|quote= Muslims living in predominantly Islamic lands, however, have the benefit of the call to prayer (adhan). In the same way that much of the Christian world traditionally used bells to summon the faithful to church services, so the early Muslim community developed its own method of informing the entire community that the time for prayer had arrived.|isbn= 978-0761479260}}</ref>

Old bell towers which are no longer used for their original purpose may be kept for their [[historic]] or architectural value, though in countries with a strong [[Campanology|campanological]] tradition they often continue to have the bells rung.