THE ORDER FOR THE BLESSING OF THE FOUNDATIONS
OF A NEW BELL TOWER
This Order is not found in the Book of Needs, as the Bell
Tower usually was part of the church proper and was sanctified when the
church was consecrated. However, it is appropriate for circumstances when
the Bell Tower is constructed apart from the main church edifice.
The Priest, coming together with Servers
bearing the Holy Water and the Sprinkler to the place where the Bell Tower
will be constructed, puts on his Epitrachelion and begins, as usual:
Blessed is our God, always, now and ever, and unto the ages
of ages.
Then:
Amen. O Heavenly King .... Holy God ... Glory...O Most holy
Trinity...Lord, have mercy (thrice). Glory ...
Our Father ... For Thine is the Kingdom.... Lord, have mercy (12
times). Glory .... Come, let us worship... (thrice).
Then:
Psalm 69(70)
O God, attend unto my help; O Lord, make haste to help me.
Let them be put to shame and confounded that seek after my soul.
Let them be turned back and brought to shame that desire evils for me.
Let them be turned back at once and brought to shame
that say unto me: Well done! Well done!
Let all rejoice and be glad in Thee that seek after Thee, O God;
And let them that love Thy salvation say continually:
The Lord be magnified.
But I am poor and needy; O God, do Thou help me.
Thou art my Helper and my Deliverer; O Lord, do not tarry.
After the Psalm, the Choir sings the
following Troparion, Tone 2:
O God, Creator and Fashioner of all things,
with Thy blessing speedily direct the works of our hands
which we have begun to Thy glory,
and by Thy power quickly bring it to a conclusion,
as Thou only art all-powerful and the Lover of Mankind.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Kontakion, Tone 2:
Come, O Merciful Lord,
lending Thine assistance to the founders of this building,
strengthening, by Thy mercy and mighty hand,
this construction which is being accomplished to Thy glory and praise,
and mercifully preserve the consolation of Thine inheritance,
as Thou art the Lover of Mankind.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Theotokion, Tone 4:
As Thou art the Fashioner of every created thing
and the Director of the thoughts of men, looking upon all our feeble intentions,
do Thou visit the conceiving of this tower, and bring it to a better composition.
For, behold, we lay our supplication on Thee and the most pure Mother
of Thy Son,
whom we glorify as is meet, as the only hope of Thy servants.
Priest: Let us pray to the Lord.
Choir: Lord, have mercy.
And the Priest reads this Prayer.
O Lord God Almighty, Who madest the heavens with understanding,
and didst found the earth upon the waters, O Fashioner and Creator of
all things: Look down now upon this place that has been prepared in the
firmness of Thy strength for the building of a tower as an annex to Thy
temple, in which bells will be placed and kept. Be Thou Thyself the Strengthener
and Founder of it, according to Thy divine and evangelical voice, that
winds and water may not be able to harm it, and be well pleased to bring
it to a quick conclusion and a good end. For Thine is the dominion, and
Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory: of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of
ages.
Choir: Amen.
Then the Priest takes three stones,
and standing over the excavations where the foundations will be, he says:
This edifice of a Bell Tower is founded: in the Name of the
Father:
And making the Sign of the Cross over
the excavation with one of the stones, he throws it into the excavation
into the mortar poured there by the workers; then taking a second stone
and doing likewise, he throws it, saying:
And of the Son:
And taking also a third stone, likewise
making the Sign of the Cross, he throws it, saying:
And of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And immediately he sprinkles all of
the excavations, and the whole site (including the workers), with Holy
Water, saying:
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
But if the edifice will be of wood,
the Priest, taking an axe, strikes three times a beam placed at the eastern
side, saying:
This edifice of a Bell Tower is founded: in the Name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And, likewise, he sprinkles the whole
place, the lumber, and the workers with Holy Water.
And immediately he makes the customary
daily Dismissal.