Mitre By Mitre: N. Macedonian Nuns Craft Priceless Holy Headwear
In her careful hands, the mitre glimmered as if spun from gold.
The bulbous silk crown, now repaired, was again fit for a bishop.
Nestled between mountains and overlooking a placid lake about 130 kilometres (80 miles) west of Skopje, Saint George the Victorious monastery produces unique headdresses worn by patriarchs around the world.
"We are the only one in the world that works with this type of mitre," Sister Efimija told AFP, referring to her workshop of 10 nuns.
The sisters work as a team, helped by two novices, each nun perfecting a particular part of the technique.
"Each of the sisters has her own assignment in the process," Efimija said, as she watched a colleague make the final touches to her repair work.
Some elements of the handmade production are so secret they are known to only a small number of nuns, the 44-year-old said.
Originally a home to monks, the monastery was shut by the communist government after World War II and turned into stables.
But since it reopened as a convent in 2001, its Christian Orthodox nuns have fashioned 1,700 incredibly detailed mitres, Efimija said.
Although mitres are worn by the Catholic pope, and by bishops and some abbots from several Christian denominations, those made at Saint George are reserved for higher-ranking priests in the Christian Orthodox Church.
Exceptionally, the nuns crafted a special headdress for the late pope Francis, which took five months to finish.
It was gifted to Francis by a North Macedonia state delegation to the Vatican in 2016.
He was "pleasantly surprised", Efimija said with pride.
Decorated with vibrant colours, gold embroidery and jewels, every mitre weighs between one and two kilograms (2.2 and 4.4 pounds).
They take at least four weeks to produce. Some need six months to complete.
According to Sister Efimija, the Saint George mitres follow the lavish style of the late Byzantine Empire.
But her workshop, with its secret techniques, adds a unique flair.
Despite its opulence, the mitre symbolises the crown of thorns that Christians believe was placed on Christ's head during the crucifixion and Sister Efimija said she hoped each would bring humility to its wearer.
"If the bishop wears such a priceless object on his head and does not feel the burden of torments borne by contemporary man, then he wears the mitre in vain", she said. Mitres made at St George are reserved for high-ranking priests in the Christian Orthodox Church AFP St George's monastery was turned into stables in in 1945 before reopening as a Christian Orthodox convent AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
4 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Anguish At Bangladesh Hospital After Jet Hits School
Sirens wailed as ambulances delivered charred bodies of children to a Dhaka hospital on Monday, victims of a military jet crash that killed at least 19 people, most of them young students. In Bangladesh's deadliest aviation accident in decades, a training aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force crashed into a school campus in the northwestern part of its bustling capital Dhaka. Grief hung heavy over the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, where many of the more than 150 injured were rushed for treatment. Tofazzal Hossain, 30, broke down in tears on learning that his young cousin had been killed. "We frantically searched for my cousin in different hospitals," Hossain told AFP. "He was an eighth grader. Finally, we found his body." The Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft crashed moments after students were let out of class at 1:00 pm (0700 GMT) at the Milestone School and College. The well-known private school offers education to kindergarten children as well as senior secondary students. "We have two playgrounds, one for the senior students and one for the juniors," said Shafiur Rahman Shafi, 18, who is enrolled at the school. "We were on the playground for the seniors. There were two fighter planes... Suddenly one of the two planes crashed here (in the junior playground)," he told AFP. "It created a boom, and it felt like a quake. Then it caught fire, and the army reached the spot later." The Dhaka hospital's joint director, Mohammad Maruf Islam, said most of the injured were aged between eight and 14. Of the 51 brought to the facility, at least 20 were critically hurt, he said. Monsur Helal, 46, waited grimly as his wife Mahrin -- a coordinator in the school -- lay unconscious on life support. "Mahrin was helping the children out of the classroom when the plane suddenly crashed near her," he said. "She was able to speak with me briefly, but now she is unresponsive." Outside the hospital's intensive care unit, grieving and tearful mothers comforted one another, sharing harrowing stories of how they found their children. Dozens of volunteers lined up at the hospital, ready to donate blood. The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus announced a day of national mourning on Tuesday. The crash was the worst aviation accident in the country in several decades. The deadliest ever disaster happened in 1984 when a plane flying from Chattogram to Dhaka crashed, killing all 49 on board. The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus announced a day of national mourning after the crash AFP
Int'l Business Times
4 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
At Least 19 Killed As Bangladesh Fighter Jet Crashes Into School
A Bangladeshi training fighter jet crashed into a school in the capital Dhaka on Monday, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens more in the country's deadliest aviation accident in decades. An AFP photographer at the scene saw fire and rescue officials taking away the injured students on stretchers, while military personnel helped clear the wreckage. A military statement said 19 people were killed, including the pilot, and 20 others were critically wounded. At least 51 people, mostly students, were undergoing treatment at Dhaka's National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, its director Mohammad Nasir Uddin told AFP. The Chinese-made F-7 BJI aircraft crashed moments after students were let out of class at 1:00 pm (0700 GMT) at the Milestone School and College. A witness said he heard a huge blast that felt like an earthquake. "We have two playgrounds, one for the senior students and one for the juniors," said Shafiur Rahman Shafi, 18, who is enrolled at the school. "We were on the playground for the seniors. There were two fighter planes... Suddenly one of the two planes crashed here (in the junior playground)," he told AFP. "It created a boom, and it felt like a quake. Then it caught fire, and the army reached the spot later." The interim government of Muhammad Yunus announced a day of national mourning on Tuesday. Grieving parents and relatives of the victims thronged the National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute. Tofazzal Hossain, 30, broke down in tears on learning that his young cousin had been killed. "We frantically searched for my cousin in different hospitals," Hossain told AFP. "He was an eighth grader at the school. Finally, we found his body." Yunus expressed "deep grief and sorrow" over the incident in a post on X. "The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable," he said. "This is a moment of profound pain for the nation." The crash was the worst aviation accident in the country in several decades. The deadliest ever disaster happened in 1984 when a plane flying from Chattogram to Dhaka crashed, killing all 49 on board. Last month, a commercial aircraft crashed in neighbouring India, killing 260 people. The crash was the deadliest aviation accident in the country in several decades AFP
Int'l Business Times
16-07-2025
- Int'l Business Times
Italy Sorts Vast Piles Of Post For Popular Pope Leo
Leo XIV has not long been pope, yet the American head of the Catholic Church already receives 100 kilogrammes of letters a day, faithfully sorted by the Italian post office. Missives from around the world, addressed to "His Holiness" in flowing cursive, in stark block capitals or in scrawls, are sorted into a series of yellow crates in a vast hangar near Rome's Fiumicino airport. Robert Francis Prevost was a relatively unknown churchman when he was elected pontiff on May 8, but vast numbers of the faithful are penning him letters of support and pleas for him to pray on their behalf. "We receive hundreds of letters a day addressed to the pope, with peaks of 100 kilos (220 pounds) per day, or an average of 500 to 550 kilos per week," Antonello Chidichimo, director of the sorting centre, told AFP. "There are many letters written by children, postcards, and it's wonderful to see that in the digital age, many people still use a pen to write to the pope," he noted. Bearing colourful stamps, the day's letters -- one of which is decorated with hand-drawn red hearts -- arrive from as far afield as Andorra, Brazil, Cameroon, Hong Kong or the US. After being sorted by machine -- or by hand if a hand-written address is indecipherable -- the mail is collected by a van that delivers it the same day to the Vatican, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) away. Pilgrims and tourists visiting the Vatican can also write to the pope and drop their letters directly -- no stamp needed -- at the Vatican Post Office, where it is collected four times a day. "Many of those who drop off these letters come from South America or Asia," Nicola Vaccaro, an employee at the central office in St Peter's Square, told AFP. "They mainly write to ask for intercession (prayers) for a sick person or a loved one," he said. Among the letters and packages, Vaccaro has even seen someone post the pope a teddy bear. Behind the walls of the world's smallest state, the mail is centralised and sorted by the Secretariat of State, which performs standard security checks before delivering it to the pope's inner circle. Senders who provide their address can expect a response -- from the Vatican or on rare occasions the pontiff himself. Leo's predecessor Pope Francis, who received a bumper postbag as he battled ill health before his death earlier this year, had been known to answer some letters in person. His handwritten notes were scanned by his private secretary who then sent them -- by email. A decidcated sorting area in the technical area of Rome's Fiumicino Airport allows Italian postal workers to handle the pope's huge letterbox AFP Many of the faithful that write to Pope Leo XIV receive replies from the Vatican AFP
