The ringing of the church bell is not allowed even for religious purposes in hours of public quiet according to the decision of the court of Syros.

The matter became known from the beginning of September.

By court order, a church bell on a Cycladic island that was connected to a clock and rang every hour and every half hour, will be silenced.

The Single-member Court of First Instance of Syros prohibited the operation of bells, in general, not only for the hours of public quiet, but in general, judging that the bell is not a clock.

The court allowed the operation of the bell for religious and worship purposes of the church.

A resident of the island, whose house is adjacent to the church, had appealed against the specific liturgy and won the case, as the lawyer of the case, Vassilis Sotiropoulos, wrote in his post on social media.

As he explained, “the Court of Syros allowed, of course, the operation of the bell for religious and worship purposes of the church, while of course the applicant had not requested the ban for these purposes at all. However, the Court of Syros took a step further, in the context of the application of the investigative system applied to the injunctions and determined that the ringing of the bell is not allowed even for religious purposes in hours of public quiet! This is the first time that a Greek Court has ordered it in this series of court decisions concerning the use of the bell”.

In fact, “for every illegal ringing of the bell, the holy temple is threatened to pay the applicant a fine of 200 euros”.

However, the bell will ring normally and by law on the “major holidays for which the bell is allowed to ring and in hours of common quiet: the Circumcision, the Epiphany, the Epiphany, the Epiphany, the Holy Passion, the Resurrection, the Ascension , Pentecost, of Ag. of the Spirit, the Transfiguration, the Elevation of the Holy Cross, Christmas, the Annunciation, the Life-Giving Source, the deposition of the venerable Esthetos of the Virgin, the Dormition of the Virgin, the deposition of the Holy Belt, the Birth of the Virgin, the Holy Shelter of the Virgin, the Entrances of the Theotokos and the Synaxis of the Theotokos”.

The lawyer’s post follows

“In a case that I represented as an attorney, a resident of a Cycladic island, who sued for the disturbance of her domestic peace and health by ringing a bell every half hour and in which case a temporary injunction had initially been issued (only for the hours of common of quietness) the decision of injunctive measures was published by the Single-Member Court of First Instance of Syros which expands the ban as a whole.

The Court has issued the most comprehensive judgment to date on this matter. He forbade the use of the bell as a clock, altogether, not only for the hours of common quiet, but in general, judging that the bell is not a clock. So far, this has also been prohibited by the Single-member Court of First Instance of Kalamata, for the case involving a resident of a village in Messinia.

The Court of Syros allowed, of course, the operation of the bell for religious and worship purposes of the church, while of course the applicant had not requested the ban for these purposes at all. However, the Court of Syros took a step further, in the context of the application of the investigative system applied to the injunctions and determined that the ringing of the bell is not allowed even for religious purposes in hours of public quiet! This is the first time that a Greek Court has ordered it in this series of court decisions concerning the use of the bell.

For constitutional reasons, however, the Court allows the use of a bell, even in hours of common quiet, for the “Despotic and Theotokos holidays of the Eastern Orthodox Church” which it lists exhaustively and of course for the celebration of the local Saint of the most holy church.

In particular, the major holidays for which the bell is allowed to ring even during common quiet hours are: the Circumcision, the Epiphany, the Epiphany, the Epiphany, the Holy Passion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Pentecost, of St. of the Spirit, the Transfiguration, the Elevation of the Holy Cross, Christmas, the Annunciation, the Life-Giving Source, the deposition of the venerable Esthetos of the Virgin, the Dormition of the Virgin, the deposition of the Holy Belt, the Birth of the Virgin, the Holy Shelter of the Virgin, the Entrances of the Theotokos and the Synaxis of the Theotokos.

With the decision, for each violation of the ban, i.e. for each illegal ringing of the bell, the holy temple is threatened to pay the applicant a fine of 200 euros.

According to the court decision, “it was assumed that what is supported by the applicant is true, that the bells ring even during the common quiet hours that with no. 10223/371996 police order (measures to maintain public peace) have been established for the summer period from 15.00 – 17.00 and from 23.00 – 07.00, while during the winter period from 15.30 – 17.30 and from 22.00 – 7.30.

This fact, that is to say that the hours of common quiet are not observed, was confirmed even by the rebuttal witness of the defendant, the application ***.

From the testimony of the witnesses, it was also assumed that the sound of the bell is deafening, with the result that the applicant has no obligation to tolerate it. […] Thus, it is possible that the situation created by the use of the church bell as a clock aggravates the health problems of the applicant and she is not obliged to tolerate it, while on the other hand the connection of the bell with the clock does not serve the in reality no essential purpose. Thus, the tolling of the hour by the church bell while providing no substantial service to the world in modern times becomes a consul of grievances of the applicant who is significantly disturbed. The liturgical mission of the bell is to call the faithful to divine service, which does not dispute the point. Besides, the sound of the bell should be a peaceful and sweet message of love, in the context of the devotional mission mentioned above and should not cause resentment […].”

This court decision should be the model for the use of the bell as a whole in all the churches of the country, whether they have a clock or not, as it resolves the issue of the conflict of religious rights in relation to the right of domestic peace of the inhabitants in the whole of Greece Territory.

In this case, a lawsuit for compensation has also been brought, on which the Multi-Member Court of First Instance of Syros will rule next year.”