Ukrainian Bell to Ring at Cathedral on New Years Day

A "Solidarity Bell" made from spent shell casings in the Ukraine war will be rung at the Cathedral at a noon Eucharist on Jan. 1, 2025.

The worship service will be part of the National Bell Festival, which happens every year on January 1 to ring in the new year. This year, the festival will highlight Ukraine and its ongoing fight for independence from Russia.

After touring Ukrainian churches in the D.C. area in the days leading up to the new year, the 12-inch diameter bell will be featured during a noon Eucharist to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name. Organizers are still determining the bell’s long-term home, but it is expected to remain in the United States.

Countless brass bullet casings were collected in Ukraine and then melted down to cast the new bell. Furnace operators at the Sayamat metalworks company and foundry in Vyshneve city in the Bucha Raion (district) of Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, smelted brass bullet casings to form solid ingots for transport to the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry in Asten, Netherlands.

• Photos: See the bell being fabricated in Ukraine and The Netherlands.

The bell is inscribed in Ukrainian and English with a fragment of a poem by Taras Shevchenko: “Truth will triumph! Freedom will arise!” Around the shoulder, also in both languages, is the familiar Ukrainian national salute and battle cry: “Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the heroes.” A ring of tridents, the state emblem of Ukraine, encircles the shoulder.

You can read more about Ukraine’s rich cultural history with bells here. Fun fact: The popular “Carol of the Bells” that you hear at Christmas is actually based on a Ukrainian folk song.