Source: The New York Times
MOSCOW, March 20 — The bells of Lowell House at Harvard — so much a part of the university’s tradition that they have their own society of bell ringers — will soon return to the Russian monastery from which they were sold more than 70 years ago.
The Russian Orthodox Church and the university announced a final agreement on Tuesday to move the bells next year to Danilov Monastery, the residence of the Russian patriarch, after a replacement set for Harvard is completed.
The bells have become a symbol for the resurgence of the Orthodox Church and its drive, much like Russia’s, to reclaim its former glory.
“The bells are not only a witness, but a victim of history,” the patriarch, Aleksy II, said during the signing ceremony at the monastery, which was founded in the 13th century. “They are a symbol of the independence, greatness, and identity of the people.”
Over the years, however, the bells — the oldest cast 325 years ago — have also been endowed with nearly sacred significance at Harvard, where they have become a fixture of Lowell’s identity and a source of pranks, including one played on Franklin D. Roosevelt. (He was led to believe that the bells would be dedicated to him.)