www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall A Bishop's Mitre: taking note of the details

Paying closer attention to the details of the Eastern Church than I ever have before, I am beginning to take notice of just how beautiful the externals of the Church are in the East.

It used to be so in the Latin Rite church and often one can still find external beauty when it comes to sacred vestments and the like, but just as often, we seem to have turned our backs on sacred beauty in the West, in favour of something more pedestrian, more utlitarian, and rather less sumptuous than what I see in churches of the East.

Whereas in the West we have perhaps become ashamed of our own heritage, I notice that such is not at all the case in the East. I have never encountered, for example, the Byzantine equivalent of a Folk Mass (and never expect to) or an Orthodox priest in polyester vestments with a peace symbol on them.

I really value the fact that the Eastern Church isn't afraid to be what it is and simply seems to take for granted that the externals involved in Divine Worship are meant to be splendid, all for the glory of God. All to lift one's minds, hearts and spirits to something that transcends the banalities of everyday life.

And, as I say, I am noticing the details. One of the details I have taken notice of is the mitre worn by the bishop in the Orthodox or Byzantine Catholic traditions. It is bulbous as opposed to tall and pointy; that much I always knew. It is elaborate, and one would expect as much. But I have noticed, now, that they come in different shapes and styles.

Some bishops' miters, for example, are quite elaborate and look very much like crowns. They have the four arches that a crown would have, and are worn in the same way a crown is worn:

http://olivyaz.blogspot.com/2011/04/newly-elected-major-archbishop.html

Others, however, do not look like crowns, really. The arches are arranged unlike the arches of a crown (or there are no "arches" to speak of, at all) and they look more boxy than bulbous:

http://www.eajc.org/page84/news23044.html

Is there a significance to these different styles of mitre, or is it just a matter of taste and design that dictates the various differences between them?

Once upon a time, many years ago, in a place far, far away from the Lone Star State, a certain Greek Catholic bishop betook himself unto one of his parishes for a canonical visitation.
After serving a hierarchical Divine Liturgy, he was out on the porch of the church greeting parishioners, who were bowing and scraping unto him left and right. All of which is par for the course.

One of the parishioners, however, was not exactly on the same page with the others. He was 3 or 4 years old and, standing before the magnificently vested bishop, neither bowed nor scraped but rather asked him, "Are you a clown?"

To which the bishop good-humoredly and with humility replied, "Some people think so."

By all means - let us take note of the details - as did that little boy long ago. Gee, I wonder where he is now...