WHEN THE BELLS RING
Note: This article is a (revised) reprint from last year. It is a teaching that needs to be repeated, not only for our newcomers but also as a reminder for everyone. This really is an important point for your devotion and understanding in worship.
"What does it mean to ring bells during the Eucharistic Prayer?" "Why do you ring the bells the way you do?" Every now and then, someone asks me about our use of the "sanctus bells" (sanctus: Latin for "holy") during the prayer consecrating the bread and wine for communion. It is true that our usage is unusual (I'm not aware of any other place that rings the bells the way I've directed), but I'm convinced that our practice is both personally meaningful for worship and faithful to the Anglican tradition. Maybe other Episcopal congregations ought to do it our way!
Ringing sanctus bells during the prayer of consecration has been a venerable tradition in Roman Catholic and "high" Anglican liturgy for centuries. All Saints' has had a set of bells for decades. However, until last year, I had declined to use them (to the surprise of some and the consternation of others!). My issue was about the way sanctus bells are normally used. The bells have come to be specifically associated with Jesus' "Words of Institution in the Eucharistic Prayer: "This is my Body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me " [ring] . . . "This is my Blood, etc . . . [ring]. Ringing the bells at these points teaches that those two sentences themselves bring about the actual consecration (the "change" in the bread and wine). It also tends to focus rather singularly on the role of the priest in the consecration—that it is only through the priest's utterance and actions that the Holy Spirit moves to bless the bread and wine. To bring such pointed (even exclusive) emphasis to the Words of Institution and to the priest's
actions during the Eucharistic Prayer does not square with the consensus of Anglican eucharistic theology. So, here I part company with my fellow high-church Episcopalians!
Our Anglican tradition is very clear in the teaching that it is the entire Eucharistic Prayer (not just particular moments within it) that consecrates the bread and wine. We also hold that it is through the role of the whole assembly—to be sure, with a priest as its essential celebrant—that the Holy Spirit affects consecration. Both of these foundational points are expressed in the "Great Amen" (the AMEN so printed) at the end of every Eucharistic Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer. That is the "moment" when we acknowledge consecration, and it is the whole assembly that says it. Such is the theological importance of this "AMEN" (= "so be it") that if it is not said, the consecration of the bread and wine has not taken place. This congregation has
responded strongly to this teaching for many years now, as shown in the loud and enthusiastic "AMEN" you all proclaim at the conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer!
Now, we are using the sanctus bells in order to underscore this teaching and to remind you of it from week to week (if only subliminally). Our usage is set in such a way as to express this distinctly Anglican theology of eucharistic consecration. So, we ring our bells at the head of the Eucharistic Prayer, right after the Sursum Corda ("Lift up your hearts"): "It is right to give Him thanks and praise" [ring]; then again after the Sanctus—"Holy, holy, holy" . . .etc, "Hosanna in the highest." [ring] as the prayer narrative begins; and then lastly at the "Great AMEN" [ring], at the very end of the prayer. Notice that the bells are rung throughout the entirety of the Eucharistic Prayer, since consecration "happens" from beginning to end. Moreover, the bells are not tied to a pseudo-magical text that only the priest is saying. Notice also that the bells are rung
three times, a classic theological number evocative of the Holy Trinity.
Faithfully,
Shannon+
