Terény is one of the smallest settlements in our narrower country, yet it hides many curiosities. The eighty-year-old Józsefné Szedlák, aunt Ilonka, for example, is the last person in the country who still rings the bells of the local Catholic church by herself - read on the Nool.hu portal.
Józsefné Szedlák, who recently celebrated her 80th birthday, comes from a bell-ringing family. According to her, her father, grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather and father-in-law also played bells. As he said, while his grandfather was alive, he was the main ringer, the family only helped him. Later, after his father's death, he and his mother continued the tradition. Since his mother's death in 2015, he has been performing this task alone in the village. Moreover, he is probably the last in the country to ring the church bells with his hands and feet.
According to the fair-aged man, he usually rings the bell twice a day, at noon and in the evening. In the case of the latter, the evening bell ringing time is from St. George's Day to St. Michael's Day at 8 p.m., while from St. Michael's Day to St. George's at 7 p.m. Furthermore, the bells of the seven-hundred-year-old St. Andrew's Church ring unwaveringly at funerals and during the Holy Mass. But there are also special occasions: in the summer, the bells are rung before a storm, so the villagers disperse the icy clouds by praying. Aunt Ilonka said that thanks to this, Terény has never been hit by hail. In addition, all three bells ring, together with the bells of the Lutheran church, on more significant and larger holidays, such as New Year's Eve.
Aunt Ilonka also revealed that the tower for the church was built in 1900, when the three bells were added. However, one bell was taken to World War I, leaving only two. Finally, in the 1960s, the third bell was also poured from donations. Nowadays, in almost most churches, the bells are operated by an electric mechanism. However, Aunt Ilonka still insists on ringing the bell manually.
– My mother always said that as long as her hands and feet can handle it, there will be no automatic bell ringing in Terény. I confess that too. Like my predecessors, I consider ringing the bell to be an important task. I can't imagine it not being so.
You can read the entire article on the Nool.hu
Photo: Csaba Hüvösi
